---
tags:
  - Rev5
  - Federal Agencies
  - Guidance
picto:
  source: person
---

<span class="picto">:lucide-person-standing:{ .person title="This content was written by a human just for this page." }</span>

# Sponsoring a FedRAMP Certification

Agency sponsorship is the legacy path for a FedRAMP Rev5 Agency Certification. Following this path, an agency completes its own authorization for an agency information system that uses a cloud service offering, then the cloud service provider uses that agency authorization as part of its request for FedRAMP Certification.

This path still exists temporarily as FedRAMP transitions to the Consolidated Rules for 2026, but agencies should be cautious about starting new sponsorship work. FedRAMP 20x and Program Certification are designed to reduce the need for agency sponsorship by allowing cloud service providers to work directly with FedRAMP for certification.

!!! danger "FedRAMP will stop accepting applications for sponsored Agency Certifications on June 11, 2027."

    FedRAMP Rev5 is a legacy process that FedRAMP is actively replacing, and FedRAMP 20x is only available via Program Certification. In most cases, agencies should encourage cloud service providers to pursue FedRAMP 20x Program Certification instead of beginning a new agency-sponsored Rev5 effort.

## If You Are Already Sponsoring

If an agency and cloud service provider have already invested serious time in a Rev5 sponsorship, then they should continue and finish it.

Do not let an active sponsorship stall just because the program is transitioning. If the provider has made real progress, the agency still needs the service, and the work can reasonably reach the FedRAMP submission stage before the Rev5 application cutoff, agencies should focus on getting the effort over the finish line.

## What Sponsorship Means

An agency sponsor is the agency that completes the first agency authorization used to support a FedRAMP Rev5 Agency Certification request.

The sponsoring agency does not accept risk for the entire federal government. The sponsoring agency accepts risk only for its own use of the cloud service offering in its own federal information system. Other agencies must still make their own authorization decisions before using the service.

!!! tip "A sponsor is not a government-wide authorizing official."

    Sponsorship helps a provider reach FedRAMP Certification, but it does not make the sponsoring agency responsible for every future agency use of the service.

    After FedRAMP grants Certification, the sponsoring agency participates in ongoing monitoring like other agency customers.

## When Sponsorship May Still Make Sense

Sponsorship may still make sense when all of the following are true:

1. The agency has an urgent mission need for the cloud service offering.

2. The cloud service offering is already far enough along in the Rev5 process that completion is realistic.

3. The provider can produce the required Rev5 package and assessment materials quickly.

4. The agency and provider have a credible path to FedRAMP submission before June 11, 2027.

If the provider is just getting started, sponsorship is usually the wrong path. The agency should generally encourage the provider to pursue FedRAMP 20x Program Certification instead.

## What About Class D?

If an agency urgently needs a Class D service that is not already FedRAMP Certified, sponsorship should only be considered when the provider has already made demonstrable progress and is close to final assessment and agency review.

If the provider is early in the process, the better path is usually FedRAMP 20x. A provider may pursue 20x Class C now and plan for 20x Class D when that class becomes available, rather than starting a new legacy Rev5 sponsorship effort.
