Trust Access

A comprehensive guide to managing external access requests, NDAs, and approvals.

Overview

Trust Access enables secure, controlled access to your compliance documentation for external users. This system manages the complete access lifecycle—from initial requests through NDA signing, access grants, and ongoing management—while maintaining full audit trails for compliance purposes.

1. Key Concepts

Trust Access consists of four core components:

• Access Request: An external user’s initial request to access your compliance documentation.
• NDA Agreement: A legally binding document that must be digitally signed before access is granted.
• Access Grant: A time-limited authorization window (configurable, default 30 days) during which the user has access.
• Access Link: A secure, time-limited email link that authenticates the user and grants portal access.

Time Limits and Expiration

Each component has specific time constraints:

Item	Duration	Notes
NDA Signing Link	7 Days	Expires if not signed within 7 days. Administrators can resend the link.
Access Grant	7–365 Days	Configurable access window. Default duration is 30 days.
Access Link	24 Hours	Email authentication links expire after 24 hours for security.

---

2. Prerequisites

Before using Trust Access, ensure the following is configured:

1. Published Trust Portal: The portal must be published and publicly accessible for users to submit access requests.

---

3. Workflow: Step-by-Step

Step 1: Access Request Submission

When external visitors access your public Trust Portal, they see a Request Access button. Clicking this button opens a form where they provide:

• Full name and email address
• Company name and job title
• Reason for requesting access

New access requests appear in the Trust Access Management dashboard with Pending status. If the user already has an active access grant, they see: “You already have active access.” If a pending request exists, duplicate submissions are blocked.

Step 2: Administrative Review and Decision

Access the Trust Access Management dashboard to view all pending access requests. Each request displays the requester’s information, purpose, submission timestamp, and current status.

Option A: Approve Access Request

1. Click on the request to view complete details
2. Configure the access grant period (7-365 days, default 30 days)
3. Click Approve & Send NDA to proceed

Request status changes to Approved, a pending NDA agreement is generated, and an email is sent to the requester with an NDA signing link (valid for 7 days). The requester receives an email notification: “NDA Signature Required” with a secure link to review and sign the NDA.

Option B: Deny Access Request

1. Provide a reason for denial
2. Click Deny to reject the request

Request status changes to Denied and the denial reason is logged in the audit trail. No email notification is sent to the requester.

Step 3: NDA Signing Process

1. The requester receives an email with subject “NDA Signature Required” containing a secure signing link
2. Clicking the link opens a secure page displaying the complete NDA document
3. They provide their digital signature to accept the agreement
4. After signing, they receive confirmation that the NDA has been completed

NDA status updates to Signed in the dashboard, the signed NDA PDF is available for download, and the access grant is automatically activated. The audit log captures the signing timestamp, signer’s IP address, User Agent information, and the final signed PDF document.

If the 7-day signing window expires, administrators see NDA Link Expired status and can use Resend NDA to generate a new link. If users attempt to access an already-signed NDA link, they are redirected to the portal.

Step 4: Portal Access Granted

After successfully signing the NDA, users receive an email notification: “Access Granted”. This email contains their first Access Link (valid for 24 hours).

Once authenticated via the access link, users can:

• Browse and read all published, non-archived compliance policies
• Generate a single PDF bundle containing all accessible policies
  • The downloaded PDF bundle is watermarked with the user’s full name, email address, and a unique document identifier

Access grant status shows as Active in the dashboard, the grant expiration date is visible, and download activity is logged when users generate PDF bundles.

---

4. Managing Active Access

Reclaiming Access (Expired Access Links)

Access links expire after 24 hours. If a user attempts to use an expired link, they can reclaim access without administrator intervention:

1. Navigate to the Trust Portal
2. Click Reclaim Access
3. Enter their email address

If their access grant is still within the valid period, the system automatically sends a new 24-hour access link via email. If their access grant has expired, they see: “No active access found” and must submit a new access request. Reclaim attempts are logged in the audit trail.

Revoking Access

Access can be revoked at any time through the Grants section of the dashboard:

1. Navigate to the Grants list in the dashboard
2. Locate the active grant for the user
3. Click Revoke
4. Enter a reason for revocation

Grant status immediately changes to Revoked, the signed NDA is marked as Void, all active access links are immediately invalidated, and the revocation action is logged in the audit trail. Any active access links stop working immediately, and users must submit a new access request if access is needed again.