Blind SPRS brackets: prove your posture without exposing your score
How TeamingIndex turns an exact NIST SP 800-171 score into thresholds primes can filter on, who can ever see the exact number, and how verification and provenance work.
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Primes need assurance that a partner can protect Controlled Unclassified Information. Subcontractors, for good reason, treat their exact NIST SP 800-171 score as sensitive: a precise number invites comparison and second-guessing, and it says nothing about the plan behind it. Blind SPRS brackets are how TeamingIndex resolves that stalemate. You record your score privately; the index publishes only the thresholds you meet, so primes can filter for "at least 85" without anyone seeing 92.
How brackets work
TeamingIndex uses fixed thresholds: ≥ 0, ≥ 50, ≥ 70, ≥ 85, ≥ 95, ≥ 105, = 110. Brackets are cumulative: a company meets every threshold at or below its score. The exact score never enters the search index; only the bracket tags do.
| Your score | Brackets shown on your profile | Matches a search for |
|---|---|---|
| 110 | SPRS ≥ 0, SPRS ≥ 50, SPRS ≥ 70, SPRS ≥ 85, SPRS ≥ 95, SPRS ≥ 105, SPRS = 110 (perfect) | Every threshold |
| 92 | SPRS ≥ 0, SPRS ≥ 50, SPRS ≥ 70, SPRS ≥ 85 | SPRS ≥ 85 and every lower threshold |
| 64 | SPRS ≥ 0, SPRS ≥ 50 | SPRS ≥ 50 and SPRS ≥ 0 |
| -15 | No brackets | No threshold searches |
A negative score simply produces no brackets, and its value is never displayed. The profile still shows the public facts about the assessment (its date and type), just no threshold.
Who can ever see the exact score
The exact number is revealed in only four situations:
- You make it public. Exact-score visibility is off by default and you can switch it on from your compliance dashboard.
- Your own organization sees it on its dashboard.
- Platform administrators can see it, for example when reviewing a verification request.
- A mutual NDA is recorded between your organization and exactly one other: a teaming pitch between the two organizations reaches "NDA sent" or "accepted", or a direct teaming request between them is accepted. Only that counterparty gains access.
Everywhere else, including search results, the REST API, the MCP server for AI agents, structured data for search engines and your machine-readable capability profile, carries brackets only. When the exact score is shown, the page says why you can see it (public, your organization, mutual NDA or admin review).
Some SPRS facts are public by design because they help primes without exposing your posture: the assessment date, the assessment type (Basic, Medium or High) and whether the assessment is current under the three-year rule in DFARS 252.204-7019.
Self-attested or verified
Brackets come with provenance, like every compliance fact on TeamingIndex:
- Self-attested brackets come from the score you entered. They are labeled as self-attested and are never styled as verified.
- Verified brackets have been reviewed by TeamingIndex against evidence you provide in the verification workflow (verification metadata only, never your SSP). Verified Pro and Enterprise plans can request verification.
- If you change your score or assessment details after verification, the verification goes back to review, so a badge never outlives the facts behind it.
Primes who need certainty can add the verified-only filter: SPRS ≥ 85, verified.
How primes should use brackets
- Pick the threshold that matches the risk. A pursuit with heavy CUI handling might screen at 95 or 110; early market research might use 70.
- Check currency. A bracket from an assessment older than three years is not current for award purposes.
- Use brackets as a screen, not a substitute. Before committing workshare, ask the partner, under NDA, for the exact score, the assessment scope and the plan to reach 110.
- Combine with CMMC. For contracts that require CMMC Level 2, the CMMC status matters as much as the score.
Setting up your brackets
Checklist: tick items as you go (saved in this browser only)
Watch out: Enter the summary score only. TeamingIndex is a Zero-CUI platform: never upload or paste your system security plan, POA&M or assessment workpapers. Free-text fields reject documents that carry CUI markings.
Why not just publish the score?
Exact scores are a poor teaming signal on their own. A 104 with a credible plan can be lower risk than a 110 that has not been reassessed in years, and a public number can be misread by competitors. Thresholds tell a prime what it needs at the search stage. The full picture, including the number, belongs in a conversation under NDA. For how the score itself is computed, see NIST SP 800-171 scoring.
How TeamingIndex helps
- Filter partners by minimum bracket: SPRS ≥ 70, SPRS ≥ 85 or SPRS = 110.
- Send a teaming request or pitch; when both sides record the NDA, the exact score becomes visible to that counterparty only.
- Read more about the safeguards in our Zero-CUI security model and how verification works.
Not legal advice. TeamingIndex guides are general information to help you plan, not legal advice. Regulations, clauses and program rules change and solicitations can tailor them: always work from the current regulation and the clauses in your solicitation, and confirm decisions with your contracting officer or counsel.
Official sources
Primary regulations and program pages this guide was checked against on . Read them for the authoritative text.