# HIPAA (45 CFR Part 164) 164.514(h) — Verification Requirements - Source: https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/hipaa/164-514-h-verification-requirements - Section: [Compliance](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance) › [HIPAA Security, Privacy & Breach-Notification Rules](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/hipaa) › Privacy Rule — §164.514 - Last updated: 2026-06-05 - Publisher: iCompaas, Inc. (https://www.icompaas.com) **HIPAA (45 CFR Part 164)**·§ `164.514(h)`·medium·Component: **Privacy Rule** ## What this control requires > Standard: Verification requirements. Prior to any disclosure permitted by this subpart, a covered entity must: (i) Except with respect to disclosures under 164.510, verify the identity of a person requesting protected health information and the authority of any such person to have access to protected health information under this subpart, if the identity or any such authority of such person is not known to the covered entity; and (ii) Obtain any documentation, statements, or representations, whether oral or written, from the person requesting the protected health information when such documentation, statement, or representation is a condition of the disclosure under this subpart. (2) Implementation specifications: Verification. (i) Conditions on disclosures. If a disclosure is conditioned by this subpart on particular documentation, statements, or representations from the person requesting the protected health information, a covered entity may rely, if such reliance is reasonable under the circumstances, on documentation, statements, or representations that, on their face, meet the applicable requirements. (A) The conditions in 164.512(f)(1)(ii)(C) may be satisfied by the administrative subpoena or similar process or by a separate written statement that, on its face, demonstrates that the applicable requirements have been met. (B) The documentation required by 164.512(i)(2) may be satisfied by one or more written statements, provided that each is appropriately dated and signed in accordance with 164.512(i)(2)(i) and (v). (ii) Identity of public officials. A covered entity may rely, if such reliance is reasonable under the circumstances, on any of the following to verify identity when the disclosure of protected health information is to a public official or a person acting on behalf of the public official: (A) If the request is made in person, presentation of an agency identification badge, other official credentials, or other proof of government status; (B) If the request is in writing, the request is on the appropriate government letterhead; or (C) If the disclosure is to a person acting on behalf of a public official, a written statement on appropriate government letterhead that the person is acting under the government's authority or other evidence or documentation of agency, such as a contract for services, memorandum of understanding, or purchase order, that establishes that the person is acting on behalf of the public official. (iii) Authority of public officials. A covered entity may rely, if such reliance is reasonable under the circumstances, on any of the following to verify authority when the disclosure of protected health information is to a public official or a person acting on behalf of the public official: (A) A written statement of the legal authority under which the information is requested, or, if a written statement would be impracticable, an oral statement of such legal authority; (B) If a request is made pursuant to legal process, warrant, subpoena, order, or other legal process issued by a grand jury or a judicial or administrative tribunal is presumed to constitute legal authority. (iv) Exercise of professional judgment. The verification requirements of this paragraph are met if the covered entity relies on the exercise of professional judgment in making a use or disclosure in accordance with 164.510 or acts on a good faith belief in making a disclosure in accordance with 164.512(j). > > — HIPAA (45 CFR Part 164), § 164.514(h) ### In plain English Standard: Verification requirements. In practice, this means you can prove you information requirements-level controls on a defined cadence. ## Why it matters HIPAA non-compliance is a strict-liability matter: OCR civil monetary penalties are assessed per-record per-violation (up to USD 1.9 million per identical-violation calendar year as of 2024), and willful neglect can trigger criminal referral. ## What an auditor looks for HHS OCR investigators and SOC-2+HIPAA auditors look for the specific 45 CFR § citation, whether the safeguard is required vs addressable (and if addressable, the documented decision), the implementation specification, the workforce member responsible, and the records that show it runs. Within **Privacy Rule**, the assessor will trace your implementation back to the catalogue reference (§ 164.514(h)) and look for objective evidence on the latest two assessment cycles. ## How to implement #### Policy Management **Docs.** Keep each policy in version-controlled Markdown alongside the code that implements it; ship a signed PDF snapshot at each annual review and link the SHA into the SoA. ### Operational checklist - **Information.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence. - **Person.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence. - **Other.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence. - **Requirements.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence. - **Policy.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence. - **Scope:** requirements, management, proof, policy, i, obtain, accordance, b. ## Evidence to collect - **Policy Document.** A signed and version-controlled policy / standard / procedure document. Signed policy or standard documents the safeguard. Focus: Verification Requirements. ## Common pitfalls - Policies that no engineer has read; the version in Confluence drifts from the version that's actually being enforced. ## Related controls in HIPAA (45 CFR Part 164) - [**§ 164.514(d)(3)** — Minimum Necessary - Disclosures of PHI](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/hipaa/164-514-d-3-minimum-necessary-disclosures-of-phi) - [**§ 164.520(c)(2)** — Provisions of Notice - Certain Covered Health Care Providers](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/hipaa/164-520-c-2-provisions-of-notice-certain-covered-health-care-providers) - [**§ 164.520(e)** — Documentation](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/hipaa/164-520-e-documentation) - [**§ 164.514(d)(4)** — Minimum Necessary requests for protected health information](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/hipaa/164-514-d-4-minimum-necessary-requests-for-protected-health-information) - [**§ 164.508(a)(1)** — Authorization requirements - general rule](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/hipaa/164-508-a-1-authorization-requirements-general-rule) - [**§ 164.508(a)(2)** — Authorization requirements - psychotherapy notes](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/hipaa/164-508-a-2-authorization-requirements-psychotherapy-notes) ## References - [U.S. HHS Office for Civil Rights — HIPAA (45 CFR Part 164)](https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/index.html) - Catalogue identifier: `§ 164.514(h)` Topics: governance riskpolicy management ## Related compliance guidance - [HIPAA compliance for SaaS: a practical implementation guide](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/hipaa): Start with the full HIPAA implementation guide — scope, roadmap, evidence and how the assessment runs. - [SOC 2 compliance: a practical implementation guide for cloud-native SaaS teams](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/soc-2-trust-services-criteria): Most covered-entity customers accept a SOC 2 Type II report as the independent evidence that your HIPAA controls operate, since no HIPAA attestation exists. - [NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5: a practical implementation guide for cloud teams](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5): NIST publishes mappings of the Security Rule standards and implementation specifications to SP 800-53 Rev. 5 controls alongside SP 800-66 Rev. 2, so an 800-53 control set doubles as a HIPAA crosswalk.