What this program is for
FedRAMP is the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program. Section II of OMB Memorandum M-24-15, as published on the FedRAMP vision page, states the purpose: increase federal agencies' adoption and secure use of the commercial cloud by providing a standardized, reusable approach to security assessments and authorizations for cloud computing products and services. The same section says centralization reduces duplicative authorization work.
That is a program for cloud products and services that federal agencies use. It is not a general small-business cyber certification, and it is not a badge that says a team implements NIST.
Who it commonly frames
Cloud service providers (CSPs) seek FedRAMP Authorization paths for specific offerings. Federal agencies reuse those authorizations when they adopt the offering for an agency system. The vision page describes the program office and the FedRAMP Board as the federal structure around that reuse. This page does not walk an agency authorization process.
CMMC is a different lane. CMMC is the Department of War contractor assessment program for Federal Contract Information and Controlled Unclassified Information on nonfederal systems. SP 800-171 is the NIST publication those contractor agreements often name. Neither one is a FedRAMP Authorization for a cloud offering.
FIPS 199 vocabulary, kept light
Agencies categorize federal information and information systems with FIPS 199, Standards for Security Categorization of Federal Information and Information Systems (Final, February 2004, DOI 10.6028/NIST.FIPS.199). The vocabulary is Low, Moderate, and High impact, from the agency's concern for confidentiality, integrity, and availability if that information or system is compromised.
The M-24-15 vision text says FedRAMP authorizations are meant to support reuse at the appropriate FIPS 199 impact level. This page teaches those three words. It is not a categorization worksheet, and it does not score a system.
2026 classes are not a rename of Low, Moderate, and High
fedramp.gov also publishes Consolidated Rules for 2026 and names Certification Classes A, B, C, and D. The classes page says a Certification Class describes the level of assurance information a cloud service provider supplies, and that classes are not a direct label for how sensitive an agency system is. The same page says agencies should not treat Certification Classes as one-for-one replacements for Low, Moderate, or High impact levels.
Detailed class-to-impact mapping is UNKNOWN on this explainer. The official table can change with the rules, and this page does not copy it. Re-open the classes page before you treat a letter as an impact level. FedRAMP 20x track details are out of scope here.
Read the offering, not the slide
The vision footnote says the FedRAMP Marketplace shows cloud computing products and services that are in progress or have completed a FedRAMP authorization. A vendor slide that says FedRAMP, without the offering name, the impact or class path, and the agency reuse context, is not that record.
This page does not copy Marketplace totals. Those counters change. It also does not state whether a named vendor is Authorized.
Rewrite the one-line claim
Replace "our SaaS is FedRAMP, so the agency is compliant" with two sentences. The offering has a FedRAMP Authorization path. The agency still categorizes its system and configures its tenant.
At work, open the shared-responsibility restore and configuration habit for one SaaS the team uses. If a government sales deck claims FedRAMP, note which offering string is named. Do that privately. Do not paste agency data into Atlas.
Claims to retire
FedRAMP is the same as CMMC.
FedRAMP is the federal cloud Authorization program for cloud products and services used by agencies. CMMC is the contractor assessment program for FCI and CUI. The CMMC explainer is the other card.
FedRAMP Authorized means the customer agency has no remaining security work.
Authorization covers the offering's assessment path. The agency or tenant still owns identity, data classification, configuration, and use. The shared-responsibility lesson is that habit.
Implementing NIST SP 800-53 means the offering is FedRAMP Authorized.
A control catalog is not an Authorization. FedRAMP is a program with its own authorization paths. Reading SP 800-53, or SP 800-171, does not issue that result.
A vendor homepage badge is the same as a Marketplace Authorization for this specific offering.
Ask which offering is named, which impact or class path is named, and how an agency would reuse it. A slogan on a homepage is not the Marketplace record.
Low, Moderate, and High impact are the same thing as Certification Classes A, B, C, and D.
FIPS 199 impact levels describe the agency system. Certification Classes describe assurance information about an offering. The classes page says they are not one-for-one replacements. Detailed class-to-impact mapping is UNKNOWN here.
Sort the one-line claim
Teaching sort only. It does not assign an Authorization, and it does not categorize a real agency system.
| Sentence | Lane | What this page is teaching |
|---|---|---|
| The offering has a FedRAMP Authorization path. | Cloud product Authorization | A standardized, reusable assessment and authorization for a named cloud product or service used by agencies. |
| The agency still categorizes its system and configures its tenant. | Customer-owned duty | Identity, data, and configuration stay with the agency or tenant. The shared-responsibility lesson is the habit. This page does not rewrite it. |
| CMMC Status, or a reading of SP 800-171. | Different lane | CMMC is the contractor assessment program. SP 800-171 is the NIST publication for CUI in nonfederal systems. Neither one is this Authorization. |
CHECK THE CATEGORY
Which sentence matches this page?
Glossary and nearby pages
Use the agency page in the sources for the authoritative text. This page has no figure.