What is C3PAO?
C3PAO stands for CMMC Third-Party Assessment Organization. A C3PAO is an organization authorized by the Cyber AB to conduct official CMMC Level 2 certification assessments.
A CMMC Third-Party Assessment Organization (C3PAO) is the entity that performs your formal Level 2 assessment and issues certification. C3PAOs are authorized and listed on the Cyber AB Marketplace.
As of mid-2026 there are roughly 100 authorized C3PAOs against more than 76,000 organizations that will need Level 2 certification — so booking lead times run 6–9 months and are lengthening as the Phase 2 deadline approaches.
A C3PAO cannot both consult for and assess the same client within a defined window, which is why readiness partners (RPOs) and assessors work as separate roles in the ecosystem.
- CUICUI is government-created or -owned information that requires safeguarding under law, regulation, or government-wide policy, but is not classified.
- DIBCACDIBCAC is the DoD organization that conducts government-led high assessments and CMMC Level 3 assessments.
- POA&MA POA&M is a tracked plan for remediating security controls that are not yet fully implemented, with owners and target dates.
See where you actually stand on the 110 controls.
PolicyCortex maps your live cloud against every NIST 800-171 control and generates C3PAO-ready evidence. Start with the free assessment.