A controlled copy is a copy of a document that the document control system knows about and will keep current. When the document is revised, every controlled copy is replaced or updated and the old one is pulled back. An uncontrolled copy is any other copy, such as a printout or an email attachment, that nobody is tracking, so it may already be out of date. Controlled copies are often marked with a stamp, colored paper, a copy number or a note that a printout is valid only on the day it was printed.
Example: A plant keeps three numbered controlled copies of a paint-line instruction: at the line, in the lab and at the supervisor desk. When revision D is approved, the document clerk swaps all three and records the swap. A photocopy taped inside a cabinet is uncontrolled, so it is removed.
Stray copies are a common way people end up working to an old revision. Auditors often find an unmarked printout at a workstation and ask whether it is current; if nobody can tell, that is a finding.
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