Sponsorship process

Pre-solicitation and bid preparation phases

Organizations can be sponsored for a provisional security clearance by a federal government procurement officer during the pre-solicitation or bid preparation phase of a procurement process if access to protected or classified information is required to:

• respond to a request for information or to an invitation to qualify
• participate in an industry engagement
• attend a meeting in the context of the establishment of a procurement process, such as a bidders' conference
• bid on a request for proposals

Bid evaluation phase

Organizations can be sponsored for a designated organization screening (DOS) or facility security clearance (FSC) by a federal government procurement officer during the bid evaluation phase of a procurement process if:

• access to secure sites or to protected or classified information or assets is required to execute the resulting contract
• the organization has submitted a completed Application for registration form with their proposal or bid response

Organizations will be sponsored for a document safeguarding capability (DSC) “bid” inspection if the resulting contract indicates that they will need to protect sensitive information or assets at their business location. DSC approval will only be granted after the contract is awarded and after the organization has implemented all corrective measures that were identified as a requirement during the inspection.

Sole source contracts

Organizations can be sponsored for a DOS or FSC prior to being awarded a sole source contract with security requirements when a federal government approved source demonstrates that the organization requires access to secure sites or to sensitive information or assets to execute the contract.

Organizations will be sponsored for a DSC inspection if the resulting contract says they will need to protect sensitive information or assets at their business location. DSC approval will only be granted after the contract is awarded and after the organization has implemented all corrective measures that were identified as a requirement during the inspection.

Social procurements

Organizations that are underrepresented^{footnote 1} can be sponsored for an organization clearance prior to participating in a procurement process. This will be allowed when a federal government approved source demonstrates that the screening is required to fulfill a Mandate Letter or another Government of Canada priority..

Subcontracts

Organizations can only sponsor other organizations by subcontracting. The prime contractor may request a security clearance for a subcontractor only after the prime contract with security requirements:

• has been awarded by the Government of Canada or foreign government  
• a copy of that prime contract has been provided to the CSP to ensure CSP has legal authority to act
• only if the prime contract permits subcontracting

The prime contractor must:

• be in good standing with the CSP
• provide the necessary subcontracting documentation to the CSP to receive the security clauses for the subcontract
• provide a copy of the signed subcontract in order to justify the requirement for oversight
• receive confirmation of the security clearance from the CSP before the subcontractor can begin work

Organizations cannot request a pre-clearance under any circumstance. They must not require their subcontractors to hold a security clearance prior to participating in a sub-solicitation process. Asking a potential subcontractor to disclose their security clearance to hold a clearance before getting a subcontract awarded contravenes the fundamental “need-to-know” security principle and constitutes an unfair business practice which goes against Government’s fair, open, transparent and value for money principles underscored by its procurement policies.

Learn more about subcontracting security requirements.

How to be sponsored for a provisional security clearance

To be sponsored for a provisional security clearance, your organization must contact the federal government procurement officer overseeing the solicitation. The procurement officer will determine whether your organization requires a provisional clearance to participate in the pre-solicitation stage of a procurement process.

You will need to:

• demonstrate that your organization does not already hold the appropriate level of clearance with the CSP to access the sensitive information or assets; and
• provide the procurement officer with a complete Application for registration form

Refer to the tender notice to find the procurement officer's contact information. Upon receipt of your organization's Application for registration (AFR) form, the procurement officer will contact the CSP to request a provisional security clearance on your organization's behalf.

Learn more about provisional security clearances.

How to be sponsored for a designated organization screening or a facility security clearance. To be sponsored for a designated organization screening (DOS) or facility security clearance (FSC), your organization must either:

• bid on a government solicitation for a resulting contract with security requirements and include in its proposal, a complete AFR form and, if uncleared, the CSP security screening package
• be awarded a sole source contract with security requirements and provide a complete AFR form and, if uncleared, the CSP security screening package provided by the federal government procurement officer overseeing the contract

Joint ventures bidding to be awarded as a joint ventures must submit:

• an AFR form for each member organization in the joint ventures
• a CSP security screening package for any member organization that does not have security clearance

The CSP security screening package that your procurement officer includes with their solicitation contains:

• Security agreement form
• Company security officer appointment, acknowledgement and undertaking form
• Company security officer (CSO) personnel security forms
  • for DOS
    • Personnel screening, consent and authorization form (TBS/SCT 330-23)
  • for FSC
    • Personnel screening, consent and authorization form (TBS/SCT 330-23)  
    • Security clearance form (TBS/SCT 330-60)
• Fingerprint applicant request form (for the CSO)

To obtain a copy of these organization screening forms, please contact the Contract Security Program's client service centre. Upon receipt of your organization's AFR form and any other security screening documents you provided to the federal procurement officer, the federal government procurement officer will contact the CSP to request a DOS or FSC on your organization's behalf including the forms you had provided to them with your bid submission. Learn more about the screening process.

If the solicitation or sole source contract requires the safeguarding of sensitive information or assets at your organization's business location for the resulting contract, the procurement officer will also request a DSC bid inspection for your organization. DSC approval is only completed upon contract award if the corrective measures were implemented.

Learn more about the physical and information technology security inspection process.

How to be sponsored as an underrepresented supplier

To be sponsored for security screening as an underrepresented supplier, your organization must meet the definition of underrepresented supplier provided in the Policy on Social Procurement.

To sponsor the organization, a federal government approved source must send to the CSP:

• a Request for private sector organization screening form signed by an executive (director level or higher) indicating the underrepresented supplier profile
• a justification for the screening against the Mandate Letter(s) or other Government of Canada priorities

If an underrepresented supplier requires a FSC or DSC, the federal government approved source must also submit to the CSP a:

• Security requirements check list form (TBS/SCT 350-103)
• Statement of work or substantive description of work

How to be sponsored as a subcontractor

To be sponsored for security screening as a subcontractor, your organization must be required to:

• execute portions of a prime contract or subcontract that requires access to protected or classified information or assets or secure sites as a subcontractor
• keep protected or classified information and assets at your place of business, under your care and control, as part of the subcontract

To sponsor your organization, the prime contractor or the subcontractor that your organization will perform work for must submit to the CSP a:

• Request for private sector organization screening form
• Security requirements check list form (TBS/SCT 350-103)

Subcontractors must not advertise nor provide security information about their organization to anyone unless there is a substantiated requirement to do so, typically after contract or subcontract award.  

Learn more about the improvements to the subcontracting process for contractors.