# Amazon EBS snapshot lock
<a name="ebs-snapshot-lock"></a>

You can lock your Amazon EBS snapshots to protect them against accidental or malicious deletions, or to store them in WORM (write-once-read-many) format for a specific duration. While a snapshot is locked, it can't be deleted by any user, regardless of their IAM permissions. You can continue to use a locked snapshot in the same way that you would use any other snapshot.

**Note**  
Snapshot lock has been assessed by Cohasset Associates for use in environments that are subject to SEC 17a-4, CFTC, and FINRA regulations. For more information about how snapshot lock relates to these regulations, see the [ Cohasset Associates Compliance Assessment](https://d1.awsstatic.com/Amazon-EBS-Cohasset-Assessment-2023-11-14-final.pdf).

You can lock snapshots in one of two modes: *compliance mode* or *governance mode*, and they can be locked for a specific duration or until a specific date. For more information, see [Lock mode](snapshot-lock-concepts.md#lock-mode) and [Lock duration](snapshot-lock-concepts.md#lock-duration).

**Pricing**  
You can lock and unlock snapshots at no additional cost. You pay the standard Amazon EBS snapshot storage costs for locked snapshots.

**Topics**
+ [Concepts](snapshot-lock-concepts.md)
+ [Considerations](snapshot-lock-considerations.md)
+ [Control access](snapshot-lock-iam.md)
+ [Lock a snapshot](lock-snapshot.md)
+ [Unlock a snapshot](unlock-snapshot.md)
+ [Update snapshot lock settings](update-snapshot-lock.md)
+ [Monitor snapshot lock](monitor-snapshot-lock.md)