Ensuring Compliance in Your Salesforce Contract: HIPAA, FedRAMP, and More
Salesforce’s standard contract is one-size-fits-all and rarely addresses the specific compliance requirements of regulated industries.
If your organization operates in healthcare, government, financial services, or any other highly regulated sector, you cannot assume Salesforce’s out-of-the-box terms will meet your legal obligations.
Salesforce contracts must be proactively negotiated to include the right security and compliance provisions. Read our Salesforce Security & Compliance Negotiation Guide.
This guide highlights what to look for in your Salesforce agreement for different industries – from a HIPAA Business Associate Agreement in healthcare, to FedRAMP clauses for government, to record-keeping support for financial services – and outlines best practices to protect your organization.
Healthcare – HIPAA Business Associate Agreement (BAA)
For healthcare organizations handling protected health information (PHI), a HIPAA Business Associate Agreement with Salesforce is essential.
Salesforce will sign a BAA, but only for certain products and services – typically core offerings like Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, or Health Cloud, especially when additional security features (such as Salesforce Shield encryption) are in place. It’s important to confirm which Salesforce products are covered under the HIPAA BAA and use only those for storing or processing PHI.
Without a BAA, using Salesforce for PHI would violate HIPAA regulations and expose your organization to fines and liability. Even with a BAA, make sure it’s comprehensive.
Salesforce’s BAA should clearly outline each party’s responsibilities for safeguarding data and reporting any breaches. If any Salesforce component you plan to use isn’t included in the BAA, address it during your BAA negotiation – either get it added or avoid using that component for sensitive data.
Negotiation tips for healthcare compliance:
Ensure the executed BAA is referenced in your contract and attached before you go live with health data. In addition, consider negotiating extra protections beyond the default terms.
For example, request that your PHI data be logically segregated or encrypted at rest for added security assurance. You can also shorten the breach notification window – instead of Salesforce’s standard notification timeframe, ask for notification within 48 hours of any security incident involving your data.
Finally, include audit rights so that you can verify Salesforce’s HIPAA compliance (whether by receiving regular compliance reports or, if feasible, conducting audits of relevant controls). These provisions help ensure that Salesforce is truly meeting HIPAA requirements on its end.
For more insights, read Salesforce Hyperforce and Data Residency: How to Secure Your Data’s Location in the Cloud.
Government & Public Sector – FedRAMP and Salesforce Government Cloud
Government agencies and public sector customers must ensure that their Salesforce deployment meets federal cloud security standards, such as FedRAMP. Salesforce offers a special Government Cloud for public sector clients, and a Government Cloud Plus for higher security needs.
This means your Salesforce contract must explicitly include FedRAMP compliance terms.
Essentially, you are turning the standard agreement into a Salesforce FedRAMP contract – clearly specifying that your deployment will be in a FedRAMP-authorized government cloud environment with the required security controls. Salesforce Government Cloud is FedRAMP Moderate authorized (suitable for most civilian agency data), while Government Cloud Plus is FedRAMP High (designed for more sensitive data categories).
Depending on the sensitivity of your data (for example, law enforcement or controlled unclassified information may require FedRAMP High), you should insist on the appropriate environment. In other words, ensure you are signing up for the Salesforce Government Cloud contract (rather than the standard commercial cloud) so that FedRAMP protections fully apply.
When reviewing the contract, explicitly state which Salesforce cloud environment you will use and its FedRAMP compliance level. Do not rely on assumptions or sales materials; the agreement should say, for instance, that your organization’s Salesforce instance will reside in the FedRAMP Moderate authorized Government Cloud (or Gov Cloud Plus for High). Also, clarify any other relevant requirements, such as FISMA or agency-specific security mandates, that Salesforce must adhere to.
Negotiation tips for government deals:
In addition to specifying the environment, negotiate provisions about support and data handling that align with government needs. For example, you may require that all Salesforce support personnel who can access your account are U.S. citizens and have undergone background checks.
Include a clause that Salesforce must promptly inform you of any change in its FedRAMP status or any planned move of your data to a different data center.
This notification is critical because if Salesforce were to lose its FedRAMP authorization or shift your data to a non-compliant cloud, your agency could be at risk. By baking these guarantees into the contract, you ensure Salesforce upholds the stringent security commitments your public sector project demands.
Financial Services – Records Retention, Audit, and Regulatory Cooperation
Financial institutions such as banks, broker-dealers, and insurance companies face strict regulations on data retention and oversight (e.g., SEC rules, FINRA regulations, Sarbanes-Oxley).
Out of the box, Salesforce does not explicitly cater to these requirements – the onus is on the customer to configure the platform in a compliant manner. To achieve Salesforce financial services compliance, it’s vital to negotiate terms that address record-keeping and regulator access.
Key areas to focus on in negotiations for financial services:
- Records retention: Ensure Salesforce will support the retention durations you need. For example, if law requires keeping certain records for six years, your contract can state that Salesforce must enable that (through features or by not deleting data behind the scenes). You might also require that before Salesforce makes any changes that could affect data retention (like retiring a feature or moving data storage), they notify you and provide a solution to export or archive data as needed.
- Audit and regulatory cooperation: Negotiate commitments that Salesforce will assist with audits or investigations related to your data. This can include providing detailed audit logs upon request, allowing regulators to review relevant security controls, or cooperating with e-discovery orders. Because standard Salesforce agreements are light on allowing audits, you may at least secure a right to receive annual compliance reports (SOC 2, etc.) and an agreement that Salesforce will reasonably cooperate with any regulatory inquiries about the service.
- Clarifying responsibilities: Make sure the contract clearly delineates Salesforce’s data security obligations versus your organization’s obligations. Salesforce should commit to maintaining the platform’s security and compliance with agreed standards (like PCI or other frameworks, if applicable), while your company is responsible for using the tools correctly. Having this clarity in writing can protect you if a regulator questions whether a lapse was due to the vendor or your own processes.
By addressing these points, financial firms can utilize Salesforce while fulfilling their obligations for data archiving, supervision, and risk management.
More on how to secure data, Securing Salesforce Sandboxes: Data Masking and Encryption Best Practices.
Cross-Industry Compliance Provisions to Negotiate
Regardless of the industry, certain contract terms benefit any regulated or security-conscious organization. When crafting your Salesforce contract, consider adding the following provisions:
- Data residency and segregation: Specify where your Salesforce data will be stored geographically and ensure it won’t be moved without notice or consent. Many industries require data to be stored in specific jurisdictions. Additionally, request confirmation that your data will be logically segregated from that of other customers, thereby enhancing security and privacy.
- Stronger data breach notification: Salesforce’s default breach notification might be around 72 hours or “without undue delay.” To better protect your organization, consider negotiating a stricter timeline (for instance, requiring notification within 24–48 hours of a confirmed data breach affecting your system). Early warning gives you a head start in fulfilling your own legal obligations to regulators and affected clients.
- Audit rights and transparency: Push for the right to obtain regular security and compliance reports from Salesforce (such as SOC 2, ISO 27001 certifications, or summaries of third-party audits). If your regulators demand it, you might also negotiate limited audit rights to examine Salesforce’s relevant controls or to have an independent auditor do so. Even if Salesforce won’t allow on-site customer audits in every case, getting detailed reports and the ability to ask follow-up questions can be a workable compromise.
- Certification maintenance: Include a clause that Salesforce must maintain certain key certifications or compliance attestations for the duration of your contract. For example, if you rely on Salesforce’s HIPAA compliance or FedRAMP authorization, they should be contractually bound to sustain those certifications and promptly inform you of any changes.
- Termination and remedies for compliance failures: As a safety net, negotiate the right to terminate the contract or withhold payments if Salesforce fails to meet critical compliance obligations. If Salesforce loses a required certification (say they fall out of FedRAMP compliance or invalidate the HIPAA BAA terms), you should have the option to exit the agreement without penalty. This kind of clause ensures you’re not trapped if the service can no longer be used legally in your regulated environment.
By securing these cross-industry provisions, you build in protections that hold Salesforce accountable and give you recourse if things go wrong from a compliance standpoint.
Salesforce Compliance Negotiation Checklist
Use this checklist as a quick reference when reviewing your Salesforce contract. It summarizes key compliance areas, what to ask for in the contract, and how much flexibility Salesforce typically has shown in those areas:
| Compliance Area | Key Ask in Contract | Salesforce’s Flexibility (Typical) |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare (HIPAA) | Include a signed HIPAA BAA; ensure PHI data is encrypted/segregated; audit rights to verify HIPAA safeguards. | Usually negotiable (Salesforce will sign a BAA for supported products). |
| Government (FedRAMP) | Specify FedRAMP level (Moderate or High) and use of Government Cloud; U.S.-only support personnel for sensitive data. | Negotiable with effort (especially for public sector deals). |
| Financial Services | Support required records retention (FINRA/SEC rules); cooperation with audits and regulatory inquiries; notice before data location changes. | Sometimes negotiable (depends on deal size and regulatory impact). |
| Data Breach | 24–48 hour breach notification timeframe; clear responsibilities for incident response and remediation. | Limited flexibility (but big customers can sometimes get a tighter window). |
| Certifications | Commitment to maintain key certifications (HIPAA, FedRAMP, ISO, etc.) throughout the contract term. | Often negotiable for regulated customers. |
| Audit Rights | Right to receive audit/compliance reports or perform periodic audits with notice. | Sometimes negotiable (Salesforce prefers providing reports over direct audits). |
Five Best Practices for Securing Compliance Terms in Salesforce Contracts
- Start the compliance review early – don’t wait until after the contract is signed to address critical compliance terms.
- Verify which Salesforce products and services are covered by the compliance programs you need (for example, which offerings will Salesforce include in a HIPAA BAA or which cloud is FedRAMP-authorized for your data).
- Put key compliance requirements in writing in the contract itself, instead of relying on Salesforce’s online policy statements or trust documentation.
- Insist on clear breach notification timelines and remediation obligations in the agreement.
- Negotiate a “compliance exit” clause that allows you to terminate or otherwise remedy the situation if Salesforce loses a required certification or fails to meet a major compliance obligation.
FAQs
Q: Does Salesforce sign a HIPAA BAA?
A: Yes. Salesforce will sign a Business Associate Agreement for HIPAA, but only for certain products (such as its core CRM and health-related cloud services). Always confirm in your contract which services are covered by the BAA.
Q: Is Salesforce FedRAMP compliant?
A: Only in specific environments. Salesforce’s Government Cloud (including Government Cloud Plus) is FedRAMP-authorized. If you need FedRAMP compliance, make sure your contract places your deployment in one of those government cloud environments.
Q: What compliance terms are most critical for healthcare customers?
A: The top priorities are securing a signed Salesforce HIPAA BAA, ensuring PHI is stored in covered services with proper encryption, and negotiating audit rights or reports to verify ongoing HIPAA compliance.
Q: Can Salesforce support FINRA or SEC record-keeping requirements?
A: Yes, but it requires contract adjustments. Salesforce can be used in a FINRA/SEC-compliant way if you add terms obligating Salesforce to assist with data retention and to provide audit trails or export capabilities needed for regulatory reviews.
Q: What happens if Salesforce loses a certification my organization relies on?
A: If you haven’t negotiated a specific protection, you would bear the risk. That’s why it’s important to include a clause that lets you know immediately and even allows contract termination if Salesforce loses a needed certification (like FedRAMP authorization or a HIPAA compliance attestation). This ensures you can take action and avoid being stuck with a non-compliant service.
Read more about our Salesforce Contract Negotiation Service.
