Your Partner for CMMC Compliance Success

In CMMC, who you work with matters. Each type of organization has a distinct role.

C3PAOs, authorized by The Cyber AB, conduct Level 2 certification assessments. RPOs, like RAMPQuest, help you prepare for them through consulting and implementation support.

As an RPO, we’re here to guide you: clarifying what applies, prioritizing what to fix first, and helping your team feel ready when assessment time comes.

Not always. Level 1 uses self-assessment, and certain Level 2 requirements may also allow self-assessment. A C3PAO is required when a contract calls for a Level 2 certification assessment.

For organizations completing a self-assessment, Progressing Pathways™ can provide an independent check of their documentation and cybersecurity posture, helping identify gaps before they become costly compliance or contract issues. For organizations planning to work with a C3PAO, it can also help validate and strengthen documentation before the formal assessment, so your team is better prepared when assessment time arrives.

There’s no fixed price for CMMC. Costs can run from a few thousand dollars for organizations with a mature security program to tens or even hundreds of thousands when significant remediation, technology, or staffing investments are needed.

Your total depends on your required level, scope, current practices, documentation, and whether you use internal or outside support. For Level 2, you may also need to budget for a C3PAO assessment.

The biggest cost driver is usually how much work happens before the assessment, and how much has to be redone. Progressing Pathways keeps that investment affordable and predictable, with steady monthly support and recurring reviews that catch issues early, before they become costly rework.

For a full breakdown of what to plan for, see our CMMC Budgeting Guide.

NIST SP 800-171 is a publication from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) that sets security requirements for protecting Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) in nonfederal systems, like those run by defense contractors. CMMC Level 2 is built on its 110 requirements from NIST SP 800-171 Rev. 2, organized into 14 families such as Access Control and Incident Response. 

A Plan of Action and Milestones (POA&M) document lists requirements that aren’t fully met yet and your plan to address them. CMMC allows POA&Ms only in limited cases.

At Level 2, an organization needs an assessment score of at least 80% to use a POA&M, and generally only lower-weighted requirements can be included. Some requirements, like having a System Security Plan (SSP), can never be on a POA&M. Open items must be closed within 180 days to keep CMMC status. Level 1 doesn’t allow POA&Ms at all. Knowing which gaps qualify early helps you decide what to fix first