To fill out the SF 702 Security Container Check Sheet, complete the header identifying the container, then log your initials and the time in the appropriate column every time you open, close, or check the container. Each row on the grid corresponds to a day, and each column corresponds to an action: Opened By, Closed By, Checked By, and Guard Check if your facility requires one.1General Services Administration. SF 702 Security Container Check Sheet
Complete the Header First
Before the sheet goes into service on a container, fill in the three header fields at the top: room number, building name or number, and container number.1General Services Administration. SF 702 Security Container Check Sheet The container number is the unique identifier for that specific safe, vault door, or secure room lock, and it’s what ties every entry on the sheet back to one piece of equipment. Write clearly and use ink that won’t smudge. Inspectors flag illegible headers because there’s no way to verify which container the log belongs to.
The form carries a printed certification statement: “I certify, by my initials below, that I have opened, closed or checked this security container in accordance with pertinent agency regulations and operating instructions.”2National Archives. SF 702 Security Container Check Sheet Anyone who initials the sheet is affirming that certification, so make sure everyone with access understands what they’re signing.
Log Each Opening
When you unlock the container, write the date in the left column if it’s the first entry for that day, then put your initials and the time in the Opened By column.3GovInfo. 32 CFR 2003.23 – Standard Form 702, Security Container Check Sheet Do it right then, not after you’ve pulled what you needed. The record is supposed to be contemporaneous, and filling entries in later defeats the purpose.
Log Each Closing
When you lock the container back up, initial the Closed By column and write the time.3GovInfo. 32 CFR 2003.23 – Standard Form 702, Security Container Check Sheet If the container is opened and closed several times in one day, each open-close cycle takes its own row. Four accesses means four separate lines for that date.
Complete the End-of-Day Check
The Checked By column is for the daily verification. The last person leaving the area physically confirms the container is locked (spin the dial, try the handle) and then initials the Checked By column with the time.4Center for Development of Security Excellence. SF 702 Short Student Guide
This is where people slip up. The check is required every day the area is occupied, even if nobody opened the container. If you come in on a Saturday to grab something from your desk and the safe stays shut the whole time, you still check it and log the check before you leave.5STIG Viewer. V-245794 – SF 702 Security Container Check Sheet The only exception is a day when nobody enters the space at all. Weekends and holidays where the area stays completely unoccupied don’t need an annotation.
Guard Check Column
The fourth column, Guard Check (if required), applies when your agency or facility requires security guards to independently verify containers during or after duty hours.1General Services Administration. SF 702 Security Container Check Sheet Not every facility uses it. Whether a guard check is required depends on the supplemental controls your agency has selected for the classification level of the material inside. Top Secret material stored in a GSA-approved container, for example, may require inspection every two hours by a cleared employee as one of the available supplemental control options.6eCFR. 32 CFR 2001.43 – Storage If your facility doesn’t require guard checks, leave the column blank.
Where the Sheet Stays
Keep the SF 702 on the container itself, attached in a way that doesn’t create a security hazard.3GovInfo. 32 CFR 2003.23 – Standard Form 702, Security Container Check Sheet Most facilities use a magnetic clip or adhesive holder on the outside of the safe. The form isn’t classified, but don’t position it where it could interfere with the locking mechanism or obscure the combination dial.
When the Sheet Is Full
A completed sheet becomes an inactive record. Retain finished SF 702 forms for 90 days, or until the agency reviews the record copy, whichever comes first.3GovInfo. 32 CFR 2003.23 – Standard Form 702, Security Container Check Sheet Some agencies extend the window if the container was involved in a reported security incident or investigation. After the retention period ends, destroy the form under your agency’s records disposition schedule, typically by cross-cut shredding or another approved destruction method.
Mistakes That Get Flagged on Inspection
The most common finding is a missing Checked By entry on a day the area was occupied but the container wasn’t opened.5STIG Viewer. V-245794 – SF 702 Security Container Check Sheet Other problems inspectors write up:
- Initials without a time, or a time without initials. Both are required in every column you use.
- Batch entries filled in from memory. Identical handwriting and ink across several days is easy to spot.
- Worn or smudged container numbers in the header that can no longer be tied to a specific piece of equipment.
- No SF 702 attached to the container at all. Every container holding classified material needs its own sheet, and a missing one is an automatic finding.
Agency-specific implementing instructions can add requirements on top of the baseline. If your command or component has supplemental guidance, follow it, and keep a documented copy on hand because inspectors will ask for it.
The SF 702 Does Not Replace the SF 701
The SF 702 covers one container. The SF 701, Activity Security Checklist, is a broader end-of-day checklist for the whole work area, confirming that all classified materials in the space are secured.7National Archives. Standard Forms Completing one doesn’t substitute for the other, and inspections look at both.5STIG Viewer. V-245794 – SF 702 Security Container Check Sheet