LEVEL 1 · FCI ONLY
AFFIRMREADY / FIELD GUIDE 01
Get ready. Stay ready. Affirm with confidence.
CMMC Level 1, in plain English.
AffirmReady helps small manufacturers, machine shops, fabricators, and engineering firms prepare for their annual CMMC Level 1 self-assessment, without a consultant and without guesswork. Your evidence never leaves your own systems.
Free, 10 plain-English questions, about five minutes.
FAR 52.204-21
Safeguarding requirements
Level 1
15
safeguarding requirements, explained in plain English.
- PLAIN LANGUAGE
- 15 REQUIREMENTS
- LEVEL 1 FOCUS
- 15 FAR safeguards
- 5 min initial score
- 0 files uploaded
- 15 FAR 52.204-21 walkthroughs
- Your data stays yours
- SPRS affirmation reminders
- Built for engineering and machine shops
PREPARATION, NOT CERTIFICATION
WHO IT’S FOR
Built for small defense suppliers.
AffirmReady is built for small defense suppliers, typically 15 to 50 employees, who handle Federal Contract Information under DoD contracts or subcontracts. It's designed for the owner, CFO, or office manager who handles IT on top of everything else.
FOCUS
- 15 to 50 employees
- DoD subcontracts involving FCI
- Federal Contract Information (FCI)
- Owner, CFO, or office manager handling IT
THE PROBLEM
You know CMMC applies. The hard part is knowing where to start.
Consultants cost too much for a Level 1 requirement. Free checklists leave you wondering whether you did it right. And the requirement doesn't end after one year. Every year, your company completes a self-assessment against the 15 safeguarding requirements in FAR 52.204-21, and a senior company official affirms the results in SPRS, the Supplier Performance Risk System. That affirmation is your company's own statement, so you want to make it with confidence.
HOW IT WORKS
A clear path you can finish in a few afternoons
Here's how AffirmReady will work at launch.
01
Work through each requirement
A guided walkthrough explains all 15 FAR 52.204-21 requirements in plain English, right next to the exact regulatory text.
02
Record where your evidence lives
The evidence register tracks what each document is, who owns it, when to review it, and a link to where it's stored in your own Microsoft 365, Google Drive, or other system.
03
Stay ready all year
Ready-to-edit policy templates fill documentation gaps, and reminders arrive before your annual affirmation is due. Next year, you pick up where you left off instead of starting over.
The 15 requirements
FAR 52.204-21 (b)(1)(i) to (iv)
Access Control
- Only authorized people and devices can use your systems
- People can only do what their job requires
- Control connections to outside systems
- Control what is posted publicly
FAR 52.204-21 (b)(1)(v) to (vi)
Identification and Authentication
- Know who and what is on your systems
- Verify identity before granting access
FAR 52.204-21 (b)(1)(vii)
Media Protection
- Wipe or destroy media before disposal or reuse
FAR 52.204-21 (b)(1)(viii) to (ix)
Physical Protection
- Limit physical access
- Manage visitors, keep access records, and control keys and badges
FAR 52.204-21 (b)(1)(x) to (xi)
System and Communications Protection
- Protect your network boundary
- Separate anything public from your internal network
FAR 52.204-21 (b)(1)(xii) to (xv)
System and Information Integrity
- Find and fix security flaws promptly
- Protect against malware
- Keep malware protection up to date
- Scan regularly and scan files from outside sources
Plans
Pricing and features at launch. Early access requests are open now.
Free Readiness Check
Free
Find out where you stand in about five minutes. Answer 10 plain-English questions about how your company handles computers, accounts, and facilities, and get a readiness summary of what to tackle first. No credit card and no jargon.
Take the free Readiness CheckAffirmReady Core
$149/month
Everything you need to prepare for your annual CMMC Level 1 self-assessment. A guided walkthrough covers each of the 15 requirements in plain English, with an evidence register that tracks where every document lives in your own Microsoft 365 or Google Drive, ready-to-edit policy templates, and reminders before your SPRS affirmation is due.
Includes a 14-day free trial at launch.
Ask about early accessAffirmReady Pro
Coming soon
Planned features
- Everything in Core
- Microsoft 365 checks: guided self-checks you run yourself, with no connection to your tenant.
- Exportable readiness report that indexes where each piece of evidence is stored.
- Multi-site support.
- Guided annual reassessment that carries last year's work forward.
Your Data Stays Yours
AffirmReady does not store your evidence files by design. Your evidence stays in systems your company already owns and controls, such as SharePoint, OneDrive, or a shared drive. AffirmReady records where each piece of evidence lives, so you can find it quickly when you need it.
ABOUT US
About AffirmReady
AffirmReady was founded in West Michigan by Adam Rasch, who has spent more than 20 years in IT, including years as an IT director for small manufacturers. He saw the same problem again and again: good companies with DoD work, no IT department, and a new annual CMMC requirement nobody had time to figure out.
Consultants cost too much for a Level 1 requirement, and free checklists leave owners wondering whether they did it right. So we built a better option: a guided, plain-English platform that takes you through all 15 FAR 52.204-21 safeguarding requirements, keeps track of where your evidence lives in your own systems, and reminds you before your annual affirmation is due.
We don't sell certifications or shortcuts, and we never take custody of your evidence. We give small defense suppliers a clear, repeatable way to get organized, stay ready, and protect the contracts they've worked hard to win. Your evidence never leaves your systems.
SCOPE & LIMITS
What AffirmReady does, and doesn't do
AffirmReady helps you prepare for and organize your annual CMMC Level 1 self-assessment. It covers Federal Contract Information and Level 1 only. AffirmReady does not support Controlled Unclassified Information or CMMC Level 2, store your evidence files, connect to your Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, or other systems, provide legal advice, or certify your company or guarantee any outcome. Your company performs its own self-assessment, and your senior official makes the affirmation.
Handle Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI)? You likely need CMMC Level 2, which AffirmReady does not support. The Cyber AB Marketplace lists Registered Provider Organizations and C3PAOs that can help.
CONTACT
Questions?
Email support@affirmready.com. We answer Monday through Friday, 8 AM to 5 PM Eastern.