Compare

NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 vs ISO/IEC 42001: how they differ, side by side

How NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 and ISO/IEC 42001 differ: what each is, who owes it, when it applies and who enforces it.

NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5Mandatory for federal information systems; binding on contractors through FedRAMP and contracts

ISO/IEC 42001Voluntary standard; certifiable by accredited bodies

Checked21 Oct 2026

01 / Side by side

NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 and ISO/IEC 42001, side by side

	NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5	ISO/IEC 42001
What it is	federal standard	international standard
Jurisdiction	United States (federal)	International
Legal force	Mandatory for federal information systems; binding on contractors through FedRAMP and contracts	Voluntary standard; certifiable by accredited bodies
Status	In force	Published standard
Applies from	23 Sep 2020	18 Dec 2023
Who owes it	Federal agencies and the contractors and cloud providers operating systems on their behalf; widely adopted voluntarily elsewhere.	Any organization that provides or uses products or services that use AI systems, regardless of size, type or nature, if it chooses to adopt or certify.
Enforcement	Agency authorizing officials, inspectors general and OMB under FISMA; FedRAMP for cloud. No direct penalties; contract and authorization consequences.	None; voluntary. Accredited certification bodies audit and certify; customers may require certification by contract.

02 / NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5

What NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 requires

Applies to AI systems as to any system. NIST is drafting AI-specific overlays on these controls, but none has reached a numbered public draft yet.

01Select a control baseline (from SP 800-53B) based on system impact level, then tailor it.
02Implement and document controls across 20 families, including access control, audit, configuration and supply chain risk (SR).
03Assess control effectiveness, using SP 800-53A procedures, before authorization to operate.
04Continuously monitor controls and update the system security and privacy plans.
05Under Release 5.2.0, verify software update integrity and test, deploy and manage patches (SA-24, SI-02(07), SI-07(12)).

03 / ISO/IEC 42001

What ISO/IEC 42001 requires

AI-specific. It is a governance system for how an organization develops, provides or uses AI systems, not a technical test of any one model.

01Define the AIMS scope, the organization's role toward AI (e.g. provider, user) and relevant interested parties.
02Top management sets an AI policy, AI objectives and assigns roles and responsibilities.
03Run AI risk assessments, AI risk treatment and AI system impact assessments, and record a Statement of Applicability.
04Plan, operate and control AI processes, applying the Annex A controls selected in risk treatment.
05Monitor, measure and evaluate AIMS performance through internal audits and management reviews.
06Correct nonconformities and continually improve the AIMS.

Optional evidence · where Planisphere fits

Keep a record anyone can check

When your team meets a duty, Planisphere can seal the event it reports as a receipt.

01 · Your teamRecord the event

A disclosure shown, a review signed, a model change approved: the event your system reports.

02 · PlanisphereSeal it

The event becomes a sealed receipt, dated and attributed to whoever is signed in.

03 · AnyoneCheck it

Paste the receipt into Verify. No account or key.

A record supports your compliance evidence process. It is not a legal finding or a certification. Systems that call Planisphere's gate API can also hold or refuse an action before it runs.

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