Resource

DoD 8140 Certification Requirements

DoDM 8140.03 work-role-to-certification matrix, plus the retired 8570 baseline reference and FAR/DFARS contract context.

Current as of April 2026.

What this is

The Department of Defense publishes cybersecurity workforce qualification requirements in DoD Manual 8140.03 — a large, per-role set of documents identifying which certifications, training, and education paths qualify a person for each work role. This page reorganizes the current authoritative DoDM 8140.03 data into a single cross-cutting matrix: every work role on one axis, every accepted certification on the other.

It also preserves a reference copy of the retired DoD 8570.01-M approved-baseline list. That list was removed from public.cyber.mil after the 8140 transition but still shows up by name in active contract language — so contract officers, CORs, and contract staff still need to reference it. The copy below is faithful to the last publicly archived version of the page.

The FAR / DFARS section documents the current state of the contract-clause landscape, where policy (8140) and law-via-contract (8570) don't yet line up. It is descriptive, not legal advice.

Jump to: 8140 Matrix · 8570 Reference · FAR / Contract Context

8140 Certification Matrix

The full DoDM 8140.03 work-role-to-certification matrix. Column headers are certifications grouped by vendor; row labels are work roles. Each cell shows the proficiency level (Basic / Intermediate / Advanced) at which the certification satisfies that work role. Summary rows at the bottom show totals. Source data is the official DoD Cyber Workforce Qualifications Matrices page; see the repo for the version-controlled xlsx.

CompTIA RCCE EC-Council FITSI GIAC (SANS) ISACA (ISC)2 CertNexus CISCO mile2 DAWIA
Work Role A+ Net+ Cloud+ Sec+ PenTest SecX CySA+ RCCE-1 CND CEH CEH(P) CHFI ECIH CCISO FITSP-D FITSP-A FITSP-O FITSP-M GISF GDSA GMON GRID GSEC GCLD GCED GCIH GFACT GCSA GICSP GSNA GCFA GCFE GCIA GCTI GPEN GREM GSLC CISA CISM CC CGRC CSSLP SSCP CCSP CISSP ISSAP ISSEP ISSMP CSC CFR CBROPS CCNA CCNP-E CCNP-S CPTE CISSO LCL-F PM-P LCL-A PM-A
(111) All-Source Analyst 3 3 3
(121) Exploitation Analyst 3 3 3
(131) Joint Targeting Analyst 3
(132) Target Digital Network Analyst 3 3
(211) Forensics Analyst 2 3 3 2 3 3 3
(212) Cyber Defense Forensics Analyst 3 3 2 2 3 3 3 3
(221) Cyber Crime Investigator 2 3 3 2 1 3 3 3
(311) All-Source Collection Manager 3 3
(312) All-Source Collection Requirements Manager 3 3
(331) Cyber Intelligence Planner 3
(332) Cyber Operations Planner 3 3 3
(411) Technical Support Specialist 1 1 2 3 2 3 2 2 3 3 3 3
(421) Database Administrator 2 2 3 2 3 2 3 3 3 3
(422) Data Analyst 3 2 3 3 2 3
(431) Knowledge Manager 2 2
(441) Network Operations Specialist 1 2 2 3 1 2 3 2 3 3 2 3 2 3 2 3 3 3
(451) System Admin (req'd for admin access) 1 1 2 2 3 1 3 2 3 2 2 3 3
(461) Systems Security Analyst 2 2 3 3 1 3 2 2 3 3 2 3 1 2 3 3
(511) Cyber Defense Analyst 2 2 2 3 1 2 2 1 2 2 2 2 2 1 3 3 3 1 3 3
(521) Cyber Defense Infrastructure Support Specialist 1 1 2 2 2 2 1 2 1 2 2 2 1 1 3 3 1 2 3 3
(531) Cyber Defense Incident Responder 2 2 2 3 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 1 2 3 2
(541) Vulnerability Assessment Analyst 2 2 2 3 2 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 3 2
(611) Authorizing Official/Designated Representative 2 3 3 2 3 3 3 2 2 3 3 3
(612) Security Control Assessor 2 2 2 2 3 3 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 2 3 3 2
(621) Software Developer 2 2 3
(622) Secure Software Assessor 2 2 1 2 2 3 2
(631) Information Systems Security Developer 2 2 1 3 1 2 2 2 1 1 2 3 2
(632) Systems Developer 1 3 3 2 2 3 2 3
(641) Systems Requirements Planner 2 3 1 2 2 3 3 2 2 2
(651) Enterprise Architect 2 2 1 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 2 2 3 3 3
(652) Security Architect 2 2 2 1 3 2 2 1 2 3 3 3 2 2 3 3 3 2
(661) Research & Development Specialist 2 3 3 3 3
(671) System Testing and Evaluation Specialist 1 2 2 2 1 2 2 2 3 2
(711) Cyber Instructional Curriculum Developer 2
(712) Cyber Instructor 3
(722) Information Systems Security Manager 2 2 2 2 3 2 2 3 2 3 3 3 3 1 2 2 2 3 3 2
(723) COMSEC Manager 3 2 3 3 3 3 3 3
(732) Privacy Compliance Manager 3 3
(751) Cyber Workforce Developer and Manager 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
(752) Cyber Policy and Strategy Planner 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
(801) Program Manager 2 3 3 3 3 3 2 3 3 2 3
(802) IT Project Manager 2 2 3 3 3 3 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 2 3
(803) Product Support Manager 3 3 3 3 3 3 2 3
(804) IT Investment/Portfolio Manager 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
(805) IT Program Auditor 2 2 3 3 3 3 3 2 3 2 3 3 3 2 2 3 3
Total Positions Covered
Total "Points" (proficiency levels × positions)

This matrix is designed for desktop viewing — rotate to landscape or use a larger screen for the full view.

8570 Baseline Reference

DoD 8570.01-M was superseded by DoDM 8140.03 and the reference page at public.cyber.mil/wid/dod-approved-8570-baseline-certifications/ was removed. The table below reproduces the baseline certifications and provider details from the last publicly archived version of that page (2024-01-30, via web.archive.org). It is preserved here because active contracts still reference 8570 by name.

Baseline Certifications Matrix

CategoryLevel ILevel IILevel III
IATA+ CE, CCNA-Security1, Network+ CE, SSCPCCNA-Security1, CySA+3, GICSP, GSEC, Security+ CE, SSCPCASP+ CE, CCNP-Security, CISA, CISSP (or Associate), GCED, GCIH
IAMCAP, CND, Cloud+, GSLC, Security+ CE, HCISPPCAP, CASP+ CE, CCISO, CISM, CISSP (or Associate), GSLC, HCISPPCCISO, CISM, CISSP (or Associate), GSLC
IASAECASP+ CE, CISSP (or Associate), CSSLPCASP+ CE, CISSP (or Associate), CSSLPCCISO, CISSP-ISSAP, CISSP-ISSEP
CSSP AnalystCEH, CFR, CCNA Cyber Ops, CCNA-Security1, CySA+3, GCIA, GCIH, GICSP, Cloud+, SCYBER, PenTest+
CSSP Infrastructure SupportCEH, CySA+3, GICSP, SSCP, CHFI, CFR, Cloud+, CND
CSSP Incident ResponderCEH, CFR, CCNA Cyber Ops, CCNA-Security1, CHFI, CySA+3, GCFA, GCIH, SCYBER
CSSP AuditorCEH, CySA+3, CISA, GSNA, CFR, PenTest+
CSSP ManagerCCISO, CISM, CISSP-ISSMP

Provider Details

CertificationProvider
CISSP, CISSP-ISSAP, CISSP-ISSEP, CISSP-ISSMP, CSSLP, HCISPP, CAP, SSCP, CCSP(ISC)²
A+ CE, Network+ CE, Security+ CE, CASP+ CE, CySA+3, Cloud+, PenTest+, CTT+CompTIA
CEH, CCISO, CHFI, CNDEC-Council
CISA, CISMISACA
GSEC, GCED, GCIH, GCIA, GCFA, GICSP, GSLC, GSNA, GSE, CFRSANS / GIAC
CCNA Cyber Ops, CCNA-Security1, CCNP-SecurityCisco
SCYBERLogical Operations

1 CCNA-Security was retired by Cisco. Existing holders retain qualification.
2 GIAC GSE and GISF were removed from earlier revisions of this list.
3 CSA+ was renamed to CySA+.

Source: web.archive.org snapshot (2024-01-30). Polished reference copy: 8570 Baseline Reference (PDF).

FAR / Contract Context

Policy shifted from 8570 to 8140, but contract language — including clauses in the FAR and DFARS — in many cases still references 8570 by name. The note below documents the clauses most commonly encountered, their current status, and the contract-vs-policy gap in practice. Not legal advice; links to authoritative sources only.

Why this repo still carries the DoD 8570 reference list

Not legal advice. This document summarizes publicly available contract-clause text as one practitioner's reading. It is not written by a lawyer, a Contracting Officer, or a COR, and it is not a complete legal analysis. If you are making a contract qualification determination, consult your KO, legal counsel, or the issuing agency.

The short answer

DoD 8570.01-M has been superseded as DoD policy (replaced by DoDM 8140.03 on 15 Feb 2023), but it has not been superseded in the contract clause that binds DoD contractors to cyber workforce qualification requirements. That clause — DFARS 252.239-7001 — still references 8570.01-M by name.

So contractors can end up in a situation where their contract requires compliance with an explicitly retired DoD manual. The authoritative 8570 list once lived at public.cyber.mil/wid/cwmp/dod-approved-8570-baseline-certifications/; DoD removed that page during the 8140 transition. That's why this repo preserves a reference copy of the retired 8570 baseline list. A KO, COR, or contractor compliance team that needs to cite 8570 still has somewhere to cite.

The evidence

DFARS 252.239-7001 — Information Assurance Contractor Training and Certification

Paragraph (a), quoted in full as of the 2025-11-10 revision:

The Contractor shall ensure that personnel accessing information systems have the proper and current information assurance certification to perform information assurance functions in accordance with DoD 8570.01-M, Information Assurance Workforce Improvement Program.

The reference to DoD 8570.01-M is not incidental — it is the clause's substantive qualification mandate. The 2025-11-10 revision did not update this reference to DoDM 8140.03.

DoD's own transition guidance

From the DoD 8140 program's public transition materials:

The DoD 8570 and DoD 8140 programs are not structured the same and there is no "crosswalk" of qualifications between them.

A contractor cannot mechanically translate "Security+ under 8570" into "Security+ satisfies work role X at proficiency Y under 8140" without referencing the current DoD 8140 qualification matrix. And a Contracting Officer reading a contract that says "comply with DoD 8570.01-M" cannot wave it away as out-of-date when the very DFARS clause that carries the requirement names 8570.01-M in its latest revision.

Implications

  • For Contracting Officers and CORs: the clause as currently written is the clause in force. Until DFARS 252.239-7001 is revised to reference 8140, or until a specific contract is modified, existing contract language governs.
  • For contractors: many contracts have copy-pasted 8570-specific language (cert lists, workforce categories) into their statements of work rather than incorporating DFARS 252.239-7001 by reference. In those contracts, the 8570 list persists contractually until the SOW itself is amended — regardless of what the DFARS clause says.
  • For program managers overseeing mixed populations: DoD civilians and military service members are governed by DoDM 8140.03 on the DoD CIO's implementation timeline (cybersecurity element by 15 Feb 2025; IT, cyber effects, intelligence, and cyber enablers by 15 Feb 2026). Contractors on the same program are governed by their contract language — which may not have been updated to match.

Why this repo keeps an 8570 reference copy

When the authoritative list moved behind the 8140 transition and the 8570 page was removed from cyber.mil, the practical need to cite the 8570 baseline list did not disappear. This repo preserves a reference copy — reconstructed from the last publicly-archived snapshot of the DoD page before removal — so that anyone managing a contract that still names 8570 has an authoritative source to cite.

Suggested reading


Compiled by Jeff Krueger. Unaffiliated with any firm, agency, or contracting office. Not legal advice.