Summary
In short
- A compliance obligation assessment is an assessment used in KnowComply that assesses how each legal requirement applies to you and what you do to meet it. It is built against ISO 45001 cl.6.1.3 and forms part of the Management System Governance programme.
- Run when the register is built and after changes. Carried out by the compliance lead.
- The template holds 41 fields across 4 sections.
- Scoring is compliance percent, where high is good.
- ISO 45001 is occupational health and safety management systems. The international standard for managing worker health and safety. Certifiable, and the backbone of most of this library.
- It connects to the rest of the library: links Legal Register.
What it is
What it is
What is a compliance obligation assessment?
A compliance obligation assessment is an assessment used in KnowComply that assesses how each legal requirement applies to you and what you do to meet it. It is built against ISO 45001 cl.6.1.3 and forms part of the Management System Governance programme.
When is a compliance obligation assessment completed?
A compliance obligation assessment is completed when the task, area or population being assessed is new or has materially changed. Run when the register is built and after changes.
When to use it
When to use it, and when not to
This assessment is one step in a larger programme. Using it for work that belongs to a neighbouring template produces records that are hard to report on later.
Use it for
- The event or activity this assessment covers has occurred, or is about to
- A new record is needed; each one gets its own ID in the form COA2-2026-000
- You are running the Management System Governance programme and this is one of its steps
- A linked record needs this one to exist: links legal register
Not for
- Legal and Other Requirements Register, which lists every law, regulation, permit and commitment that applies to your operation.
- Compliance Evaluation Record, which records the periodic evaluation of whether you actually comply with each obligation.
- Regulatory Change Record, which records a change in law or regulation and what it means for you.
- Anything outside KnowComply, which belongs in the workspace that owns that process
Standards
What it is built against
ISO 45001Occupational health and safety management systems
The international standard for managing worker health and safety. Certifiable, and the backbone of most of this library.
ISOInternational Organization for Standardization
A voluntary international standard. Widely adopted, often required by customers, and certifiable where a management system standard.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
What is the compliance obligation assessment template based on?+
It is built against ISO 45001 cl.6.1.3. ISO 45001 is occupational health and safety management systems. The international standard for managing worker health and safety. Certifiable, and the backbone of most of this library. ISO is international Organization for Standardization. A voluntary international standard. Widely adopted, often required by customers, and certifiable where a management system standard.
What sections does the compliance obligation assessment contain?+
There are 4 sections: header, applicability, obligations, current position. Together they hold 41 fields, 25 of which are required.
How often is a compliance obligation assessment raised?+
A new record is raised when the task, area or population being assessed is new or has materially changed. Each one is given an ID in the form COA2-2026-000, so it can be traced and referenced from other records.
Which programme does the compliance obligation assessment belong to?+
It is part of Management System Governance. One integrated system rather than four running in parallel and exhausting the same people.
How is a compliance obligation assessment scored?+
Scoring is compliance percent. High is good. Scores exist to make the form tell you something, not to produce a percentage for its own sake.
Can the compliance obligation assessment template be changed?+
Yes. Every field, option, score and conditional rule is editable, and the links to other templates come with it. Most teams install it as it is, run it for a cycle, then adjust.
The agents
What the agents do with it
The form is the easy part. Keeping it current, routing it to the right owner and holding the evidence together is the work that actually slips.
Holds the compliance obligation assessment library against your registers, routes each record to its owner, and keeps the evidence trail together.
Coordinates the crew, rolls completion and exceptions into one view, and holds every write for your approval before it touches a record.
This template lives in KnowComply — audit and governance. Audit programmes, legal register, management review, risk and certification.
Sources
Sources
- ISO 45001 — Occupational health and safety management systems
- ISO — International Organization for Standardization