---
title: "45 CFR 164.310 HIPAA: Physical safeguards"
canonical: "https://dposchool.com/hipaa/section/164.310"
source: "https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-45/section-164.310"
source_note: "Source: United States Code, title 42, published by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel of the U.S. House of Representatives (uscode.house.gov), release point 119-136. The editorial and statutory notes are not reproduced. Source: United States Code, title 42, published by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel of the U.S. House of Representatives (uscode.house.gov), release point 119-136. The editorial and statutory notes are not reproduced. Source: Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (eCFR), title 45, up to date as of 29 October 2026, from the eCFR API (ecfr.gov). The eCFR is an editorial compilation of the CFR and Federal Register amendments, not an official legal edition of the CFR."
text_as_of: "2026-10-29"
language: "en"
publisher: "DPO School"
---

45 CFR 164.310 HIPAA · Part 164: SECURITY AND PRIVACY · Subpart C: Security Standards for the Protection of Electronic Protected Health Information

# 45 CFR 164.310 HIPAA: Physical safeguards

eCFR, up to date as of 29 October 2026. Retrieved 30 October 2026.

## Official text

A covered entity or business associate must, in accordance with § 164.306:

**(a)(1)** Standard: Facility access controls. Implement policies and procedures to limit physical access to its electronic information systems and the facility or facilities in which they are housed, while ensuring that properly authorized access is allowed.

#### 45 CFR 164.310(2)

**(2)** Implementation specifications:

##### 45 CFR 164.310(2)(i)

**(i)** Contingency operations (Addressable). Establish (and implement as needed) procedures that allow facility access in support of restoration of lost data under the disaster recovery plan and emergency mode operations plan in the event of an emergency.

##### 45 CFR 164.310(2)(ii)

**(ii)** Facility security plan (Addressable). Implement policies and procedures to safeguard the facility and the equipment therein from unauthorized physical access, tampering, and theft.

##### 45 CFR 164.310(2)(iii)

**(iii)** Access control and validation procedures (Addressable). Implement procedures to control and validate a person's access to facilities based on their role or function, including visitor control, and control of access to software programs for testing and revision.

##### 45 CFR 164.310(2)(iv)

**(iv)** Maintenance records (Addressable). Implement policies and procedures to document repairs and modifications to the physical components of a facility which are related to security (for example, hardware, walls, doors, and locks).

### 45 CFR 164.310(b)

**(b)** Standard: Workstation use. Implement policies and procedures that specify the proper functions to be performed, the manner in which those functions are to be performed, and the physical attributes of the surroundings of a specific workstation or class of workstation that can access electronic protected health information.

### 45 CFR 164.310(c)

**(c)** Standard: Workstation security. Implement physical safeguards for all workstations that access electronic protected health information, to restrict access to authorized users.

**(d)(1)** Standard: Device and media controls. Implement policies and procedures that govern the receipt and removal of hardware and electronic media that contain electronic protected health information into and out of a facility, and the movement of these items within the facility.

#### 45 CFR 164.310(c)(2)

**(2)** Implementation specifications:

##### 45 CFR 164.310(c)(2)(i)

**(i)** Disposal (Required). Implement policies and procedures to address the final disposition of electronic protected health information, and/or the hardware or electronic media on which it is stored.

##### 45 CFR 164.310(c)(2)(ii)

**(ii)** Media re-use (Required). Implement procedures for removal of electronic protected health information from electronic media before the media are made available for re-use.

##### 45 CFR 164.310(c)(2)(iii)

**(iii)** Accountability (Addressable). Maintain a record of the movements of hardware and electronic media and any person responsible therefore.

##### 45 CFR 164.310(c)(2)(iv)

**(iv)** Data backup and storage (Addressable). Create a retrievable, exact copy of electronic protected health information, when needed, before movement of equipment.

## Source

Source: Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (eCFR), title 45, up to date as of 29 October 2026, from the eCFR API (ecfr.gov). The eCFR is an editorial compilation of the CFR and Federal Register amendments, not an official legal edition of the CFR.

Source credit: \[68 FR 8376, Feb. 20, 2003, as amended at 78 FR 5694, Jan. 25, 2013\]

[45 CFR 164.310 on eCFR](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-45/section-164.310)

eCFR, up to date as of 29 October 2026. Retrieved 30 October 2026.

This is reference material, not legal advice.

## Navigation

[HIPAA Navigator](https://dposchool.com/hipaa) / 45 CFR 164.310

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