Average SOC 2 Audit Timeline: How Long Does It Really Take

One of the first questions every client asks us is: how long is this actually going to take? After guiding dozens of companies through SOC 2, we can tell you the honest answer is that it depends — but we can also tell you exactly what it depends on and how to plan for it. Here is what we see across our client base, phase by phase, with the real numbers.

The average SOC 2 Type I audit takes two to four months from the decision to pursue compliance through report delivery. A SOC 2 Type II audit takes eight to fifteen months, with the observation period accounting for six to twelve months of that total. These timelines include all phases: readiness preparation, tool and auditor selection, control implementation, evidence collection, observation period (Type II only), audit fieldwork, and final report delivery.

This guide breaks down the end-to-end SOC 2 timeline phase by phase, provides benchmark durations for each phase by company complexity, and identifies the most common causes of delays with data on how much each delay adds to the total timeline. Whether you are a compliance manager, CTO, or project lead building a realistic internal timeline, this is the roadmap we walk our clients through.

End-to-End Timeline Summary

Type I Timeline

Phase	Average Duration	Range
Readiness preparation (scoping, tool selection, implementation)	6 weeks	4-12 weeks
Auditor engagement and scheduling	2 weeks	1-4 weeks
Audit fieldwork	3 weeks	2-6 weeks
Report drafting and delivery	3 weeks	2-4 weeks
Total	14 weeks (~3.5 months)	9-26 weeks (2-6 months)

Type II Timeline

Phase	Average Duration	Range
Readiness preparation	8 weeks	4-16 weeks
Auditor engagement and scheduling	2 weeks	1-4 weeks
Observation period	9 months	3-12 months
Audit fieldwork	5 weeks	4-8 weeks
Report drafting and delivery	3 weeks	2-4 weeks
Total	~13 months	6-18 months

The Type II observation period is by far the longest phase and the primary reason Type II takes significantly longer than Type I. During this window, all controls must operate continuously and evidence must be collected without interruption.

Phase-by-Phase Breakdown

Phase 1: Readiness Preparation

Readiness preparation covers everything from the initial decision to pursue SOC 2 through having all controls implemented and evidence collection configured. This phase includes scoping, GRC platform selection and setup, policy development, technical control implementation, and team onboarding.

Average duration: 6 weeks (Type I) to 8 weeks (Type II)

Duration by company starting point:

Starting Security Maturity	Type I Readiness	Type II Readiness
High (SSO, MFA, code reviews, documented policies already in place)	3-5 weeks	4-6 weeks
Medium (some controls exist but gaps in documentation, monitoring, or formal processes)	5-8 weeks	6-10 weeks
Low (minimal formal security program, few documented controls)	8-14 weeks	10-16 weeks

What happens during this phase:

• Define Trust Service Criteria scope and system boundaries (week one)
• Evaluate and select a GRC platform — Vanta, Drata, Secureframe, Sprinto, or others (week one to two)
• Connect integrations and deploy endpoint agents (week two to three)
• Write and publish security policies (week two to four)
• Implement missing technical controls — MFA enforcement, endpoint management, logging, vulnerability scanning (week three to six)
• Complete security awareness training for all employees (week four to six)
• Conduct first access review and risk assessment (week five to seven)
• Verify evidence collection is working across all controls (week six to eight)

Common bottleneck: Policy development and approval. In our experience, writing ten or more policies, customizing them to reflect actual practices, routing them for executive review, and obtaining employee acknowledgments takes longer than most teams expect. We recommend budgeting three to four weeks for policy development alone.

Phase 2: Auditor Engagement and Scheduling

Engaging an auditor involves identifying firms, requesting proposals, negotiating terms, and scheduling fieldwork dates.

Average duration: 2 weeks (if started during readiness)

Key timing consideration: What we tell clients is do not wait until readiness is complete to engage an auditor. Start the auditor selection process during weeks two through four of readiness preparation. Auditor calendars fill up — particularly during Q4 and Q1 when many organizations target year-end or calendar-year audit cycles. Engaging early ensures your preferred firm is available when you need them.

Duration drivers:

• Peak audit season (Q4-Q1) can add two to four weeks of wait time for auditor availability
• Larger or more specialized firms may have longer scheduling lead times
• Firms unfamiliar with your GRC platform may require additional preparation time

Phase 3: Observation Period (Type II Only)

The observation period is the window during which your controls must operate continuously and evidence must be collected consistently. The auditor will sample evidence from across this entire period to verify that controls were effective throughout — not just at the beginning or end.

Average duration: 9 months

Observation period options:

Period Length	Pros	Cons
3 months	Fastest path to Type II report	Shorter evidence window; some enterprise buyers prefer longer periods
6 months	Good balance of speed and evidence depth	Standard minimum for most auditors
9 months	Strong evidence base with reasonable timeline	Common choice for first-time Type II
12 months	Maximum evidence; aligns with annual renewal cycle	Longest wait for initial report

Most organizations choose a six-to-twelve-month observation period. We typically advise first-time Type II clients to start with a six-month window to get a report in hand faster, then extend to twelve months in subsequent years to align with annual renewal cycles.

Critical requirement: Controls must remain effective throughout the entire observation period. Any control failure — MFA disabled for a user, access review skipped, policy not followed — creates a potential exception that the auditor will document in the final report. We recommend configuring your GRC platform alerts to notify you immediately when any control drifts out of compliance.

Phase 4: Audit Fieldwork

During fieldwork, the auditor reviews your evidence, tests control design and effectiveness, conducts interviews, and documents findings.

Average duration: 3 weeks (Type I) to 5 weeks (Type II)

Fieldwork duration by complexity:

Factor	Impact on Fieldwork Duration
Single Trust Service Criterion (Security only)	2-3 weeks (Type I) / 3-5 weeks (Type II)
Two to three criteria	3-4 weeks (Type I) / 4-6 weeks (Type II)
Four to five criteria	4-6 weeks (Type I) / 5-8 weeks (Type II)
Simple infrastructure (single cloud, fewer than 50 employees)	Reduces by 1-2 weeks
Complex infrastructure (multi-cloud, 200+ employees)	Adds 1-3 weeks
GRC platform organized evidence	Reduces by 1-2 weeks
Manual evidence (spreadsheets, screenshots)	Adds 2-4 weeks

What happens during fieldwork:

• Auditor reviews system description for accuracy
• Auditor tests control design suitability (Type I and Type II)
• Auditor samples evidence from across the observation period to test operating effectiveness (Type II only)
• Auditor conducts five to fifteen interviews with key personnel (engineering, HR, security, compliance, leadership)
• Auditor documents any exceptions — controls that were not operating as designed
• Auditor requests additional evidence or clarification as needed

Tip: We always tell clients to respond to auditor requests within twenty-four to forty-eight hours. Delayed responses are the single most common cause of extended fieldwork timelines. Designate one person (your compliance lead) as the primary auditor contact to coordinate all requests efficiently.

Phase 5: Report Drafting and Delivery

After fieldwork, the auditor drafts the SOC 2 report, shares it with your management for review, incorporates any corrections, and issues the final version.

Average duration: 3 weeks

Timeline breakdown:

• Draft report delivered to management: one to two weeks after fieldwork concludes
• Management review period: one week (you review the report for factual accuracy)
• Final report issued: one to two weeks after management review comments are addressed

This phase is largely out of your control — it depends on your auditor's report production timeline. However, you can minimize delays by reviewing the draft promptly and providing focused, specific feedback rather than open-ended questions.

Timeline by Company Size

Company size affects multiple phases of the SOC 2 timeline, particularly readiness preparation and audit fieldwork.

Company Size	Type I Total	Type II Total	Primary Timeline Drivers
1-25 employees	2-3 months	7-11 months	Faster readiness; simpler fieldwork
26-100 employees	2.5-4 months	8-13 months	Moderate readiness; standard fieldwork
101-250 employees	3-5 months	9-14 months	Extended readiness; more complex fieldwork
251-500 employees	3.5-6 months	10-16 months	Multi-team coordination; larger evidence volume
500+ employees	4-7 months	12-18 months	Full compliance team needed; enterprise-scale fieldwork

Most Common Causes of Delays

Understanding the most frequent causes of SOC 2 timeline delays helps you plan proactively and avoid them. These are the delay patterns we see most often.

Delay Cause	Average Impact	How to Prevent It
Policy development and approval	+2-4 weeks	Start policy writing in week one; use GRC platform templates as starting points
Auditor scheduling during peak season	+2-4 weeks	Engage auditors during weeks two to four of readiness; avoid Q4/Q1 scheduling
Employee training not completed	+1-3 weeks	Schedule training immediately and set firm deadlines with follow-up
Missing endpoint compliance	+1-2 weeks	Deploy MDM and Vanta agent early; set compliance deadlines for all employees
Vendor security reviews incomplete	+2-4 weeks	Begin vendor assessments early — they require vendor cooperation and often take longer than expected
Slow responses to auditor requests	+1-3 weeks	Designate a single point of contact; respond within 24-48 hours
Scope changes during the process	+2-6 weeks	Finalize scope before implementation begins; resist adding criteria mid-audit
Evidence gaps discovered during fieldwork	+1-4 weeks	Run internal readiness checks before fieldwork; verify evidence collection continuously

Total cumulative delay risk: Organizations that encounter multiple delays can add four to twelve weeks to their total timeline. In our experience, the most effective mitigation is thorough planning and early engagement with both your GRC platform vendor and auditor.

How to Compress Your Timeline

If you need to accelerate your SOC 2 timeline, here are the strategies we recommend to compress the process without cutting corners:

1. Start with Type I. If you need a report as quickly as possible, Type I eliminates the observation period entirely. A well-prepared organization can achieve Type I in eight to twelve weeks.

2. Use a GRC platform from day one. Platforms like Vanta, Drata, and Secureframe automate the most time-consuming tasks — evidence collection, policy management, and compliance monitoring. Manual processes add weeks to every phase.

3. Engage your auditor immediately. We advise starting auditor conversations in week one, not after readiness is complete. Early engagement secures scheduling and aligns expectations.

4. Leverage existing security practices. If your team already enforces MFA, conducts code reviews, and manages endpoints, your readiness phase may be as short as three to five weeks because you are formalizing existing controls rather than building from scratch.

5. Choose a shorter observation period for first Type II. A three-to-six-month observation window gets you a Type II report faster, which you can extend to twelve months in subsequent years.

6. Dedicate resources. Assigning a full-time or primary compliance owner who drives the project daily reduces the coordination delays that occur when SOC 2 competes with other priorities for team attention.

Key Takeaways

• We consistently see Type I take two to four months on average; Type II takes eight to fifteen months, with the observation period (six to twelve months) as the longest single phase
• Readiness preparation takes four to sixteen weeks depending on your starting security maturity — we advise clients to assess their maturity honestly before committing to internal deadlines
• The most common delays we see are policy development, auditor scheduling, and incomplete employee compliance (training, endpoints)
• We always recommend engaging your auditor during readiness preparation (not after) to prevent scheduling delays
• Company size is a strong predictor of timeline — a twenty-person startup finishes faster than a five-hundred-person company at every phase
• Using a GRC platform reduces timeline across all phases by automating evidence collection and providing policy templates
• We tell every client the same thing about fieldwork: respond to auditor requests within twenty-four to forty-eight hours — slow responses are the single most controllable cause of delays

Frequently Asked Questions

Can we get SOC 2 Type I in less than two months?

What we tell clients is yes, if your security program is already mature. Organizations that have SSO and MFA enforced, endpoint management deployed, code review processes established, and most policies documented can achieve Type I in six to eight weeks. The primary requirements are formalizing existing controls within a GRC platform, completing any missing documentation, and scheduling audit fieldwork. The fastest Type I timelines we have helped clients achieve are in the five-to-six-week range for well-prepared organizations using compliance platforms and responsive auditors.

How long is the SOC 2 Type II observation period?

In our experience, the minimum observation period is typically three months, though most auditors and enterprise buyers prefer six to twelve months. The most common choice is twelve months, which aligns with annual renewal cycles. We often advise first-time Type II organizations to start with a six-month period to get a report in hand faster, then extend to twelve months for subsequent audits. The observation period length is agreed upon with your auditor before it begins.

What is the fastest way to get a SOC 2 Type II report?

Based on what we see, the absolute fastest path is three to four months for the observation period plus one to two months for fieldwork and report delivery, totaling five to six months if you begin the observation period immediately with controls already in place. This requires that your controls were operating effectively before the observation period begins (no readiness preparation needed) and that you use a three-month observation window. Most organizations we work with cannot achieve this timeline because they need readiness preparation before the observation period starts.

Do auditor timelines differ between firms?

Yes, and this is something we help clients navigate during auditor selection. Larger firms (Big 4, mid-tier nationals) typically have longer lead times for scheduling and may take longer to complete fieldwork and report delivery due to their internal review processes. Specialized SOC 2 boutique firms often offer faster turnarounds because SOC 2 is their primary workflow. The difference can be two to four weeks for fieldwork and report delivery. What we recommend is asking each prospective auditor about their typical fieldwork duration and report delivery timeline during the engagement negotiation.

What happens if our timeline slips during the observation period?

What we advise clients is that if a control failure occurs during the observation period — for example, MFA is disabled for a user for two weeks, or an access review is skipped — the auditor will document this as an exception in the final report. Exceptions do not invalidate the report, but they are visible to anyone who reads it. The best practice is to respond immediately to any control drift, document the remediation, and maintain evidence that the issue was resolved promptly. A small number of exceptions with well-documented responses is generally acceptable to enterprise buyers.