Answer

How do I prepare for ISO 20996?

Name the cloud services that carry critical activities, run one restore yourself, review recovery, data return and exit terms in every critical contract, and set a dated plan with a named owner.

The short answer, in context

Name the cloud services that carry critical activities, run one restore yourself, review recovery, data return and exit terms in every critical contract, and set a dated plan with a named owner. ISO/IEC DIS 20996 is at stage 40.60 (Close of voting), dated 2026-09-24, and the planning date used here is 2027-09-13, an estimate and not an ISO commitment. The draft is 45 pages and is sold by ISO; its text is not public and is not reproduced on this site.

Where do I start?

Run the free check. It returns a position, the gaps and three dated actions in about a minute.

What does the kit add?

The register of 57 cited requirements, the evidence list and a dated plan in PDF, CSV and XLSX.

How long does it take?

The first pass over a critical service is usually a week of meetings and one test. The plan runs to the publication window.

What if I do nothing?

The date is an estimate, but the contracts and the restore gap already exist. Publication turns a latent gap into a visible one.

What to do next

Run the free check, then read the register for the clauses behind each answer. The timeline carries every recorded stage and the ones still to come.

Source: ISO/IEC DIS 20996 record, read 2026-10-20. Last updated: 2026-10-20.