How often should you test a disaster recovery plan?

At least annually for a full test, with lighter walkthroughs more frequently and after major change. DORA and NIS2 expect documented evidence of regular testing.

Free template

Disaster Recovery Plan Template

A disaster recovery (DR) plan restores IT systems, applications and data after a disruptive event. It is the technical core that sits inside your broader business continuity plan.

This template covers the systems inventory, recovery objectives, runbooks and the testing that turns the document into a real capability.

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What's inside

Systems & application inventory

Critical systems, their owners, hosting and the data they hold.

Recovery objectives per system

RTO and RPO for each system, inherited from the processes it supports.

Backup & replication

Backup frequency, retention and replication design — sized to meet the RPO.

Recovery runbooks

Step-by-step restoration order, with dependencies and verification checks.

Failover & alternate sites

Hot/warm/cold site or cloud-region failover and the trigger to invoke it.

Testing schedule

Tabletop, walkthrough and full failover tests with dates and results.

Generate it automatically with Resilira

Build an IT DR plan from the same block system as your BCP, with recovery steps tagged to owners and time targets.
Link each procedure to the process whose BIA sets its RTO/RPO, so technical targets trace back to business impact.
Schedule and record disaster recovery tests as exercises, and export a report as audit evidence.

Best-practice tips

Order your runbook by dependency, not alphabetically — restore identity and networking before the apps that need them.
An untested DR plan is an assumption. Regulators (DORA, NIS2) now expect evidence of testing.
Size backup frequency to the RPO, not the other way round.

Frequently asked questions

What is a disaster recovery plan?: A DR plan is a documented, tested set of procedures for restoring IT systems, applications and data after a disruption, with recovery objectives (RTO/RPO) for each critical system.
How often should you test a disaster recovery plan?: At least annually for a full test, with lighter walkthroughs more frequently and after major change. DORA and NIS2 expect documented evidence of regular testing.

Related templates

Business Continuity Plan Business Impact Analysis Incident Response Plan

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