Cyber Essentials Readiness Checker
Free self-assessment tool based on the NCSC Cyber Essentials Requirements v3.3. Check your readiness before formal certification.
What Does the Readiness Checker Do?
Our Cyber Essentials readiness checker is a free, guided self-assessment tool that evaluates your organisation against the NCSC Cyber Essentials Requirements v3.3 (April 2026). It walks you through each of the five core control categories — firewalls, secure configuration, security update management, user access control, and malware protection — and asks targeted questions about your current security posture.
At the end, you receive an immediate readiness score with specific feedback on where your organisation meets the requirements and where gaps exist. This allows you to identify and remediate issues before you purchase your Cyber Essentials certification, saving time and avoiding failed submissions.
Free to use
No payment and no obligation. We ask for basic contact details to deliver your results.
Based on v3.3
Aligned to the NCSC Cyber Essentials requirements including the MFA requirement effective from 28 April 2026.
Immediate results
Get your readiness score and gap analysis instantly — no waiting for a report.
10–15 minutes
Typically takes 10 to 15 minutes to complete, depending on organisation size.
All five controls
Covers firewalls, secure configuration, updates, access control, and malware protection.
Actionable feedback
Tells you exactly what to fix before your formal assessment.
Cyber Essentials Readiness Check
Find out how prepared your business is for Cyber Essentials certification. Our free assessment takes about 10 minutes and covers five key security areas.
What you'll learn: Your readiness score, specific gaps in each security area, and next steps toward certification.
NCSC Cyber Essentials Requirements v3.3 (April 2026)
What Happens After the Readiness Check?
If the readiness checker shows you are compliant across all five controls, you are ready to purchase your Cyber Essentials certification. With Fig Group, Cyber Essentials certification is completed in under 6 hours for orders placed before midday — the fastest turnaround of any IASME-accredited certification body in the UK.
If gaps are identified, the checker tells you exactly what needs to change. Common issues include missing MFA on cloud accounts (now mandatory under v3.3), unsupported operating systems, or firewalls using default credentials. Most organisations can remediate these within a few days.
You can re-run the readiness checker as many times as you need — there is no limit. Once you pass all five categories, proceed to purchase your certification. Fig Group provides structured feedback up to three times on your formal submission to help you pass on the first attempt.
Why Check Your Readiness First?
Organisations that run the readiness checker before purchasing their formal assessment have a significantly higher first-time pass rate. The checker identifies the same gaps that would cause a formal assessment to fail — but without the cost or time pressure. It is particularly valuable for organisations certifying for the first time, renewing after the v3.3 requirement changes, or preparing for Cyber Essentials Plus where third-party verification is more rigorous.
The readiness checker is completely free. We collect basic contact details to deliver your results and may follow up with relevant certification information. Your data is handled in accordance with our privacy policy.