Get Cyber Essentials certified — first time, without the headache.

Cyber Essentials is a UK government-backed certification confirming your business has the five fundamental technical controls in place to defend against common cyber attacks: secure configuration, access control, malware protection, patch management and firewalls. Cyber Essentials Plus adds an independent, hands-on technical audit of those controls rather than relying on self-assessment alone. Both are recognised across the UK and increasingly referenced in supply-chain and overseas tenders, and both need renewing annually to stay valid, since the controls and threat landscape move on year to year.

We start with a full gap analysis against the current standard, then our engineers remediate anything missing — hardening devices, tightening access controls and reviewing cloud configurations. Once you're ready, we complete and submit the self-assessment questionnaire, run a pre-audit dry run for Cyber Essentials Plus, and support you through the independent audit itself, right through to certificate issue. Throughout the process you have a single point of contact managing the whole journey, so you're never left interpreting technical audit findings yourself or chasing evidence between systems and suppliers.

Certification is increasingly a commercial requirement, not a nice-to-have. It's mandatory for most UK central government contracts, expected in many enterprise supply chains, and often reduces cyber insurance premiums by giving underwriters confidence in your baseline controls. It also gives clients and prospects a quick, recognisable signal that you take security seriously. Beyond the commercial case, working through the five controls typically closes some genuinely exploitable gaps — unpatched software, weak admin access or missing MFA — so the process itself leaves your everyday security noticeably stronger, not just your paperwork.

Fully managed packages start from £1,495, covering gap analysis, remediation guidance, evidence collection, submission and the audit itself. Exact pricing depends on the size and complexity of your environment and whether you need Cyber Essentials or Cyber Essentials Plus, so we always confirm a fixed quote after a short scoping call. There are no hidden extras once that quote is agreed, and renewal in following years is typically quoted separately and priced lower than first-time certification.

Most SMEs complete standard Cyber Essentials in 2–4 weeks and Cyber Essentials Plus in 4–8 weeks, depending on how much remediation work is needed before the audit and how quickly evidence can be gathered from your systems and suppliers. Businesses with well-managed IT and few legacy systems often move at the faster end of that range, while those needing significant remediation, such as replacing unsupported devices or introducing MFA everywhere, should plan for the longer end, or occasionally beyond it.

It's specifically designed with SMEs in mind. The five controls are deliberately achievable without an internal security team, and we manage the technical parts of the process for you, so businesses with no dedicated IT staff can still certify confidently and pass first time. We've certified sole traders, five-person offices and growing SME teams alike, adapting the level of hand-holding to how much in-house technical knowledge you already have, so you're never left interpreting government guidance documents on your own.

Cyber Essentials is faster, cheaper and more achievable for most SMEs than a full ISO 27001 certification, which involves building an entire management system. Doing nothing leaves you unable to bid for many contracts and without the baseline hardening that meaningfully reduces your everyday attack surface — Cyber Essentials is the practical middle ground. Many clients treat it as a stepping stone: achieving Cyber Essentials first builds genuine security habits and evidence, which makes a later move to ISO 27001 considerably less disruptive if a bigger client or contract eventually demands it.

We maintain a 100% first-time pass rate, and if anything were ever flagged we'd remediate and retest at no extra cost. Both Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus need renewing annually, and we handle that renewal process for you as part of ongoing support so certification never lapses unexpectedly. We track your renewal date, flag it well in advance, and re-run the gap analysis each year against the current version of the standard, since required controls are periodically updated as new threats emerge.