Certification Process
How do I get Cyber Essentials certified?
Obtaining Cyber Essentials certification takes just three simple steps:
- Purchase your chosen level of certification – Cyber Essentials or Cyber Essentials Plus
- Complete your Cyber Essentials self-assessment questionnaire and upload for review by BiP Solutions (Certification Body)
- Once your self-assessment questionnaire submission is approved, the awarding body, IASME Consortium, will post out your certificate
When you receive your Cyber Essentials certificate you will also receive the relevant Cyber Essentials branding to use on collateral such as tender bids for public contracts.
How long does it take to obtain Cyber Essentials certification?
After ordering Cyber Essentials or Cyber Essentials Plus, you will receive login details for the members’ area of the site where you will find the electronic self-assessment questionnaire. You can then begin completing your application, saving your progress at any point and returning to it at a later date. Filling out this questionnaire is relatively straightforward and will only take a couple of hours to complete. You are also supported throughout the process, either via the help buttons on the questionnaire or via the contact form.
The deadline to complete and submit your assessment is three months from the start of the process. If you do not meet this deadline, your application will be closed and you will have to reapply and pay another application fee to re-enter the process. Most of our customers complete their application within seven days and the support we offer during the application process means we have yet to fail an application.
Once the self-assessment form has been completed, you submit it electronically through the members’ area and will receive confirmation of receipt. After submission, it will take our team a few days to assess your answers. Once we have reviewed your application, you will be contacted by a member of our team to discuss the next steps in the process.
How will I be notified about my application status?
We will keep you up to date with your application status by email. You will either receive your certification to confirm your compliance or get feedback on any aspect of the assessment which is not fully compliant. You will receive detailed comments from the assessor on all answers that were considered non-compliant.
Who is involved in the Cyber Essentials application journey?
The Cyber Essentials application journey will differ slightly depending on whether you choose Cyber Essentials or Cyber Essentials Plus. The stages are outlined below but timescales may differ depending on the applicant’s completion of each stage.
Regardless of which product level you choose, there are three clear stages you will go through in order to obtain your Cyber Essentials certification.
- Your Cyber Essentials purchase will grant you access to the members’ area and the self-assessment questionnaire to complete online. You do not have to complete the questionnaire in one go. You can save your questionnaire at any point, return to it later and submit for review at your leisure. However, we would advise that you complete and submit your questionnaire as quickly as possible in order to obtain your Cyber Essentials certification as quickly as possible. This is more relevant when purchasing Cyber Essentials Plus as you will need to complete the Cyber Essentials certification process first.
- Once you submit your completed questionnaire via the online form we will review your application and will liaise with you regarding any gaps or additional information required in order to approve your application and submit it to the Accreditation body, QG Business Solutions. If you have chosen to apply for Cyber Essentials Plus, it is at this stage that ID Cyber Solutions will arrange a suitable date and time to visit your premises and conduct the more stringent tests required for Cyber Essentials Plus certification.
- The awarding body, QG Business Solutions, will then issue your certification, confirming that you are Cyber Essentials certified.