StateRAMP Vendor Requirements: What You Need to Know

StateRAMP (State Risk and Authorization Management Program) is a nonprofit organization that provides a standardized approach to security assessment for cloud products used by state and local governments. Founded in 2020, StateRAMP maintains a Verified Products List — an authorized product catalog that government agencies can reference when evaluating vendor security.

The process works as follows: (1) a vendor engages a StateRAMP-approved Third Party Assessment Organization (3PAO) to conduct an independent security assessment, (2) the 3PAO evaluates the vendor's security controls against NIST 800-53 requirements at the appropriate impact level, (3) StateRAMP's Program Management Office (PMO) reviews the assessment and grants a security status, and (4) the vendor maintains their status through continuous monitoring — monthly vulnerability scans, annual assessments, and ongoing plan of action and milestones (POA&M) management.

StateRAMP does not replace agency-specific assessment requirements but provides a baseline verification that significantly reduces the assessment burden for individual agencies. An agency can verify a vendor's StateRAMP status on the public Verified Products List rather than conducting a full independent assessment.

StateRAMP and FedRAMP share the same foundation — NIST 800-53 security controls — but differ in scope, authority, and process:

Scope. FedRAMP covers federal government cloud services. StateRAMP covers state and local government cloud services. A FedRAMP authorization satisfies StateRAMP requirements (FedRAMP reciprocity), but a StateRAMP authorization does not automatically satisfy FedRAMP requirements.

Authority. FedRAMP is a federal program with statutory authority under the FedRAMP Authorization Act (2022). StateRAMP is a nonprofit membership organization — its authority comes from state adoption, not federal mandate. However, a growing number of states reference StateRAMP in procurement requirements.

Control requirements. Both use NIST 800-53 controls, but FedRAMP Moderate requires approximately 325 controls while StateRAMP's equivalent level requires fewer controls, reflecting the different risk profiles of federal vs. state/local data. StateRAMP also offers a Category 1 level (approximately 125 controls) for lower-risk applications with no federal equivalent.

Cost and timeline. FedRAMP authorization typically costs $500K-$2M and takes 12-18 months. StateRAMP authorization is generally less expensive ($100K-$500K) and faster (6-12 months) due to fewer required controls at lower impact levels.

For vendors: If you have FedRAMP authorization, you can leverage it for StateRAMP. If you serve only state/local government, StateRAMP may be the more efficient path. Check the FedRAMP authorized vendor list to see if your vendors already hold federal authorization.

StateRAMP defines security verification categories based on data sensitivity:

Category 1 (Low Impact / Low Sensitivity). For cloud services processing public or non-sensitive data. Approximately 125 NIST 800-53 controls. Suitable for tools like public-facing websites, non-sensitive communication platforms, and general productivity applications that do not process PII or sensitive government data.

Category 2 (Moderate Impact / Moderate Sensitivity). For cloud services processing controlled but non-classified information, including PII. Approximately 260 NIST 800-53 controls. This is the most common authorization level for SaaS vendors serving government — it covers CRM systems, collaboration tools, case management, and most data-processing applications.

Category 3 (Moderate-High Impact / High Sensitivity). For cloud services processing highly sensitive information including law enforcement data, health records, and financial data. More extensive control requirements aligned with NIST 800-53 Moderate-High baseline.

Security statuses on the Verified Products List include: Authorized (full assessment complete, all requirements met), Provisional (assessment in progress with acceptable interim posture), and Ready (completed a readiness assessment but not yet fully authorized).

Vendors like AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud hold both FedRAMP and StateRAMP authorizations at multiple impact levels, making them pre-approved infrastructure choices for government deployments.

When evaluating vendors against StateRAMP requirements, government procurement and IT teams should check:

Verified Products List status. Search the StateRAMP Verified Products List for the vendor's product. Confirm the authorization status (Authorized, Provisional, Ready) and the impact level. Verify that the authorized product matches the product you intend to procure — vendors may have different products at different authorization levels.

Continuous monitoring compliance. Is the vendor current on continuous monitoring requirements? Lapses in monthly vulnerability scanning or delayed POA&M management may indicate compliance gaps not reflected in the point-in-time authorization.

Beyond StateRAMP. StateRAMP covers cloud security controls but does not address every vendor risk domain. Government agencies should supplement StateRAMP verification with sanctions screening, business legitimacy checks, financial stability assessment, and breach history review. ThirdProof provides this supplemental assessment across 27 intelligence sources, complementing StateRAMP's security-focused evaluation with broader vendor risk coverage.

State-specific requirements. Some states have additional vendor security requirements beyond StateRAMP. Check your state's procurement office for supplemental requirements that may apply to your vendor evaluation.