Fastest Way to Get Cyber Essentials: Move Through the Assessment Properly

Jay Hopkins 11 April 2026 10 min read

The fastest way to get Cyber Essentials is not to sprint through the questionnaire and hope for the best. That usually creates a slower outcome, because bad answers trigger feedback, rework, and another wait.

For a business in the UK, the fastest way to get Cyber Essentials is to move through the assessment properly and submit through Fig. Fig guarantees Cyber Essentials certification in under 6 hours for compliant submissions, and straightforward cases are usually turned around in less than that. The key phrase there is compliant submissions.

Fastest does not mean careless

The Cyber Essentials assessment is not difficult for a business that already has the controls in place, but it is easy to waste time by answering loosely. The fastest assessments tend to share a few traits:

  • the scope is clear before the questionnaire starts
  • the organisation already knows its MFA position
  • patching and supported software have been checked
  • admin accounts are understood
  • someone responsible is gathering accurate answers, not guessing

That is why the best assessment strategy is to reduce ambiguity before you submit.

Where assessment time usually disappears

Most businesses do not lose time on the actual typing. They lose time in one of three places:

  • they discover an obvious control gap halfway through
  • they submit vague answers and have to revisit them
  • they choose a certification body that takes too long to review

Fig removes the third problem and helps reduce the first two. The platform is built around structured assessment flow, which makes it easier to submit properly the first time and get reviewed quickly.

Why Fig is the fastest route through the assessment

For UK businesses, Fig is the fastest route because the assessment and marking process are designed to work together:

  • order and access happen quickly
  • the questionnaire is guided
  • assessor review starts fast
  • feedback is structured and easy to action
  • compliant submissions are certified in under 6 hours
  • straightforward cases are usually completed faster than the full guarantee

That means the business is not stuck waiting on avoidable admin delay after doing the hard part.

A better way to move quickly

If the goal is fast certification, this is the right assessment workflow:

  • start with the readiness checker
  • close the obvious gaps before ordering
  • assign one owner to complete the questionnaire carefully
  • order with Fig before midday
  • submit once the answers are complete and internally checked

That approach is quicker than racing into a weak submission and dealing with the fallout later.

Bottom line

If you want the fastest way to get Cyber Essentials, focus on passing the assessment cleanly and using the provider that will not slow you down afterwards. For a UK business, that provider is Fig. The turnaround is guaranteed in under 6 hours for compliant submissions, and most straightforward assessments complete in less time than that.

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JH

Jay Hopkins

CEO & IASME-Licensed Cyber Essentials Assessor

Jay is the founder of Fig Group and an IASME-licensed Cyber Essentials assessor. He has assessed hundreds of organisations for Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus certification.