Monitor Facility
Protect and monitor the physical facility and support infrastructure for organizational systems.
What gets scored, the objectives
PE.L2-3.10.2 is met only when every one of these 4 objectives, from NIST SP 800-171A, is satisfied. A single missed objective makes the whole requirement not met.
- a.the physical facility where organizational systems reside is protected
- b.the support infrastructure for organizational systems is protected
- c.the physical facility where organizational systems reside is monitored
- d.the support infrastructure for organizational systems is monitored
How this is assessed
NIST SP 800-171A defines three assessment methods. For PE.L2-3.10.2, whoever assesses it, including your own team in a self assessment, uses these:
Physical and environmental protection policy; procedures addressing physical access monitoring; system security plan; physical access logs or records; physical access monitoring records; physical access log reviews; other relevant documents or records
Personnel with physical access monitoring responsibilities; personnel with incident response responsibilities; personnel with information security responsibilities
Organizational processes for monitoring physical access; mechanisms supporting or implementing physical access monitoring; mechanisms supporting or implementing the review of physical access logs]. DISCUSSION [NIST SP 800-171 R2] Monitoring of physical access includes publicly accessible areas within organizational facilities. This can be accomplished, for example, by the employment of guards; the use of sensor devices; or the use of video surveillance equipment such as cameras. Examples of support infrastructure include system distribution, transmission, and power lines. Security controls applied to the support infrastructure prevent accidental damage, disruption, and physical tampering. Such controls may also be necessary to prevent eavesdropping or modification of unencrypted transmissions. Physical access controls to support infrastructure include locked wiring closets; disconnected or locked spare jacks; protection of cabling by conduit or cable trays; and wiretapping sensors
What it means, in context
The infrastructure inside of a facility, such as power and network cables, is protected so that visitors and unauthorized employees cannot access it. The protection is also monitored by security guards, video cameras, sensors, or alarms. Example You are responsible for protecting your IT facilities. You install video cameras at each entrance and exit, connect them to a video recorder, and show the camera feeds on a display at the reception desk [c,d]. You also make sure there are secure locks on all entrances, exits, and windows to the facilities [a,b].
What passing evidence looks like
How the facility and its support infrastructure are protected and monitored: alarm, cameras, locked entry, the locked closet or cabinet holding network and power cabling, and who watches or responds, in one short note with photos.
Common ways contractors fail PE.L2-3.10.2
- !Monitor does not require a guard desk. The alarm service, camera app on the owner's phone, and locked entry after hours cover the facility half. This requirement also reaches the support infrastructure, so document how the network and power cabling, the wiring closet or patch panel, and any unused jacks are protected and watched, and keep both halves together.
The step by step walkthrough for Microsoft 365 GCC High, Google Workspace, and on premises setups, plus the exact evidence to capture, lives inside the CMMC Level 2 plan.
Prove PE.L2-3.10.2, and the other 109
The Level 2 workspace walks your team through all 110 requirements at the objective level, drafts your SSP section by section from your own record for your team to read and accept, gives a prime or your own internal auditor a read only seat on the same record, and a credentialed officer reviews every step.
Book a free advisory callNo credit card, and Level 1 and Level 2 are both open, so sign up for the level your contracts call for. Self assessed and self attested: you score yourself in SPRS on a three year cycle and your senior official affirms it every year. As of September 3, 2026 a class deviation directs contracting officers to remove third party assessment from contracts. The program rule still provides for it, so your solicitation sets the track. Your team builds the same evidence either way. DFARS 252.204-7012 is unaffected, and the NIST SP 800-171 Rev 2 baseline is unchanged.
PE.L2-3.10.2 questions, answered
How many points is CMMC requirement PE.L2-3.10.2 worth?+
PE.L2-3.10.2 is worth 5 points in the CMMC Level 2 score under 32 CFR 170.24. If it is not met, you lose 5 from your total of 110.
Can PE.L2-3.10.2 be placed on a POA&M?+
No. PE.L2-3.10.2 must be fully met before you can file. It cannot be deferred to a POA&M, so it is a gate on your assessment.
What family does PE.L2-3.10.2 belong to?+
PE.L2-3.10.2 is in the Physical Protection (PE) family, one of the 14 families of NIST SP 800-171 that make up CMMC Level 2.
- NIST SP 800-171 Rev 2 3.10.2