# SOC 2 (2017 TSC) P8.1 — Inquiry and Complaint Management Process - Source: https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/soc-2-trust-services-criteria/p8-1-inquiry-and-complaint-management-process - Section: [Compliance](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance) › [SOC 2 Trust Services Criteria (2017, with 2022 points of focus)](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/soc-2-trust-services-criteria) › Privacy — P8 - Last updated: 2026-06-05 - Publisher: iCompaas, Inc. (https://www.icompaas.com) **SOC 2 (2017 TSC)**·Criterion `P8.1`·high·Component: **Privacy** ## What this control requires > The entity implements a process for receiving, addressing, resolving, and communicating the resolution of inquiries, complaints, and disputes from data subjects and others and periodically monitors compliance to meet the entity's objectives related to privacy. Corrections and other necessary actions related to identified deficiencies are made or taken in a timely manner. > > — SOC 2 (2017 TSC), Criterion P8.1 ### In plain English The entity implements a process for receiving, addressing, resolving, and communicating the resolution of inquiries, complaints, and disputes from data subjects and others and periodically monitors compliance to meet the entity's objectives related to privacy. In practice, this means you can prove you risk objectives-level controls on a defined cadence. ## Why it matters Every SOC 2 audit opinion is built control-by-control from the Trust Services Criteria. A missing or failing criterion produces an exception in the report, which buyers, partners and procurement teams read line-by-line during vendor reviews. 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 SOC 2 auditor (under AT-C §§ 105/205) tests both design and operating effectiveness over the audit window. For each criterion they expect a written control, a control owner, a population of events, and a sample tested against the population — including remediation tickets for exceptions. Within **Privacy**, the assessor will trace your implementation back to the catalogue reference (Criterion P8.1) 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 - **Risk.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence. - **Management.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence. - **Process.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence. - **Privacy.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence. - **Data.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence. - **Scope:** objectives, management, complaint management process. ## Evidence to collect - **Policy Document.** A signed and version-controlled policy / standard / procedure document. Signed policy or standard documents the safeguard. Focus: Inquiry and Complaint Management Process (Original component: Privacy). ## 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. - [**GDPR Article 1** — Subject-matter and objectives](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/gdpr/article-1-subject-matter-and-objectives) - [**ISO/IEC 27001:2022 A.5.5** — Contact with authorities](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/iso-27001-2022/a-5-5-contact-with-authorities) - [**HIPAA (45 CFR Part 164) 164.308(a)(1)(ii)(B)** — Security Management Process - Risk Management](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/hipaa/164-308-a-1-ii-b-security-management-process-risk-management) - [**India DPDP Act 2023 LB-001** — Consent Quality & Management](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/india-dpdp-act-2023/lb-001-consent-quality-management) - [**CIS Controls v8 3.5** — Securely Dispose of Data](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/cis-controls-v8/3-5-securely-dispose-of-data) ## Related controls in SOC 2 (2017 TSC) - [**Criterion P3.1** — Personal Information Collection Aligned with Privacy Objectives](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/soc-2-trust-services-criteria/p3-1-personal-information-collection-aligned-with-privacy-objectives) - [**Criterion P3.2** — Consent Management for Personal Information Collection](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/soc-2-trust-services-criteria/p3-2-consent-management-for-personal-information-collection) - [**Criterion P4.1** — Limitation of Personal Information Use to Defined Purposes](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/soc-2-trust-services-criteria/p4-1-limitation-of-personal-information-use-to-defined-purposes) - [**Criterion P4.3** — Secure Disposal of Personal Information](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/soc-2-trust-services-criteria/p4-3-secure-disposal-of-personal-information) - [**Criterion P7.1** — Maintenance of Accurate and Relevant Personal Information](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/soc-2-trust-services-criteria/p7-1-maintenance-of-accurate-and-relevant-personal-information) - [**Criterion P1.1** — Privacy Notice to Data Subjects](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/soc-2-trust-services-criteria/p1-1-privacy-notice-to-data-subjects) ## References - [AICPA / ASEC — SOC 2 (2017 TSC)](https://www.aicpa-cima.com/topic/audit-assurance/audit-and-assurance-greater-than-soc-2) - Catalogue identifier: `Criterion P8.1` Topics: governance riskpolicy managementprivacy management ## Related compliance guidance - [SOC 2 compliance: a practical implementation guide for cloud-native SaaS teams](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/soc-2-trust-services-criteria): Start with the full SOC 2 implementation guide — scope, roadmap, evidence and how the assessment runs. - [ISO/IEC 27001:2022 compliance: a practical implementation guide](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/iso-27001-2022): The certificate most non-US customers ask for instead of SOC 2; the controls overlap enough to run one matrix for both. - [HIPAA compliance for SaaS: a practical implementation guide](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/hipaa): If health-tech customers ask for SOC 2, they will also ask about the Security Rule; the two are usually evidenced from the same controls.