A CMMC advisor is the firm or individual you hire before your C3PAO assessment to make sure you’re ready for your audit – providing compliance consulting to scope your CUI environment, close NIST 800-171 gaps, and build your documentation. With CMMC Level 2 certification being required for many defense contracts involving controlled unclassified information, choosing the right advisor matters as much as the work they do. Here’s what you need to know.
Key Takeaways
- A CMMC advisor (or consultant) helps contractors prepare for assessment but cannot perform the assessment itself.
- RPOs are approved by the Cyber AB – working with one gives you access to personnel trained to the same standards that govern C3PAOs.
- The proof point that separates strong advisors from generic compliance vendors is that they’ve passed the CMMC Level 2 assessment process themselves.
Table of Contents
What is a CMMC Advisor?
A CMMC advisor is a cybersecurity professional or firm that helps defense contractors prepare for a Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) assessment. Advisors do not conduct the official assessment. That is the role of a Certified Third-party Assessment Organization (C3PAO). Their job is to get your organization ready before the assessment.
The terms CMMC advisor, CMMC consultant, CMMC providers, CMMC compliance vendor and CMMC managed services are often used interchangeably in the market.
All of these terms may be used to describe the pre-assessment preparation services, including:
- Gap analysis
- System security plan (SSP) development
- POA&M remediation
- Policy documentation
In the Cyber AB’s formal ecosystem, these services may be delivered by Registered Provider Organizations (RPOs).
What is an RPO and Why Does it Matter?
An RPO, or Registered Provider Organization, is a company approved by the Cyber Accreditation Body (Cyber AB) to provide CMMC advisory services. RPOs are listed on the Cyber AB Marketplace and must employ personnel who hold credentials recognized within the CMMC framework, such as Registered Practitioners (RPs) or Registered Practitioner Advanced (RPAs).
Organization Seeking Certifications (OSCs) that work with an RPO find that it gives them access to advisors held accountable within the Cyber AB’s ecosystem. An unregistered consultant has no formal standing in that system.
Can My Current MSP Be My CMMC Advisor?
Possibly. They have a fighting chance if they regularly work in regulatory compliance; however, CMMC is very demanding…particularly with its documentation. So, you want someone with the chops to help you navigate the requirements. Therefore, if your MSP isn’t known for deep compliance expertise, I wouldn’t rely on them here.
Additionally, an MSP that hasn’t pursued becoming an RPO isn’t formally recognized as a CMMC advisor, regardless of how long they’ve worked in cybersecurity. That means you’re placing trust in an organization without ties to the ecosystem, and with less standing to speak to what assessors expect.
There’s also a scoping issue worth bringing up. If your MSP handles or connects to your CUI environment, their systems may fall within the scope of your assessment.
Finally, there’s another thing you might want to think about. Do you want compliance guidance from an MSP that has never passed a CMMC Level 2 assessment itself? Because at that point, their advice is built entirely on reading the documentation. Not on living through the process.
4 Things to Ask Your MSP before Making Them Your CMMC Consultant
- Are you listed as an RPO on the Cyber AB Marketplace?
- Has your organization passed a CMMC Level 2 C3PAO assessment?
- Which of our systems would fall in scope under a CMMC Level 2 assessment?
- How long have you supported clients operating under NIST SP 800-171 and DFARS 252.204-7012?
Not sure whether your MSP candidates can deliver on CMMC? This checklist walks DIB contractors through the questions that separate qualified managed IT providers from those figuring it out alongside you.
Do Contractors Need an Advisor?
Contractors can self-prepare. CMMC does not require you to hire a consultant, RPO, or advisor. But the practical risk of self-preparation is underestimating scope: where CUI flows, which systems are in scope, what your SSP must document, and what “assessment ready” actually means to a trained assessor reviewing your environment.
CMMC Level 2 requires 110 controls across 14 domains. A single missed control can result in a finding. For most defense contractors without a dedicated compliance team, the cost of advisory services is lower than the cost of a failed or delayed assessment.
The Cost of CMMC Consulting & Managed Services
CMMC advisory engagements (specifically for assessment preparation, not in combination with managed IT services) vary based on organization size, CUI scope, and the maturity of your existing security posture.
So, a small defense contractor with a reasonably clean environment might spend $15,000-$65,000 on pre-assessment advisory services. Organizations with broader CUI environments, gaps in access control, or incomplete documentation can expect higher costs.
If you want managed IT services from a reputable provider of compliance, check the table below for what you can expect to pay.
Typical Pricing for CMMC Managed Services
| Environment Type | Average Cost | Details |
|---|---|---|
|
Mixed environment |
$175-$225/user/month |
Standard environment that contains both commercial and enclave users. |
|
High end |
$250-$500/user/month |
Small enclave, minimums, heavy compliance support. This is for in-scope users only. Not any commercial users. |
What makes this manageable for most contractors is that support doesn’t have to be all-or-nothing.
Gar Whaley, Teal cofounder and CMMC RP, explains.
“We work with clients in a lot of different configurations. Sometimes we manage the commercial IT side and someone else handles the CMMC environment,” said Gar.
“Sometimes it’s the opposite. A larger MSP brings us in specifically to manage their client’s CMMC scope because they don’t want to carry that risk themselves.
We’ve also managed everything for a mixed environment and supported CMMC environments as small as a single machine.”
That flexibility matters because your compliance exposure doesn’t scale linearly with headcount.
A contractor with one in-scope workstation still needs the same controls as one with fifty. The cost model should reflect your actual environment — not a one-size-fits-all package.
It’s an investment, and one worth making before your assessment rather than after it. Failed assessments mean delayed contracts and the cost of a second assessment. Pre-assessment advisory and managed IT services are how you get ahead of that risk instead of reacting to it.
What a CMMC Advisor Should Deliver in the First 60 Days
A competent CMMC advisor should deliver the following within the first 60 days:
CUI data flow diagram
A scoping exercise that maps where controlled unclassified information is stored, processed, and transmitted.
Gap assessment
A comprehensive checklist mapping your existing IT controls directly against the 110 practices of NIST SP 800-171, with the documented findings.
Draft system security plan
The document required for CMMC compliance, detailing how your company meets (or plans to meet) each required security control.
Remediation roadmap
A prioritized list outlining the specific software tools, cloud licensing upgrades (like Microsoft 365 GCC High), or outsourced MSP services needed to achieve certification that are tied to your assessment timeline.
If your advisor does not start with CUI scoping, they are not starting in the right place. Scope determines everything: what systems are in the assessment boundary and which controls apply.
How to Know if Your CMMC Advisor Has Been Assessed
If you want to know if they have been through a CMMC Level 2 assessment, ask them directly:
- Has your organization passed a CMMC Level 2 C3PAO assessment?
- What was your score?
- Can you share any details about your experience?
Many advisory firms cannot answer those questions because they have not been assessed. Teal CMMC was one of the first 62 Cyber AB-approved RPOs, and we passed our CMMC Level 2 assessment with a perfect score of 110/110. That is the baseline from which we advise, and it is the standard your C3PAO will apply to you.
We recommend that small and midmarket defense contractors work with a CMMC compliance consultant who has that type of experience.
