# NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 CP-9(2) — Test Restoration Using Sampling

- Source: https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/cp-9-2-test-restoration-using-sampling
- 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) › CP — Contingency Planning
- Last updated: 2026-06-05
- Publisher: iCompaas, Inc. (https://www.icompaas.com)

**NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5**·Control `CP-9(2)`·medium·Component: **Contingency Planning**

## What this control requires

> Use a sample of backup information to restore selected system functions during contingency testing, ensuring functionality with sample size based on assurance needs. This control supports the Backup Restoration Tool capability within the Contingency Planning family.
> 
> — NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5, Control CP-9(2)

### In plain English

Use a sample of backup information to restore selected system functions during contingency testing, ensuring functionality with sample size based on assurance needs. In practice, this means you can prove you policy management-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.

## 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 **Contingency Planning**, the assessor will trace your implementation back to the catalogue reference (Control CP-9(2)) and look for objective evidence on the latest two assessment cycles.

## How to implement

#### Code Review Testing

**Pipeline.** Require at least one human reviewer plus passing CI (lint, type, unit, security scan) before merge — protected branches enforce this.

#### 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.
-   **Information.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence.
-   **Review.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence.
-   **System.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence.
-   **Control.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence.
-   **Scope:** management, system functions, information, functionality, review, recovery, capability, policy.

## Evidence to collect

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

Signed policy or standard documents the safeguard. Focus: Test Restoration Using Sampling.

## 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.

-   [**SOC 2 (2017 TSC) A1.3** — Testing of System Recovery Procedures](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/soc-2-trust-services-criteria/a1-3-testing-of-system-recovery-procedures)
-   [**ISO/IEC 27001:2022 A.8.33** — Test information](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/iso-27001-2022/a-8-33-test-information)

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

-   [**Control CP-4(5)** — Self-Challenge](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/cp-4-5-self-challenge)
-   [**Control CP-9(1)** — Testing For Reliability And Integrity](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/cp-9-1-testing-for-reliability-and-integrity)
-   [**Control CP-10(3)** — Compensating Security Controls](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/cp-10-3-compensating-security-controls)
-   [**Control CP-10(1)** — Contingency Plan Testing](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/cp-10-1-contingency-plan-testing)
-   [**Control CP-4(4)** — Full Recovery And Reconstitution](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/cp-4-4-full-recovery-and-reconstitution)
-   [**Control CP-8(5)** — Alternate Telecommunication Service Testing](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/cp-8-5-alternate-telecommunication-service-testing)

## 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 CP-9(2)`

Topics: governance riskbackup recoverycode review testingpolicy 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.