# NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 MA-6 — Timely Maintenance - Source: https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/ma-6-timely-maintenance - 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) › MA — Maintenance - Last updated: 2026-06-05 - Publisher: iCompaas, Inc. (https://www.icompaas.com) **NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5**·Control `MA-6`·high·Component: **Maintenance** ## What this control requires > Obtaining Maintenance support and/or spare parts for organization-defined system components within an organization-defined time period after failure. This ensures critical components, whose failure increases risk to operations, assets, individuals, or other entities, are promptly restored, supported by appropriate contracts. This control supports the Maintenance Management System capability within the Maintenance family. > > — NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5, Control MA-6 ### In plain English Obtaining Maintenance support and/or spare parts for organization-defined system components within an organization-defined time period after failure. 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. 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 **Maintenance**, the assessor will trace your implementation back to the catalogue reference (Control MA-6) 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. - **Maintenance.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence. - **Time.** 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, organization, system, time, failure, maintenance, components, time period. ## Evidence to collect - **Policy Document.** A signed and version-controlled policy / standard / procedure document. Signed policy or standard documents the safeguard. Focus: Timely Maintenance. ## 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) 164.528(c)** — Provision of the Accounting](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/hipaa/164-528-c-provision-of-the-accounting) - [**NIST SP 800-171 Rev. 3 3.7.1** — Recategorized as NCO.](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-171-rev-3/3-7-1-recategorized-as-nco) ## Related controls in NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 - [**Control MA-6(1)** — Preventive Maintenance](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/ma-6-1-preventive-maintenance) - [**Control SI-13(4)** — Standby Component Installation And Notification](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/si-13-4-standby-component-installation-and-notification) - [**Control SI-13(3)** — Manual Transfer Between Components](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/si-13-3-manual-transfer-between-components) - [**Control MA-7** — Field Maintenance](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/ma-7-field-maintenance) - [**Control MA-6(3)** — Automated Support For Predictive Maintenance](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/ma-6-3-automated-support-for-predictive-maintenance) - [**Control SC-15(4)** — Explicitly Indicate Current Participants](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/sc-15-4-explicitly-indicate-current-participants) ## 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 MA-6` 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.