Can a sole trader get Cyber Essentials?

Yes - sole traders can get Cyber Essentials. A one-person business qualifies for the Micro tier at £299.99 + VAT with Fig Group and receives a certificate searchable through the IASME certificate search. Procurement eligibility depends on the buyer's entity, scope, level and other conditions. Eligible holders may separately receive a cyber-liability benefit arranged by IASME and its insurance partner; Fig Group does not provide or arrange it.

• Public-sector tender eligibility. Many UK government frameworks reference CE for solo consultants and interim contractors.
• Enterprise client DDQ requirements. Large clients often require solo suppliers to hold CE before awarding a contract.
• Professional indemnity insurance. PI carriers increasingly price CE into the premium.
• A separate IASME-arranged cyber-liability benefit, subject to the scheme's eligibility criteria and policy terms.
• Client trust signal. CE is a recognisable, verifiable credential; for high-trust professions (consultancy, legal services, financial advice, technology services) it is a meaningful differentiator.

The five controls still apply, but the assessment is proportionate to the business:

• One laptop, one phone, potentially one tablet.
• Microsoft 365 / Google Workspace personal-business tenant, or sometimes just a consumer email with a business domain.
• Organisation-issued home office router, if one is supplied; an ordinary privately owned home router is outside scope, while the business endpoint remains in scope.
• Cloud services used for work (Xero, QuickBooks, Dropbox, Notion, client CRMs).

The questionnaire is the same; completion is typically 45 minutes for a prepared sole trader.

1. Personal device doubling as work device without a suitable screen lock, supported software or required security updates. Full-disk encryption is useful additional protection, but is not a universal Cyber Essentials pass criterion.

2. Organisation-issued home-office router on factory default admin credentials; ordinary private home routers are outside the scheme boundary.

3. Mobile OS out of vendor support - older Android phones are the most common fail.

4. Missing MFA on an in-scope account. An authenticator app or a FIDO2 key may offer stronger protection than SMS where supported; SMS is not categorically banned by the scheme.

5. Using a consumer email for client correspondence rather than a business-domain mailbox with MFA enforced.

All five are cheap and quick to fix. Run the free readiness check before paying.

No - family members' personal devices are not in scope. The assessment covers only the devices used for business and the network path those devices use to reach corporate data.

No. Sole trader, limited company, partnership, LLP, CIC, charity - all business structures can certify. The certificate names the organisation as registered (for sole traders, that's the trading name or the individual as registered for VAT).

Sole traders are welcome on Cyber Essentials at the Micro tier. The certificate can support a buyer's security requirement where its entity, scope and level match. Insurance eligibility is separately determined under scheme terms. Fig Group's £299.99 + VAT Micro price and conditional six-working-hour Basic guarantee are published separately.

Start Cyber Essentials from £299.99 + VAT | Free readiness check | Can small businesses get Cyber Essentials?