SOC 2 Type I vs Type II: Which Do You Need First?

SOC 2 is less about “passing an audit” and more about proving to customers that you can operate software responsibly. The fastest way to get value from SOC 2 is to choose the right report type at the right time, aligned to what prospects actually require.

The short version

• Type I is a point-in-time report on whether your controls are designed appropriately.
• Type II covers control design and operating effectiveness over a period (commonly 3–12 months).

If you’re selling into enterprise and need something soon, Type I is often the fastest credible milestone. If prospects require evidence that controls actually operate, Type II is the target.

What customers usually mean when they ask for “SOC 2”

Prospects often use “SOC 2” as shorthand for risk reduction. What they may actually be asking for:

• A Type I report (control design exists) to unblock procurement
• A Type II report (controls operate over time) for regulated or higher-risk use cases
• “SOC 2 in progress” with a credible timeline and evidence workflow
• Answers to specific controls (access, logging, incident response, SDLC, vendor risk)

Before committing to a timeline, validate what your target buyers truly require.

How to decide

Consider:

• Sales requirements: What do your target customers actually ask for—Type I, Type II, or “SOC 2 in progress”?
• Time: Type II requires a measurement window; you can’t compress that to zero.
• Control ownership: If you don’t have control owners and routine evidence collection, Type II will be painful.

The practical decision framework

Choose Type I first when…

• You need a credible milestone in the next 6–12 weeks
• You’re still building the operating system (owners, routines, evidence)
• You need a signal to reduce deal friction without overcommitting

Type I validates that controls are designed and documented. It does not prove they’ve been operating reliably for months.

Choose Type II first when…

• Your buyers explicitly require Type II (or won’t move forward without it)
• You have stable operations and can sustain the measurement window
• You already have repeatable routines (onboarding/offboarding, change control, incident response)

If you’re early and still forming these routines, jumping straight to Type II often leads to scramble and burnout.

Timelines (realistic expectations)

Typical patterns:

• Type I: readiness + implementation + auditor scheduling (often 6–10 weeks depending on gaps)
• Type II: Type I work plus an operating window (commonly 3–6 months; sometimes 12)

You can accelerate readiness work, but you can’t fake the operating window.

Common path for Series A–growth teams

1. Gap analysis and scoping
2. Implement controls and evidence workflows
3. Type I to unblock pipeline
4. Operate controls reliably, then Type II

What “being ready” actually means

Readiness is not a PDF policy set. It’s a working system:

• Access control: least privilege, MFA/SSO, strong offboarding
• Change management: reviews, approvals, and audit trails for production changes
• Incident response: documented process, practiced roles, evidence of postmortems
• Vendor risk management: inventory, reviews, and renewal checks
• Security training and awareness: appropriate to team size
• Evidence collection: recurring routines with owners

Common pitfalls (and how to avoid them)

• Over-scoping: trying to include every system and team immediately
• No owners: controls without clear accountability become a scramble at audit time
• One-time evidence: Type II requires repeated evidence, not “we did it once”
• Tool-first approach: tools help, but process and ownership pass audits

If you want a pragmatic plan and a timeline that matches your constraints, start with Compliance Readiness.