Certification Package Overview — FedRAMP Process
Generated from the official FedRAMP/rules GitHub repo. Source path:
fedramp-consolidated-rules.jsononmainat blob7d628b63fdd9. Consolidated Rules version:2026.07.02.02· upstreamlast_updated:2026-07-02. Supporting narrative documentation is available from the officialFedRAMP/2026-markdownrepository.
Certification Package Overview
Short name: CPO · Process ID: CPO · Web slug: certification-package-overview
Applies to: both, 20x, rev5
Status: stable
Official page: https://www.fedramp.gov/2026/reference/certification-package-overview/
Effective Status
- 20x: required · Consolidated Rules for 2026 · obtain 2026-07-04 · grace through 2027-01-01
- Rev5: required · Consolidated Rules for 2026 · obtain 2027-01-01 · grace through 2027-01-01
- Shared requirements: 2
Purpose
The Certification Package Overview rules outline the expectations for a simple overview of the cloud service offering that must be included within a FedRAMP Certification Package. This overview replaces the historically required base System Security Plan for FedRAMP Rev5 and is intended to provide a clear, concise, and consistent summary of the offering and the information included in the package to help customers understand the offering at a high level.
Rule Subsets
CSF— Rev5-Specific Provider Responsibilities: These rules apply to providers for FedRAMP Rev5 Certifications. · types: Rev5 · classes: A, B, C, DCSO— General Provider Responsibilities: These rules apply to providers for FedRAMP Certifications of any type. · types: 20x, Rev5 · classes: B, C, DCSX— 20x-Specific Provider Responsibilities: These rules apply to providers for FedRAMP 20x Certifications. · types: 20x · classes: A, B, C, D
Requirements and Recommendations
BOTH
CPO-CSO-MTD MUST — Certification Package Overview Metadata
Providers MUST also include the following basic metadata in their Certification Package Overview:
Checklist items:
- Name, title, and contact information of official that is responsible and accountable for the FedRAMP Certification Package
- Version
- Date and time of last update
- Source of update
Terms: Certification Package, Provider
Affects: Providers
Recent update: 2026-06-24 — Official launch of the FedRAMP Consolidated Rules for 2026.
CPO-CSO-OVR MUST — Overview of the Cloud Service Offering
Providers MUST supply a Certification Package Overview within their FedRAMP Certification Package, in both human-readable and JSON formats, that includes at least all of the information required by the following rules:
Checklist items:
- Certification Package Overview: CPO-CSO-MTD (Certification Package Overview Metadata)
- Certification Data Sharing: CDS-CSO-PUB (Public Information)
- Certification Data Sharing: CDS-CSO-SVC (Public Service List)
- Certification Data Sharing: CDS-CSO-IRP (Include Relevant Policies)
- Minimum Assessment Scope: MAS-CSO-IIR (Identify Information Resources)
- Minimum Assessment Scope: MAS-CSO-FLO (Information Flows and Security Categories)
- Minimum Assessment Scope: MAS-CSO-TPR (Third-Party Information Resources)
- Using Cryptographic Modules: CMU-CSO-CMD (Cryptographic Module Documentation)
- Independent Verification and Validation: IVV-CSO-ICP (Inclusion in Certification Package)
Terms: Certification Class, Certification Data, Certification Package, Information Resource, Initial Incident Report (IIR), Provider, Security Category, Third-Party Information Resource, Validation, Verification
Affects: Providers
Note: For FedRAMP Rev5, the Certification Package Overview replaces the historically required System Security Plan (not including appendices). This list of rules may not apply to all FedRAMP Certification Classes or Types - if a rule does not apply then the information is not required.
Recent update: 2026-06-24 — Official launch of the FedRAMP Consolidated Rules for 2026.
20X
CPO-CSX-CPM VARIES BY CLASS — Certification Package Maintenance for 20x
Varies by certification class:
- Class A SHOULD: Providers with 20x Class A Certifications SHOULD persistently maintain their FedRAMP Certification Package to ensure it is up to date and complete at least once every 3 months.
- Class B MUST: Providers with 20x Class B Certifications MUST persistently maintain their FedRAMP Certification Package to ensure it is up to date and complete at least once every month.
- Class C MUST: Providers with 20x Class C Certifications MUST persistently maintain their FedRAMP Certification Package to ensure it is up to date and complete at least once every 2 weeks.
- Class D MUST: Providers with 20x Class D Certifications MUST persistently maintain their FedRAMP Certification Package to ensure it is up to date and complete at least once every week.
Terms: Certification Package, Persistently, Provider
Affects: Providers
Note: Providers are expected to maintain their FedRAMP Certification Package using automation as changes occur to ensure they are never out of date. This rule does not require or expect persistent human review of all materials in this cadence.
Recent update: 2026-06-24 — Official launch of the FedRAMP Consolidated Rules for 2026.
REV5
CPO-CSF-CPM VARIES BY CLASS — Certification Package Maintenance for Rev5
Varies by certification class:
- Class A SHOULD: Providers with Rev5 Class A Certifications SHOULD persistently maintain their FedRAMP Certification Package to ensure it is up to date and complete at least once every year.
- Class B MUST: Providers with Rev5 Class B Certifications MUST persistently maintain their FedRAMP Certification Package to ensure it is up to date and complete at least once every year.
- Class C MUST: Providers with Rev5 Class C Certifications MUST persistently maintain their FedRAMP Certification Package to ensure it is up to date and complete at least once every year.
- Class D MUST: Providers with Rev5 Class D Certifications MUST persistently maintain their FedRAMP Certification Package to ensure it is up to date and complete at least once every six months.
Terms: Certification Package, Persistently, Provider, Significant Change, Transformative Change
Affects: Providers
Note: This maximum timeframe for Rev5 is the absolutely poorest worst case for horrible customer experience and is based on legacy FedRAMP Rev5 allowing providers to leave their packages unmaintained for up to a year. Rev5 providers should maintain their packages far more frequently than this requirement to ensure potential customers have access to up-to-date information, updating it at least after every transformative significant change. FedRAMP 20x Certifications expect providers to maintain their FedRAMP Certification Packages as changes occur to ensure they are never out of date.
Recent update: 2026-06-24 — Official launch of the FedRAMP Consolidated Rules for 2026.