EvidenceSheet
PCI DSS v4.0.1 · Appendix A3: Designated Entities Supplemental Validation (DESV)

A3.1.4 Annual PCI DSS training for compliance personnel

Staff whom A3.1.3 names as holding responsibility for PCI DSS compliance must be trained on current PCI DSS or information security topics, with the training repeated at least once every 12 months. Related PCI DSS requirement 12. Guidance: the training should go beyond general awareness, fit each person's role, and reflect the latest threats and PCI DSS version; it may be delivered internally or by external bodies like the PCI SSC, payment brands or acquirers. Applies only to designated entities. Objective under the customized approach: not eligible for the customized approach; only the defined approach can be used.

Source: PCI DSS v4.0.1, A3.1.4. The statement above is our statement of the clause, read from the published text and cited so you can check it against the official text, not the instrument verbatim. Open PCI DSS v4.0.1 in the compliance library.

Version 4.0.1 is the active version; 4.0 has been retired. Appendix A1 applies only to multi-tenant service providers, A2 only to card-present POS POI terminals that still use SSL or early TLS, and A3 only when a payment brand or acquirer requires it. Which requirements apply to you follows your validation type.

4
artefacts
1
held by a system
0
at each review
moderate
to go live
HR system / LMS
where the evidence lives
teal = a system already holds it · olive = produced at each review. To go live: easy when half or more of the artefacts are already held by a system, moderate from a quarter to a half, hard below a quarter.

These are the artefacts auditors commonly ask for on this requirement, our guidance rather than text from the standard. Your assessor decides what is sufficient in your context, and asks for samples across the period when a report covers one.

system holds itEvidence a system already holds

  • Training completion certificates (e.g. PCIP, ISA, internal courses) · HR system / LMS

periodic reviewEvidence produced at each review

none for this control

governing documentDocuments that govern the control

  • Training policy naming the 12-month requirement for compliance roles · HR system / LMS
  • Training matrix mapping each A3.1.3 role to its course · HR system / LMS
  • Course content outline showing currency with the latest PCI DSS version · HR system / LMS

First move

Start with the 1 of 4 artefacts that already live in a system (HR system / LMS); keep the periodic reviews but log each one as a dated record with a named reviewer.

Common gaps auditors find

Do this for your whole sheet

Paste the rows you run your controls from and get this mapping for every control at once, with the periodic-review ones flagged and a first move per row. No account for the first run.

Build my evidence sheet

A3.1.3 Defined and assigned PCI DSS compliance roles · A3.2.1 Quarterly and change-driven scope documentation and validation