To those who do not work in the government sector, CMMC compliance may not mean much. It may look like a lot of nonsense that just fills in regulations and talks about things online. But for those who plan to work with any government agency on a contract, whether it is long-term or short term, the CMMC compliance rules, and being able to meet them, is very important to landing the job.

Any vendor or contractor who will do some business with the DoD, in any type of government agency, will need to obtain the CMMC certification. The earlier that this can be obtained, the better. The definition of a vendor or a contractor is going to include all suppliers across all tiers of the supply chain, foreign suppliers, commercial item contractors, and small businesses. Even if only a part of your business handles that government contract, the whole company is going to need to meet with the requirements for it to work.

This does include a whole certification process, which is going to be handled by the CMMC Accreditation Body. This group is going to work right with the DoD to make sure that the requirements are up to date so the contractor has the right credentials from the start. These two groups are going to work together to accredit the independent CMMC CP3AOs, who are basically the assessors who will be able to evaluate and certify the different levels of CMMC for contractors who decide to do this.

Under some of the new guidance, all of the contracts that go to a subcontractor or a DIB vendor will need to demonstrate that they are compliant with CMMC. This will apply down to all companies who handle CUI. The only companies who can get an exemption from needing to have this certification will be those who only produce commercial off the shelf products for the government agency. The rest will need to work with an assessor to show that they have met the criteria before doing the work.

When you are ready to match up to some of the CMMC compliance rules, you are going to need to hire an independent party to come and take a look at your processes and see whether they are matching up the way that they should. This is where a CMMC C3PAO will come into play. They know what to look for to see whether you are compliant and will give the final certification when it is all done. Find a reputable company you can trust to make sure you are meeting these compliance requirements before you look into any government work.