Free compliance terminology resources

Turn glossary cleanup into audit-ready terminology evidence.

Use these templates to find terminology drift, start a controlled vocabulary, and prepare evidence questions before a SOC 2, ISO, FDA, DORA, NIS2, GDPR, or AI Act review.

Choose a resource

Each resource is ungated. Use it as a worksheet, discovery artifact, or internal checklist before installing any tooling.

Checklist Compliance documentation checklist

Review document control, approval, terminology consistency, change history, evidence export, and training records.

Open checklist

Worksheet Controlled vocabulary intake

Collect ambiguous terms, owners, source references, preferred wording, and approval status before importing into a glossary.

Copy worksheet fields

CSV starters Regulation glossary starter files

Download starter CSVs for AI Act Article 3, SOC 2, and FDA terminology. Review internally before relying on them.

Download CSVs

Boundary: these resources help organize terminology evidence. They are not legal advice, certification, an audit-management system, a QMS, or an e-signature replacement.

Controlled vocabulary intake worksheet

Use this field set when interviewing compliance, legal, security, QA, engineering, or HR/onboarding stakeholders.

FieldWhy it mattersExample
TermCanonical approved wording.Security incident
DefinitionWhat reviewers should approve and writers should reuse.A confirmed event affecting confidentiality, integrity, or availability.
Forbidden or deprecated wordingTerms that should trigger review.Security event, alert
Source referencePolicy, regulation, control catalog, SOP, or owner-approved source.Incident Response Policy, section 2
OwnerPerson or team accountable for the definition.Security Governance
Approval statusDraft, review, approved, or deprecated.Review
Evidence questionWhat an auditor or buyer may ask.Where is this term used and who approved it?
Term: Definition: Preferred wording: Synonyms: Forbidden/deprecated wording: Source reference: Owner: Approval status: Review due date: Where used: Evidence question:

Terminology packets

Each packet can seed a terminology review. Your organization remains responsible for source review, approval, and applicability.

AI Act EU AI Act Article 3 glossary packet

Starter terms for AI governance and legal ops teams managing AI policy language.

Get packet by email · Read guide

SOC 2 SOC 2 terminology packet

Starter terms for security, compliance, and audit-readiness teams.

Get packet by email · Read guide

FDA / GxP FDA terminology packet

Starter terms for controlled documentation and quality-system review.

Get packet by email · Read guide

ISO 27001 ISO 27001 terminology packet

Starter terms for ISMS, risk, controls, audit, and role alignment.

Get packet by email · Read guide

DORA DORA terminology packet

Starter terms for ICT risk, incidents, resilience testing, and third-party oversight.

Get packet by email · Read guide

NIS2 NIS2 terminology packet

Starter terms for entity scope, incident reporting, controls, and supervision.

Get packet by email · Read guide

HIPAA HIPAA terminology packet

Starter terms for privacy, security, breach notification, and enforcement review.

Get packet by email · Read guide

When the worksheet is not enough

If the same regulated term appears across Confluence pages, Jira tickets, and GitHub documentation, a static spreadsheet will not prove current usage. You need approved definitions, page scanning, version history, remediation evidence, and exportable audit records.