CMMC contract readiness planner

Will Your Timeline Close Before the Date That Actually Applies?

The Department suspended the former November 10, 2026 Phase II transition on July 13, 2026. Use the date that still governs your work: a solicitation, prime flow-down, recompete, planned assessment, or internal assurance milestone. Your preparation time includes gap assessment, remediation, SSP and evidence, and readiness review. Add a C3PAO lead time only when your actual target calls for one.

This calculator runs both clocks against your target date and tells you which one is your constraint, when each milestone must land, and how many days of slack - or deficit - your current plan carries.

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Methodology

The schedule model reflects typical mid-size Defense Industrial Base contractor timelines:

• Scoping + gap assessment: 6 weeks
• Remediation: 14 weeks (7 weeks if already underway)
• SSP + evidence package: 6 weeks
• Readiness review / mock assessment: 3 weeks
• Certification processing + SPRS posting: ~4 weeks after assessment

Preparation runs in parallel with any assessor lead time you enter. Use zero for a Phase I self-assessment or internal readiness target, and use a current quote from your selected C3PAO when planning a third-party assessment.

Why a mock assessment is in the base model: contractors who compressed preparation under 6 months show roughly a 35% assessment failure rate versus 8% on normal timelines. A failed assessment costs the fee, the slot, and months of re-queue time - the readiness review is the cheapest insurance in the schedule.

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Reading Your Result

• On track (30+ days of slack): protect the schedule. Slack evaporates fast when remediation uncovers scope you didn't know about.
• Tight (0-30 days): your plan has no room for a failed control family or a slipped slot. Compress the preparation phases and consider a readiness partner.
• Behind: you will not make day-one eligibility on the current plan. The queue penalizes every month of delay, so the move is to book a C3PAO slot now anyway and compress everything you control - not to wait for the picture to improve.

For the full scheduling picture, read The C3PAO Backlog Math. To locate your gaps before you plan, take the free readiness assessment. And to compress the remediation-and-evidence phase from months to weeks, see the 30-day CMMC pilot.