# NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 PE-8(2) — Physical Access Records

- Source: https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/pe-8-2-physical-access-records
- 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-8(2)`·medium·Component: **Physical and Environmental Protection**

## What this control requires

> Maintaining records of visitor access to facilities where system components reside. These records include visitor information such as names, entry and exit times, purpose of visits, and other relevant details. The records help monitor and control access to sensitive areas, ensuring that only authorized individuals are granted access. This control supports the Physical Access Control System capability within the Physical and Environmental Protection family.
> 
> — NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5, Control PE-8(2)

### In plain English

Maintaining records of visitor access to facilities where system components reside. 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.

## 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-8(2)) 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.
-   **Information.** 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, information, system, only, records, protection, identity.

## 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: Physical Access Records.

## 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)
-   [**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-2(3)** — Restrict Unescorted Access](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/pe-2-3-restrict-unescorted-access)
-   [**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** — Visitor Access Records](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/pe-8-visitor-access-records)

## 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-8(2)`

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.