# NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 PE-2(3) — Restrict Unescorted Access - Source: https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/pe-2-3-restrict-unescorted-access - 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) › PE — Physical and Environmental Protection - Last updated: 2026-06-05 - Publisher: iCompaas, Inc. (https://www.icompaas.com) **NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5**·Control `PE-2(3)`·high·Component: **Physical and Environmental Protection** ## What this control requires > Limit unescorted access to the system facility to personnel with clearances, formal authorizations, need-to-know, or defined physical access rights. This control supports the Physical Access Control System capability within the Physical and Environmental Protection family. > > — NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5, Control PE-2(3) ### In plain English Limit unescorted access to the system facility to personnel with clearances, formal authorizations, need-to-know, or defined physical access rights. In practice, this means you can prove you access 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 **Physical and Environmental Protection**, the assessor will trace your implementation back to the catalogue reference (Control PE-2(3)) and look for objective evidence on the latest two assessment cycles. ## How to implement #### Physical Security **Inheritance.** For cloud-only operations, inherit physical controls from the provider's SOC 2 / ISO 27001 report and document the inheritance in the SoA. ### Operational checklist - **Access.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence. - **Restrict.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence. - **Security.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence. - **Physical.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence. - **Review.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence. - **Scope:** management, access control, system, personnel, protection, identity, authorizations, review. ## Evidence to collect - **Identity Scan.** IAM / IdP exports — Entra ID, Okta, IAM Identity Center, Workspace directory — showing accounts, roles, MFA state and last sign-in. Identity analytics (Okta, SailPoint, Access Analyzer) demonstrates least-privilege. Focus: Restrict Unescorted Access. ## 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. - [**NIST SP 800-171 Rev. 3 3.10.8** — Access Control for Transmission](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-171-rev-3/3-10-8-access-control-for-transmission) - [**BSI C5:2020 PS-04** — Physical site access control](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/bsi-c5-2020/ps-04-physical-site-access-control) - [**CIS Controls v8 6.7** — Centralize Access Control](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/cis-controls-v8/6-7-centralize-access-control) - [**SOC 2 (2017 TSC) CC6.6** — Boundary Protection](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/soc-2-trust-services-criteria/cc6-6-boundary-protection) - [**ISO/IEC 27001:2022 A.5.15** — Access control](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/iso-27001-2022/a-5-15-access-control) ## Related controls in NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 - [**Control PE-2** — Physical Access Authorizations](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/pe-2-physical-access-authorizations) - [**Control PE-3(1)** — System Access](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/pe-3-1-system-access) - [**Control PE-2(2)** — Two Forms Of Identification](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/pe-2-2-two-forms-of-identification) - [**Control PE-3(8)** — Access Control Vestibules](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/pe-3-8-access-control-vestibules) - [**Control PE-8(1)** — Automated Records Maintenance And Review](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/pe-8-1-automated-records-maintenance-and-review) - [**Control MA-5(5)** — Non-System Maintenance](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/ma-5-5-non-system-maintenance) ## 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 PE-2(3)` Topics: identity accessphysical securityidentity managementaccess reviewprivileged access ## 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.