In CMMC v2.0, Level 1 is explicitly the level that “focuses on the protection of FCI ” and is composed of the basic safeguarding requirements aligned to FAR 52.204-21 . This directly establishes Level 1 as meeting the standard for protecting FCI.

However, the question asks which levels meet the standard of protecting FCI—not which level is primarily intended for FCI. The official CMMC Model Overview (Version 2.0) states that the CMMC levels and associated sets of practices are cumulative , meaning that to achieve a higher level, an organization must also demonstrate achievement of the preceding lower levels. Because Level 2 and Level 3 certifications require meeting lower-level requirements as part of achieving the higher certification, an organization certified at Level 2 or Level 3 necessarily satisfies the Level 1 requirements that protect FCI.

In addition, the later Model Overview v2.13 reiterates the structure of the model: Level 1 requirements correspond to FAR 52.204-21 safeguards (FCI), while Level 2 and Level 3 focus on CUI protection at increasing rigor. Taken together, the official documents support that Levels 1, 2, and 3 all meet the standard for protecting FCI, with Level 1 being the foundational baseline and Levels 2/3 building on it.

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