Official documents, free tools and
the guides that matter
Everything you need to prepare for Cyber Essentials in one place, written against Requirements v3.3 and the 2026 Danzell question set. The NCSC and IASME documents link straight to the source.
Cyber Essentials rests on three free official documents: the NCSC Requirements for IT Infrastructure v3.3, the IASME Danzell question set v16.3 and, for Cyber Essentials Plus, the NCSC test specification v3.2. Read the requirements, draft answers in the question set spreadsheet, then check readiness before you buy the assessment.
- Requirements
- NCSC Requirements for IT Infrastructure v3.3 (April 2026)
- Question set
- IASME Danzell v16.3, 106 questions
- CE Plus
- NCSC Cyber Essentials Plus Test Specification v3.2
- IASME fee
- £320 to £600 plus VAT by organisation size, checked 3 November 2026
- Certificate
- Valid for 12 months from the date of issue
Which resource do you need?
Find the job you are doing in the left column. Each row links to the page or tool that does it.
| If you need to | Use |
|---|---|
| Find out whether you would pass today | Readiness checker |
| Read the rules your answers are marked against | NCSC Requirements v3.3 |
| Draft your answers before you buy portal access | Danzell question set |
| Know what each question wants in the notes field | Question index |
| Work out the cost for your size | Cost calculator |
| Check an operating system or app is still supported | Is it supported? |
| Set up a platform to meet the controls | Setup guides |
| Prepare for a Cyber Essentials Plus audit | CE Plus test specification |
| See what changed in April 2026 | Change log |
| Confirm a supplier is certified | Verify a certificate |
Official documents
The three documents the scheme is built on, each with a plain-English summary and a link to the original.
IASME Cyber Essentials 2026 Danzell question set (v16.3)
The official IASME question set for Cyber Essentials from April 2026: 106 questions across A1 to A8, with guidance and answer types. Free to download from IASME; summarised here with a link to every question's page on this site.
Read the summary· 8 sectionsNCSC Cyber Essentials Requirements for IT Infrastructure v3.3
The official NCSC document that defines the five Cyber Essentials controls, the scope rules and every technical requirement. Version 3.3, April 2026, in force with the Danzell question set from 27 April 2026. Summary and link to the original.
Read the summary· 12 sectionsNCSC Cyber Essentials Plus Test Specification v3.2
The official NCSC specification that tells assessors how to run a Cyber Essentials Plus audit: prerequisites, sampling, the five test cases and the pass and fail rules. Summary and link to the original PDF.
Read the summary· 11 sectionsFind out where you stand
No account needed. Each tool answers one question people ask before they apply.
Readiness checker
Plain-English questions mapped to the 2026 question set, with the automatic-fail items asked first and a score at the end.
Start the checkerCost calculator
The IASME fee for your size band plus a fixed assessor price for Cyber Essentials, Cyber Essentials Plus and a gap analysis.
Calculate your costIs it supported?
Check whether an operating system or application still receives security updates, because unsupported software in scope fails.
Look up your softwareVerify a certificate
Confirm a supplier's Cyber Essentials certificate against the official register, and read what a valid one shows.
Check a certificateWork through the scheme
The reference pages most applicants use, from the five controls to every question in the 2026 set.
The five controls
Requirements v3.3, control by control, with the wording assessors mark against.
Read the requirementsEvery Danzell question
All 106 questions in the v16.3 set, each with the assessor view, the evidence and the common failure.
Open the question indexChecklists
The self-assessment, Cyber Essentials Plus and scope checklists as tables on the page, ready to print.
Open the checklistsScope
Whole organisation or sub-set, BYOD, home working, cloud services and third parties: get scope right before anything else.
Read the scope guideSetup guides
Platform by platform: the settings that answer each control, with the setting path and the question it maps to.
Browse the setup guidesWhat changed in April 2026
What moved between Willow and Danzell, and which answers you need to revisit at renewal.
See what changedQuestion set analysis
All 106 Danzell questions counted by section, control and answer type, with CSV and JSON downloads.
See the analysisGlossary
Plain definitions of the scheme terms, from sub-set and BYOD to certification body, each linked to the question it affects.
Open the glossaryGo to the source
The scheme owner, the delivery partner, funding, insurance, guidance the requirements point to, and the certificate register. These open in a new tab.
NCSC Cyber Essentials overview
The scheme owner's own explanation of Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus.
Open on ncsc.gov.ukQuestion set downloads
IASME's preview page: the Danzell question set as PDF and Excel, a Welsh version, and a comparison with Willow.
Download from IASMEIASME Cyber Essentials and fees
The delivery partner's page: buy the self-assessment, with fees by size from £320 plus VAT for 0 to 9 staff.
Open on iasme.co.uk75% funded discount
IASME's government-funded discount for UK micro and SME organisations that have not held Cyber Essentials in the last four years, if you register and buy by 31 March 2027.
Check eligibilityIASME frequently asked questions
IASME's answers on timings, failed assessments, renewal and the Cyber Essentials Plus window.
Open on iasme.co.ukIncluded cyber insurance
What the cover included with whole-organisation certification provides, and who is eligible.
Open on iasme.co.ukFind a Certification Body
IASME's directory of licensed Certification Bodies, which you need for Cyber Essentials Plus.
Search the directoryIASME Readiness Tool
IASME's own free tool for working through the controls before you apply.
Open the toolNCSC guidance on MFA
The NCSC's guidance on choosing and rolling out multi-factor authentication for your online services.
Open on ncsc.gov.ukNCSC BYOD guidance
The NCSC's guidance on personally owned devices, linked from the requirements for information.
Open on ncsc.gov.ukSoftware Security Code of Practice
The government code of practice that Requirements v3.3 now references for application development.
Open on gov.ukCertificate register
The official search for current Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus certificates.
Search the registerFrequently asked questions
From IASME's preview page, which offers the Danzell question set as a PDF and an Excel spreadsheet, plus a Welsh version and a comparison with the previous Willow set. IASME suggests preparing your answers in the spreadsheet, then paying for portal access and pasting them in. The question set page on this site summarises it.
The NCSC's Cyber Essentials: Requirements for IT Infrastructure v3.3 sets the rules, and the IASME Danzell question set v16.3 asks the questions. A Cyber Essentials Plus audit also follows the NCSC Cyber Essentials Plus Test Specification v3.2. All three are free from the NCSC and IASME.
IASME is running a government-funded 75% discount for UK micro and SME organisations that have not held Cyber Essentials in the last four years. You must register and purchase by 31 March 2027, and eligibility is checked when you register on IASME's Supplier Assurance Tool.
No. The official documents, the readiness checker, the cost calculator, the software lookup and the certificate check are free and need no account. You pay IASME when you buy the self-assessment, and a Certification Body if you want help or a Cyber Essentials Plus audit.
No. Each official document page summarises the document and links to the original on ncsc.gov.uk or iasme.co.uk, so you always get the current version. Where this site and the original differ, the original is right.
Would you pass the 2026 question set?
Answer 24 yes or no questions, built by the assessors who mark Cyber Essentials, and get a readiness score in about five minutes, with any auto-fail questions you miss flagged first in your results.
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- CREST accredited
- IASME fee included
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