Find a Recognized Independent Assessor
Use the official FedRAMP Marketplace to find a Recognized Independent Assessor. 3PAO is the older term. scm.cc is not an assessor, is not the Marketplace, and does not list, rank, or endorse firms. If we cannot cite a Marketplace record, we do not name the firm.
Educational resource only. scm.cc is not a FedRAMP Recognized Independent Assessor (3PAO) and is not FedRAMP-authorized; it grants no authorization, certification, or assessment outcome. FedRAMP.gov is the authoritative source. This is not legal advice.
Technical detail
No local assessor table. The only outbound directory URL is marketplace.fedramp.gov. Education topics are authored restatements with official citations.
How to implement
Open the official Marketplace. Verify the firm there. Do not treat an scm.cc page, blog, or advisor list as the registry.
Common mistakes
- Treating scm.cc as a 3PAO or Marketplace. - Copying an unofficial firm list into a procurement package. - Confusing an advisor with an assessor.
Related product: Evidence QA (FedRAMP assessor tools for reviewing provider evidence). Canonical page https://scm.cc/evidence-qa. scm.cc is not an assessor and grants no authorization.
Official registry: https://marketplace.fedramp.gov/
What a Recognized Independent Assessor does
A Recognized Independent Assessor performs independent assessment of a cloud offering against FedRAMP requirements. scm.cc is not an assessor and does not issue SAP, SAR, or certification decisions.
When an assessor is required
Confirm on FedRAMP.gov for the path and class. This page does not invent a “never need an assessor” exception.
How to find and verify one
Use the official FedRAMP Marketplace. Any name not listed there is not verified here. scm.cc does not host a competing directory.
Questions to ask
Ask about 20x vs Rev5 experience, class coverage, VDR/CCM evidence expectations, and independence. Answers are commercial — not official FedRAMP policy.
Assessment process
The assessor’s procedures are theirs and FedRAMP’s. scm.cc can help gather working evidence; it does not perform the assessment.
Assessor vs advisor
An advisor may help prepare. An advisor is not an assessor. 3PAO is the older label; current 20x language uses Recognized Independent Assessor.
Questions teams ask
- Can you recommend an assessor?
- No. Use marketplace.fedramp.gov. scm.cc does not recommend, rank, or broker assessors.
- Is a 3PAO the same thing?
- 3PAO is the older label. Current 20x language is Recognized Independent Assessor. Confirm current terms on FedRAMP.gov.
Assessor skills training
Self-serve scm.cc courses with labs on labeled test data, quizzes, an exam, and a shareable scm.cc training certificate. First fundamentals lesson is free. $299 per course; $799 full track.
This is scm.cc skills training. Completing a course or receiving an scm.cc training certificate does not make you a FedRAMP Recognized Independent Assessor, is not a FedRAMP credential, and is not government recognition. Official recognition requires A2LA accreditation (REC-IAS-ACC) and FedRAMP Recognition. FedRAMP.gov is the authoritative source. This is not legal advice.
Open the training catalogOfficial Recognition pathFramework quizConMon product pricing
Related hub pages
Primary sources
- FedRAMP Marketplace (authoritative listings) (retrieved 2026-09-27)
- FedRAMP 20x overview & Core Principles (retrieved 2026-09-27)
- FedRAMP Certification reference (classes, KSI metrics window) (retrieved 2026-09-27)
Last verified 2026-09-27. FedRAMP.gov is authoritative.