stateramp/regulator/
GovRAMP adds five 3PAOs to assessment discount program
The roster now covers ten accredited firms, but the 30% discount only reaches providers who have already completed GovRAMP's preparatory pathway.
Editorial brief
GovRAMP added 360 Advanced, Data Lock Consulting Group, Lunarline, Schellman, and Securisea to its 3PAO Discount Program, bringing total participating firms to ten. The program offers up to 30% off independent security assessments, but only for providers that have completed the GovRAMP Progressing Security Snapshot or achieved GovRAMP Core verification. Founding participants A-LIGN, Prescient Security, Coalfire, Fortreum, and RISCPoint remain in the program. The discount is explicitly scoped to smaller and midsize technology vendors pursuing SLED and federal government work through GovRAMP verification.
The expansion is incremental program maintenance, not a policy change. GovRAMP launched the discount program with five 3PAOs; it now has ten. The structure is unchanged: providers that have already invested in GovRAMP's preparatory programs get a cost break on the formal assessment that follows.
The qualifying bar matters for service providers evaluating whether the discount is accessible. The Progressing Security Snapshot and GovRAMP Core verification are not trivial checkboxes, they require documented control implementation and evidence of security posture before a 3PAO engagement begins. Providers who have not completed either program are not eligible, regardless of which assessment firm they choose.
On the 3PAO side, participation appears to be supply-driven. Schellman and Coalfire are among the most widely recognized FedRAMP 3PAOs; their presence signals the program has enough deal flow to be worth a negotiated rate. Smaller boutique firms like Data Lock and Securisea gain marketplace visibility through the program listing.
GovRAMP serves state, local, tribal, and educational government buyers alongside federal. For small and midsize vendors whose primary customers are SLED agencies, the FedRAMP 3PAO market has historically been oriented toward federal deal sizes and timelines. This program is a direct attempt to address that mismatch. Whether a 30% discount meaningfully shifts assessment economics for a 50-person company depends on the base rate each 3PAO sets, which GovRAMP does not publish.
Published ·Updated ·Deep Fathom