North Atlantic Treaty Organization agreements

NATO is an alliance of 32 member countries from North America and Europe. This membership gives Canadian organizations the opportunity to bid on NATO procurement initiatives.

Learn how the NATO procurement process works by consulting the guide to navigating NATO procurement.

On this page

• Find NATO procurement opportunities
• Get a NATO clearance for your organization
• Get a NATO clearance for your personnel

Find NATO Procurement Opportunities

NATO procurement initiatives are advertised here:

• CanadaBuys: Government of Canada procurement opportunities
• MERX—Canadian public tenders
• North Atlantic Treaty Organization business portal
• North Atlantic Treaty Organization Communications and Information Agency bulletin board
• North Atlantic Treaty Organization Allied Command Operations

NATO clearances for organizations

Organizations bidding on NATO opportunities must meet the NATO security requirements listed in the procurement documents.

A NATO facility security clearance (FSC) gives access, at the appropriate security level, to information and assets to the level of:

• NATO Confidential
• NATO Secret
• Control of Secret Material in an International Command (COSMIC) Top Secret^{Footnote 1}

For contracts requiring access to NATO restricted information and assets, contact the CSP by sending an email: tpsgc.dgsssiprojetintl-dobissintlproject.pwgsc@tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca.

How organizations get a NATO facility security clearance

• If your organization requires a NATO FSC at the level of the NATO security requirements, contact the Contract Security Program to validate your clearance for the NATO solicitation request
• If your organization does not have a NATO FSC clearance, learn how to obtain security screening for your organization

NATO personnel security clearance

Once your organization is granted a NATO FSC, you need to request NATO personnel security clearances for employees to gain access to NATO classified information and assets.

Who is eligible

Once your organization is granted a NATO FSC, you can request NATO personnel security clearances for employees who are:

• citizens of Canada or permanent residents
• citizens of other NATO countries (the CSP will coordinate with the DSA of that country)
• citizens of non-NATO countries at NATO Confidential or Secret clearance level, on a case-by-case basis

How personnel get a NATO clearance

Organizations that have obtained the required NATO FSC can request NATO personnel security clearance for their employees. Once the Canadian personnel security clearance has been granted, the CSP will send you a NATO security briefing form to be completed and signed by the company security officer and the employee. Once approved, the employee is considered NATO security cleared, with access to NATO information and assets respecting the need-to-know principle.

Learn more about NATO security requirements in Section 10.2 North Atlantic Treaty Organization of the Contract Security Manual (CSM).