# NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 AC-24 — Access Control Decisions

- Source: https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/ac-24-access-control-decisions
- Section: [Compliance](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance) › [NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 Controls](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5) › AC — Access Control
- Last updated: 2026-06-05
- Publisher: iCompaas, Inc. (https://www.icompaas.com)

**NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5**·Control `AC-24`·high·Component: **Access Control**

## What this control requires

> Establishes procedures or mechanisms to apply organization-defined access control decisions to each access request before enforcement, ensuring authorized access. This control supports the Access Control Module capability within the Access Control family.
> 
> — NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5, Control AC-24

### In plain English

Establishes procedures or mechanisms to apply organization-defined access control decisions to each access request before enforcement, ensuring authorized access. In practice, this means you can prove you policy procedures-level controls on a defined cadence.

## Why it matters

SP 800-53 is the catalogue every U.S. federal authorisation (FedRAMP, FISMA, CMMC) and most regulated industries point at. A missing control surfaces as a Plan of Action & Milestones (POA&M) item that an Authorizing Official must approve before the Authority To Operate is granted or renewed.

This control is rated **high**. Auditors expect a named owner, a remediation SLA, and a tooling artefact that evidences continuous operation.

## What an auditor looks for

A 3PAO (FedRAMP) or Independent Assessor (NIST RMF) tests against NIST SP 800-53A assessment procedures. For each control they expect a documented implementation that addresses every assessment objective (Examine, Interview, Test) and an implementation summary in the System Security Plan.

Within **Access Control**, the assessor will trace your implementation back to the catalogue reference (Control AC-24) 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

-   **Policy.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence.
-   **Access.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence.
-   **Access Control.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence.
-   **Authorized.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence.
-   **Mechanisms.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence.
-   **Scope:** procedures, management, enforcement, access control, organization, decisions, capability, authorized.

## Evidence to collect

-   **Policy Document.** A signed and version-controlled policy / standard / procedure document.

Signed policy or standard documents the safeguard. Focus: Access Control Decisions.

## Common pitfalls

-   Policies that no engineer has read; the version in Confluence drifts from the version that's actually being enforced.

## How it maps to other frameworks

Computed from shared tags, control component and key-operation subjects — handy when you are reconciling controls across an audit.

-   [**HIPAA (45 CFR Part 164) 164.308(a)(4)(ii)(A)** — Information Access Management - Isolating Healthcare Clearinghouse Functions](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/hipaa/164-308-a-4-ii-a-information-access-management-isolating-healthcare-clearinghouse)
-   [**NIST SP 800-171 Rev. 3 3.1.5** — Least Privilege](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-171-rev-3/3-1-5-least-privilege)

## Related controls in NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5

-   [**Control AC-2(3)** — Disable Accounts](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/ac-2-3-disable-accounts)
-   [**Control AC-4(5)** — Embedded Data Types](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/ac-4-5-embedded-data-types)
-   [**Control AC-4(4)** — Flow Control Of Encrypted Information](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/ac-4-4-flow-control-of-encrypted-information)
-   [**Control AC-2(2)** — Automated Temporary And Emergency Account Management](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/ac-2-2-automated-temporary-and-emergency-account-management)
-   [**Control AC-2(5)** — Inactivity Logout](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/ac-2-5-inactivity-logout)
-   [**Control AC-4** — Information Flow Enforcement](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/ac-4-information-flow-enforcement)

## References

-   [NIST Computer Security Resource Center — NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5](https://csrc.nist.gov/Projects/risk-management/sp800-53-controls)
-   Catalogue identifier: `Control AC-24`

Topics: governance riskpolicy management

## Related compliance guidance

- [NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5: a practical implementation guide for cloud teams](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5): Start with the full NIST SP 800-53 implementation guide — scope, roadmap, evidence and how the assessment runs.
- [NIST SP 800-171 and CMMC: a practical guide to protecting CUI in the cloud](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-171-rev-3): If your obligation is protecting CUI in your own systems for a federal or defence contract, this derived subset — not the full catalogue — is the requirement.
- [SOC 2 compliance: a practical implementation guide for cloud-native SaaS teams](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/soc-2-trust-services-criteria): Most commercial SaaS already hold a SOC 2 Type 2, and FedRAMP 20x Class A is designed for providers that have one.