Templates and records · ISO 20000 · Clause 8.3.3

ISO 20000-1 service level agreement (SLA) template

The measurable commitment to the customer: which services are delivered, at what level, within what workload limits, with what exceptions and how compliance will be demonstrated.

In one sentence

A service level agreement under ISO/IEC 20000-1 identifies the services agreed with the customer and sets, for each one, the service level targets, workload limits and exceptions, with how they will be measured and reported, because clause 8.3.3 requires one or more SLAs to be established on the basis of documented requirements and monitored at planned intervals.

Content reviewed on 17 October 2026

Where the standard requires it: ISO 20000 · Clause 8.3.3 Clauses are cited using the numbering of ISO/IEC 20000-1:2018, the current edition and the same one the Academy uses.
Type of information: Mandatory document Documented information to be maintained (8.3.3 and 7.5.4)
Who fills it in: Service level management Signed by the provider and the customer; each service owner confirms the targets are achievable
When: Before the service is delivered Reviewed at planned intervals and whenever requirements or the service change
How long it is kept: Set by the organisation The standard requires control of the retention and disposition of documented information (7.5.3) without setting periods. It is usual to cover at least the three-year certification cycle, or the term of the customer contract if longer.

What the standard requires

What ISO 20000 demands and what it leaves to your judgement

The standard requires the services to be delivered to be agreed with the customer and one or more SLAs to be established, based on documented requirements, with service level targets, workload limits and exceptions.

At planned intervals, the organisation monitors, reviews and reports performance against the targets, and actual workload compared with the agreed limits. If a target is not met, it identifies opportunities for improvement.

Agreements with external and internal suppliers must be aligned with the SLAs: you cannot promise the customer a four-hour fix if the hardware supplier's contract gives eight.

Read it in context: Service level agreements (SLAs), in the ISO 20000 Academy

Structure

Fields the template should include

Parties, term and reference to the contract
Services covered with reference to the catalogue
Service hours and support hours
Service level targets: availability, response and resolution times by priority
Priority matrix by impact and urgency
Workload limits
Exceptions: scheduled maintenance, external causes
Measurement method and data source
Frequency and content of reports
Review of the agreement and those responsible on each side

Example

Example: SLA for the end-user support service

Company, people and figures are fictitious: the example only shows what a properly completed record looks like.

Field	Content
Agreement	SLA-CLI-07 · fictitious industrial customer · term 2026-2027
Services	SRV-04 email and collaboration · SRV-06 end-user support
Availability	SRV-04: 99.9% monthly, excluding maintenance windows notified 5 days in advance
Priority 1	Response in 15 minutes · resolution in 4 hours · target 95%
Priority 3	Response in 4 hours · resolution in 3 working days · target 90%
Workload limit	Up to 600 tickets a month for 450 users
Measurement	Service management tool · clocks stopped while awaiting the customer
Reporting	Monthly · quarterly review with the customer

At the audit

Mistakes auditors commonly flag

Targets that cannot be measured with the data available.
No workload limits: the provider breaches when the customer doubles demand.
Exceptions never agreed that are applied when calculating compliance.
SLAs that promise more than the supplier contracts underpinning them.
Signed agreements that nobody reviews for years.

In Kimobox

How this record is kept in Kimobox

1Each SLA is recorded as a controlled document linked to the customer.
2Compliance indicators are configured on the dashboard and visible in real time.
3Compliance reports are generated from the same system.

Frequently asked questions

What people ask us before getting started

What is a workload limit?

The level of demand up to which the service level targets apply: number of users, tickets a month or transactions. ISO/IEC 20000-1 requires it to be set in the SLA and actual workload to be compared with it.

Is the SLA a contract?

It can form part of a contract or be an agreement with no contractual force, for example with an internal customer. The standard requires a documented agreement, not a particular legal form.

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