HERE'S WHY
Drata's Policy Center includes several policy templated policies as well as the ability to create your own policies. Drata allows you to archive any policies you don’t wish to use, whether templated policies or a policy you created. Understanding when to archive versus delete policies is important for effective policy management.
BEFORE DIVING IN
Admins and information security leads will have access to archive policies with Drata.
Policies tied to SLAs or critical compliance frameworks often cannot be archived. For instance, core template policies like "System Access Control" or "Vulnerability Management" may remain unarchivable due to their role in automated compliance tracking.
Understanding Non-Archivable Policies in Drata
Some Drata-provided policies—such as the Information Security Policy, System Access Control Policy, and Vulnerability Management Policy—may not display an Archive option. This is because these policies are used as foundational templates within key compliance workflows, including onboarding, acknowledgments, and certain automated monitoring activities.
To prevent disruption to these workflows, Drata restricts archiving when a policy is actively in use or functions as a baseline template for the environment. Administrators may still update, replace, or customize these policies as needed.
Archive a policy
Navigate to the 'Policy Center' and ensure you are on Active Policies tab.
Select the archive icon (
) in the row of the policy you want to archive.Confirm you decision on the Archive Policy modal.
The modal displays a list of mapped tests that will be disabled if the policy is archived.
Archiving a policy also removes it as evidence from any mapped controls.
Select Archive to accept and archive. If you're unable to archive a policy, it is likely because it is tied to an SLA or is required for active compliance purposes.
Policies can only be archived when they are no longer used in any active workflow, such as acknowledgments, onboarding tasks, or control mappings. Some Drata-provided baseline policies do not offer an archive option and remain available as templates even after a replacement policy is activated.
Restore policy
If you change your mind and want to use a policy you've archived, you can easily restore it. Learn more here.