Fastest Way to Get SOC 2 Type II Certified for a SaaS Company (2024 Guide)
The fastest path to SOC 2 Type II certification for a SaaS company is 6-9 months: use a compliance automation platform (such as Vanta, Drata, or Secureframe) to compress the observation period, pair it with an AICPA-licensed auditor, and begin evidence collection on day one. Skipping automation adds 3-6 months.
Can a SaaS company get SOC 2 Type II certified in less than 6 months?
No. The minimum observation period accepted by most auditors and enterprise buyers is 6 months. Some auditors will issue a report on a 3-month observation period, but many enterprise procurement teams and security questionnaires specifically require a 6- or 12-month period. Plan for 6 months as your minimum viable window.
What is the difference between SOC 2 Type I and Type II, and which should a SaaS company pursue first?
SOC 2 Type I evaluates whether your controls are designed appropriately at a single point in time. Type II evaluates whether those controls operated effectively over a period (minimum 6 months). Many SaaS companies obtain a Type I report first (achievable in 6-10 weeks) to satisfy immediate customer requests while the Type II observation period runs. However, if your sales cycle does not urgently require a report, going directly to Type II is more cost-efficient.
How much does SOC 2 Type II certification cost for a SaaS company with under 100 employees?
Total first-year cost typically ranges from $30,000 to $60,000. This includes a compliance automation platform ($8,000-$20,000), an AICPA-licensed auditor ($15,000-$30,000 for fieldwork and report issuance), and optional readiness consulting ($5,000-$15,000). Ongoing annual costs in subsequent years are lower because remediation work is already complete.
Do you need to hire a full-time compliance officer to get SOC 2 Type II certified?
No. Most SaaS companies with under 200 employees manage SOC 2 certification using a part-time internal owner (often the Head of Engineering or a senior IT manager) supported by a compliance automation platform and, optionally, a fractional CISO. A full-time compliance hire becomes cost-justified when pursuing multiple frameworks simultaneously or when compliance is a direct customer-facing differentiator.
Which Trust Services Criteria are required for SOC 2 Type II?
Only the Security (Common Criteria) category is required. The remaining four - Availability, Confidentiality, Processing Integrity, and Privacy - are optional and should be included only if they are relevant to your customer commitments or contractual obligations. Including unnecessary criteria extends audit scope and increases cost without adding proportional customer value.
Does SOC 2 Type II certification expire?
SOC 2 reports do not have a fixed expiration date, but they are considered current for approximately 12 months from the report period end date by most enterprise security teams. To maintain continuous coverage, SaaS companies typically conduct annual audits covering a 12-month observation period, with each new report overlapping the prior one.
What infrastructure do you need to have in place before starting a SOC 2 Type II observation period?
At minimum: single sign-on (SSO) for all production systems, multi-factor authentication (MFA) enforced organization-wide, a documented incident response plan, endpoint management (MDM) on all company devices, encryption at rest and in transit for customer data, and a formal employee security awareness training program. These are the controls most commonly flagged as missing in pre-audit readiness assessments.