Choose Your Path · FedRAMP

FedRAMP changed.

Know the way through.

Rev5 and 20x are not two stages of one journey. They are two different certification types, and choosing the wrong one is expensive to undo. This guide shows cloud service providers how to pick the right path, what changed under 20x, and the deadlines that shape your timeline.

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What's inside

Key Takeaways

A plain-language guide, built for providers who need to make a real decision, not wade through policy.
  • The choice that comes first. Why Rev5 and 20x are parallel certification types, and how to tell which one fits your system.
  • The four shifts that define 20x. Authorized to Certified, the retired document package, continuous KSIs, and the new Class A–D structure.
  • Who benefits, and how. What the new model means for providers, agencies, and assessors.
  • The dates that shape your plan. Four deadlines between now and 2028, and why the lead times are longer than they look.
  • Where Fortreum fits. How readiness advisory and independent assessment work as separate engagements.
Why it matters
The most common FedRAMP mistake right now

Many providers assume they move through Rev5 on the way to 20x. They don't. The two are separate certification types, and work completed toward one does not carry over to the other. Getting this right at the start saves months. This guide makes the decision clear in a few pages.

About Fortreum
Written by a team that has flown this before

FedRAMP is the majority of our work, not a sideline. Fortreum is a top-5 FedRAMP and StateRAMP 3PAO and an authorized CMMC C3PAO, and our team was engaged in the earliest 20x pilots, working the details of the program rather than reading about it after the fact. When you have questions the guide doesn't answer, the people who know this best pick up the phone.

Not sure where you really stand?

The organizations that succeed treat FedRAMP as an operational program — not a last-minute compliance exercise. Let Fortreum help you enter certification confidently.