TISAX is an information security assessment and exchange mechanism for the automotive industry, run by the ENX Association. It is not a law and it is not a certification. The three assessment levels differ in one thing: how hard somebody checks your answers. AL1 is a self-assessment nobody verifies, AL2 adds an evidence review and an interview, and AL3 puts an assessor inside your building.
If you run a US dealership and a vendor just said the word TISAX to you, skip to does a US dealership actually need TISAX. The short answer is almost always no.
US dealer? Here is what actually applies to you. TISAX is a European supply-chain program. The compliance obligation that governs your dealership is the federal FTC Safeguards Rule. Start with the FTC Safeguards Rule guide for auto dealers, run the free 10-point compliance checklist, or take the 2-minute self-check.
What TISAX actually is, and what it is not
TISAX stands for Trusted Information Security Assessment Exchange. ENX describes it as “an assessment and exchange mechanism for the information security of enterprises” that “allows recognition of assessment results among the participants.” Read that twice. It is an exchange, not a certificate. Nothing gets framed and hung in the lobby.
The assessment itself runs against the VDA ISA catalogue, which ENX calls “an information security requirements catalogue based on key aspects of the international standard ISO/IEC 27001.” ENX maintains the assessment requirements, approves the audit providers, and monitors the quality of the results. An assessment result is valid for three years, and it is shared through the ENX portal with the specific partners you grant access to.
The three assessment levels at a glance
| Level | How it gets verified | Evidence and interviews | Shareable label | Typical trigger |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AL1 | Self-assessment only. The assessor confirms one was completed. | None. Content is not checked. | No | Internal readiness work |
| AL2 | Plausibility check of your self-assessment | Evidence reviewed plus interviews, usually by web conference | Yes | Partner classifies protection needs as high |
| AL3 | Comprehensive on-site verification | Documents, on-site interviews with process owners, observation of how work is really done, unplanned interviews | Yes | Partner classifies protection needs as very high |
Assessment Level 1: the self-assessment nobody relies on
AL1 is you, filling out the VDA ISA questionnaire, grading yourself. An assessor confirms a self-assessment exists. Nobody checks whether the answers are true. No evidence is collected and no interviews are held.
The TISAX Participant Handbook is blunt about what that is worth: AL1 results carry a “low trust level and are thus not used in TISAX.” There is no shareable label at the end of it. AL1 is a private readiness exercise, useful for finding your own gaps before somebody else does. If a partner has asked you for TISAX, AL1 will not close that request.
Assessment Level 2: the level most participants actually get
AL2 is the first level that produces a label you can share. An approved audit provider runs a plausibility check on your self-assessment: they review the evidence you hand over and they interview your people, normally by web conference rather than in person.
The word plausibility is doing real work there. The assessor is not re-auditing your whole company. They are testing whether the answers you gave hold up against your documents and against what your staff say when asked directly. Answers that nobody can back up are where AL2 assessments go sideways.
AL 2.5, and why it matters if AL3 might be coming
AL 2.5 is not a fourth level. It is an alternative method of running an AL2 assessment, in which the assessor verifies your management system fully remotely, without the on-site activities AL3 requires, but using an approach that stays compatible with AL3. The practical benefit is upgrade cost. If there is a realistic chance a partner asks for AL3 later, AL 2.5 makes that a continuation of work already done rather than a fresh start. The handbook also points to it when a company is struggling to produce a conclusive self-assessment on its own.
Assessment Level 3: on site, in the building
AL3 is the deep version. The assessor examines documents, interviews process owners on site, observes local conditions and how processes actually get executed, and can run unplanned interviews with people who were not prepped for the visit. That last part is the point. AL3 tests the gap between the policy and the Tuesday afternoon reality.
Being on site is mandatory. A video-supported remote assessment is allowed only when it is temporarily necessary, and it gets recorded as a minor non-conformity. The label carries the same three-year validity as AL2. What differs is the depth of proof behind it.
TISAX Level 2 vs Level 3: how to tell which one you need
You do not pick the level. The partner asking for TISAX names both the assessment level and the assessment objective, and your job is to read that request carefully before you scope anything or sign anything.
The mapping itself is simple:
- Protection needs classified as high map to AL2.
- Protection needs classified as very high map to AL3.
One rule saves people a lot of money: higher assessment levels always include the lower ones. An AL3 result satisfies a request for AL2. An AL2 result does not satisfy a request for AL3. So if two partners ask for different levels, you do the higher one once rather than two assessments.
If the request is vague, go back and ask for the level and the objective in writing before you start. Guessing here is expensive in both directions. Scope too low and you fail the request. Scope too high and you buy an on-site audit nobody asked for.
The 12 assessment objectives, in plain English
TISAX has 12 assessment objectives. They sort into four groups, and the group tells you what kind of business is being asked.
Information security: info high, info very high, confidential, strictly confidential. These cover sensitive business and technical information. The high and very high pair maps to the protection-need levels above; the confidential pair covers the same idea aimed specifically at confidentiality.
Availability: high availability, very high availability. These apply when a partner needs assurance that a system or service stays up. Far more common for IT and production service providers than for anyone selling cars.
Prototype protection: proto parts, proto vehicles, test vehicles, proto events. These apply when you physically handle prototype parts, pre-release vehicles, test vehicles, or prototype events. A store that sells and services finished production vehicles rarely goes anywhere near them.
Data protection: data, special data. These apply when you process personal data as a processor under GDPR Article 28. Special data covers the special categories, such as health information. If nobody has put a European data processing agreement in front of you, these are not your problem.
ISO 27001 vs TISAX: the short answer
Both trace their controls back to the same ISO 27001 lineage, so the day-to-day work rhymes. The difference is what exists at the end. ISO 27001 is a certification of an information security management system, issued by an accredited certification body. TISAX is an assessment result, shared with named automotive partners through the ENX portal.
That difference matters when somebody asks you to substitute one for the other. A partner that requires TISAX will not automatically accept an ISO 27001 certificate, because the two are assessed against different catalogues under different rules. The written request governs. We go deeper on the trade-off, including which one is the lighter lift for a dealer group, in our comparison of ISO 27001 and TISAX Level 2 for dealerships.
Does a US dealership actually need TISAX?
For almost every retail dealership in the United States, no.
TISAX exists for the automotive supply chain. It is requested by manufacturers and their suppliers who share confidential engineering data, prototype parts, pre-release vehicle information and production detail with the companies they work with. A store that sells and services finished vehicles to retail customers is not in that chain and will normally never be asked.
What a US dealership does owe, by federal law, is the FTC Safeguards Rule. If you arrange financing or lease vehicles for 90 days or more, you are a financial institution under 16 CFR Part 314 and you are required to maintain a written information security program built on nine specific elements. That obligation is not optional, not contractual, and not triggered by anyone asking. It already applies.
You are only in TISAX territory if one of these is true:
- A written request from an automotive partner names a specific TISAX level and assessment objective.
- Your business touches prototype or pre-release vehicles, parts or engineering data.
- An entity in your group supplies parts, software or engineering services upstream to a manufacturer or a large supplier.
If none of those describe you, there is nothing to do. Be careful with any vendor who leads with TISAX when you are a US retail store. The framework is real, but it is the wrong one to sell you.
Where the two overlap, and why the work is not wasted
The Safeguards Rule answers to a federal regulator. TISAX answers to a business partner. Different audiences, different consequences. The control ground underneath them overlaps heavily, because both descend from the same ISO 27001 lineage:
- Access control and multi-factor authentication
- Vendor and service provider oversight
- Encryption of sensitive data
- Logging and monitoring
- A written incident response plan
- Documented evidence that what you claim is what you do
That last one is the whole ballgame in both frameworks. The written information security program you build for the Safeguards Rule, and the vendor oversight records that go with it, are the same evidence base you would open if a partner ever did ask for TISAX. Build it once for the regulator who already has jurisdiction over you. If a TISAX request ever lands, it becomes a mapping exercise instead of a standing start.
Frequently asked questions
Is TISAX a certification?
No. TISAX is an assessment and exchange mechanism. No certificate is issued. An approved audit provider assesses you, and the result is shared through the ENX portal with the partners you authorize. Vendors who advertise “TISAX certification” are using the wrong word, which is a reasonable signal about how closely they have read the handbook.
How long is a TISAX label valid?
Three years. That applies to AL2 and AL3 alike. After three years you need a new assessment to hold a current label, so treat the expiry date the way you treat an insurance renewal rather than something you rediscover when a partner asks.
Can I just do a Level 1 self-assessment?
You can, and it is useful internally, but it will not satisfy anybody else. AL1 results are not verified, carry a low trust level, and produce no shareable label. If a partner has asked you for TISAX, they will need at least AL2.
Does an ISO 27001 certificate replace TISAX?
Not automatically. The requesting partner decides what they accept, and TISAX is assessed against the VDA ISA catalogue rather than against ISO 27001 itself. An existing ISO 27001 program will make a TISAX assessment easier because the controls overlap, but confirm acceptance with the partner in writing before you assume it counts.
We are a US dealership and a vendor asked us about TISAX. What now?
Find out whether an actual automotive partner requested it in writing, and whether that request names a level and an objective. If not, you almost certainly do not need TISAX, and the conversation should go back to the FTC Safeguards Rule, which does apply to you. If a real partner requirement exists, you will need an ENX-approved audit provider for an AL2 or AL3 assessment.