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ARTICLE · 17 SEPTEMBER 2025

The CMMC Contract Clause Is Here: What Defense Contractors Need To Know

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Last week marked an important milestone in the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification 2.0 (CMMC) program, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) program intended...

United StatesTechnology
Frank Murray, Jr.
Frank Murray, Jr.
Erin Toomey
Erin Toomey
Jennifer Urban
Jennifer Urban
Samuel D. Goldstick
Samuel D. Goldstick
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Last week marked an important milestone in the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification 2.0 (CMMC) program, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) program intended to ensure the security of sensitive DoD information in contractor information systems, as DoD issued the contract clause that will make CMMC compliance a prerequisite for contract award beginning in as soon as two months. Last year, DoD finalized the technical requirements of the CMMC program, codifying the requirements at 32 C.F.R. Part 170. Those regulations formally established the CMMC program and the CMMC Assessment and Certification Ecosystem, but they did not provide the mechanism by which DoD contracting officers would enforce compliance with the CMMC program in DoD contracts. The September 10, 2025, final rule (the "CMMC Contracting Rule") filled that gap and allows DoD to start using CMMC compliance as a condition of eligibility to receive a contract award, beginning November 10, 2025.

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