PCI DSS Scoping Model and Approach


The PCI Resources Scoping Model and Approach is available for free under a Creative Commons CC BY-SA license. This model is derived from Volume 2 of the book series and is at version 2.0 in English updated for PCI DSS 4.0.1. The guidance on PCI DSS scope documentation was added to this version and is also available below.

Other languages are still at the older version 1.2.1 (2018) and will be updated in fall 2026.

Download Model — English

Download Scope documentation guidance — English

Download — French / Français

La version française du modèle est en étape d’actualisation.

Download — Spanish / Español

La versión en español está en proceso de actualización.

Version History

Version Author Description Date
1.0 Yves Desharnais Initial release July 2015
1.1 Yves Desharnais Clarifications, update to PCI DSS 3.2 July 2016
1.2 Yves Desharnais Changes related to PCI SSC Scoping and Network Segmentation guidance December 2017
1.2.1 Yves Desharnais Minor fixes for PCI DSS 3.2.1; initial Spanish and French versions July 2018
1.3 Yves Desharnais Update to PCI DSS 4.0 August 2022
2.0 Yves Desharnais Update to PCI DSS 4.0.1 and the simplified approach August 2026