Free Acceptable Use Policy Template (UK)
Four foundational clauses for a defensible Acceptable Use Policy — Scope & Definitions, Acceptable Use, Prohibited Activities, Enforcement & Monitoring. Drop in your company name, sign, adopt. Aligned to ISO 27001:2022 Annex A.5.10, NIST CSF PR.IP-11, UK GDPR Art. 6(1)(f) monitoring basis.
Quick answer. The free UK Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) template below contains four foundational clauses (Scope & Definitions, Acceptable Use, Prohibited Activities, Enforcement & Monitoring) primary-source cited to ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A.5.10, NIST CSF PR.IP-11, UK GDPR Article 6(1)(f) and PIDA 1998. Enter your email and the template arrives in your inbox within a minute, plus a short note on how to adopt it. The full audit-ready version — with employee acknowledgement form, joiner/mover/leaver checklist, cloud SaaS controls and investigation procedure — is £29.99 one-off or sits inside the £400 ISO 27001 Core Set pack.
What you get in the free AUP template
Four clauses covering the policy frame of an ISO 27001 Annex A.5.10 acceptable-use control. In our experience this is enough to publish a defensible AUP and demonstrate intent to comply; an ISO 27001 audit or enterprise customer's procurement review will also ask for the acknowledgement form and the joiner/mover/leaver workflow — both ship in the £29.99 upgrade.
- Clause 1 — Scope & Definitions. Who and what is in-scope (employees, contractors, third parties; managed devices, personal devices via BYOD, cloud services, data), with key definitions (Systems, Personal Use, Sensitive Data, Monitoring).
- Clause 2 — Acceptable Use. Six required user behaviours plus a limited Personal Use framework that protects [Company] from reputational and legal risk.
- Clause 3 — Prohibited Activities. Security/access prohibitions, data/IP prohibitions, and conduct/content prohibitions — each enforceable.
- Clause 4 — Enforcement & Monitoring. Monitoring scope and UK GDPR Article 6(1)(f) lawful-basis disclosure, user transparency framework, investigation procedure trigger.
Trust & quality
Quick answer. The template is drafted by the same editorial team behind PolicySuite's 988-policy catalogue across 197 frameworks and 8 jurisdictions. The free version covers the foundational structure; the £29.99 purchase uses your business answers to prepare an editable draft for review. Primary-source cited to ICO, ISO/IEC 27001:2022, NIST CSF, PIDA 1998 and Worker Protection Act 2024.
📄 Send me the free AUP template
You'll get both formats in your inbox within a minute — a typeset PDF for printing and an editable Word .docx for dropping in your company name. No card, no upsell wall.
How the free template differs from the full version
The free version covers the policy frame. The full £29.99 version adds the employee acknowledgement form, the joiner/mover/leaver checklist with timed access revocation, cloud SaaS-specific controls for Microsoft 365 + Google Workspace + Slack + Zoom, BYOD/MDM integration clauses, role-based exception procedures, and the detailed investigation procedure with RIPA 2000 + IPA 2016 considerations. Browse policies and packs without an account. After checkout, answer business questions and confirm your answers to generate editable drafts for review.
- Free (this page) — 4 clauses. Suitable for small businesses establishing a documented AUP for the first time.
- £29.99 single-policy SKU — full audit-ready version. Adds the acknowledgement form, JML checklist, cloud SaaS controls, BYOD/MDM integration, and investigation procedure. Ships as native .docx and typeset .pdf.
- ISO 27001 Core Set pack — the AUP above plus 15 sibling InfoSec policies (Access Control, Password, Remote Working, Incident Response, etc.) that share a common style and cross-reference each other.
Questions about this template
Is this really free?
Yes. The 4-clause template is free and arrives in your inbox within a minute. No card, no subscription.
What's in the free version vs the £29.99 version?
Free covers Scope, Acceptable Use, Prohibited Activities, Enforcement & Monitoring — enough to publish. The £29.99 version adds the employee acknowledgement form, the joiner/mover/leaver checklist, cloud SaaS controls, BYOD/MDM integration, and the investigation procedure with RIPA 2000 + IPA 2016 considerations.
Will this satisfy ISO 27001 Annex A.5.10?
Annex A.5.10 needs a documented AUP, rules communicated to relevant personnel, and audit-trail evidence of acknowledgement. The free version covers the policy half; the £29.99 upgrade adds the acknowledgement form and JML workflow.