A Registered Practitioner Organization (RPO) delivers a non-certified advisory service through the employment of RPs. They are consultative organizations or MSPs; and do not conduct Certified CMMC Assessments.
Registered Practitioners are trained and tested against the Levels based on the CMMC Framework to obtain their designation. They are implementers that are providing consultative preparation services to the Organizations Seeking Certification (OSC) and either work as independent contractors or as members of a Registered Practitioner Organization (RPO).
A CMMC Third-Party Assessment Organization (C3PAO) conducts assessments of OSCs through the employment of CCPs and CCAs based on their rigorous training and adherence to CMMC standards.
As a Certified CMMC Professional (CCP for Level 1) or Certified CMMC Assessor (CCA for Level 2) these individuals have received rigorous training from a Licensed Training Provider (LTP) and will be required to take and pass the upcoming certification exams. Once they pass their certification exam(s) they will become certified assessors.
A Licensed Training Provider (LTP) is an established training organization that has been vetted by the Cybersecurity Assessor & Instructor Certification Organization (CAICO) and have been approved to participate as part of the CMMC ecosystem as an LTP.
Instructors for CMMC will be required to take and pass the upcoming Certified CMMC Instructor (CCI) exam along with meeting all the requirements associated to being an assessor at the level they plan to instruct. Instructors work with Licensed Publishing Partners (LPPs) to develop curriculum or with Licensed Training Providers (LTPs) to delivery courses.
A Licensed Publishing Partner (LPP) is an organization that has been vetted by the Cybersecurity Assessor & Instructor Certification Organization (CAICO) and have been approved to participate as part of the CMMC ecosystem as an LPP. These partners are responsible for creating quality CMMC training curriculum that are utilized by Licensed Training Providers (LTPs) to train individuals who are pursuing official DoD recognized CMMC professional certifications as either assessors or assessor instructors.