Governance
SOP Version Control
Good SOP version control means one source of truth, controlled versions, visible change history, defined review dates, and a clear archive path for retired procedures.
The Minimum Version Control Standard
- Unique document ID
- Version number
- Named owner and approver
- Effective date and last reviewed date
- Short change log
- Archive of superseded versions
How Often Should SOPs Be Reviewed?
- Annual minimum: stable, low-change work.
- Quarterly: high-change systems, customer-critical work, or higher-risk procedures.
- Immediate off-cycle review: after incidents, audit findings, system changes, or policy changes.
How To Prevent Stale Copies
- Train teams against the controlled source, not emailed attachments.
- Mark exported PDFs as uncontrolled copies if they are not live-managed.
- Remove or redirect outdated links after major revisions.
- Archive old SOPs with clear status and superseded-by references.
If your team can still use a three-year-old local copy by accident, your version control system is not strong enough.
Part Of The SOP Cluster