Security Clearance for Government Contracts in Canada (2026)

Start here

Do you need a clearance, and which one?

Answer two questions about the tender in front of you. This orients you, but the Security Requirements Check List attached to the tender is always the final word on the level required.

Clearance orientation check

Two questions. Nothing is stored, and this is guidance, not an official determination.

1. What will the contract work require you to access?

2. Does the tender include a Security Requirements Check List (SRCL)?

The landscape

Two kinds of screening: organizations and people

Every security requirement in a federal contract breaks into two layers. Your organization gets an organization-level screening, and then the individual people who need access are screened one by one. Both are granted by the Contract Security Program, run by Public Services and Procurement Canada, which handles roughly 90 percent of personnel and organization security screening for the Government of Canada.

Which screening you need comes down to one distinction: protected information (sensitive, but not classified) versus classified information (Secret and above). Protected-level work needs a Designated Organization Screening. Classified-level work needs a Facility Security Clearance.

Organization screenings

Screening	What it clears your organization for	Levels	Validity
Designated Organization Screening (DOS)	Screening your people to Reliability Status so they can access protected information, assets, and work sites	Protected	2 years
Facility Security Clearance (FSC)	Handling classified information, assets, or work sites (may also cover Canadian Eyes Only, COMSEC, and NATO material)	Confidential, Secret, Top Secret, NATO	1 year

Validity periods apply to organization clearances granted on or after May 2, 2022.

Personnel screenings

Level	What the person can access	Validity
Reliability Status	Protected A and Protected B information, assets, and work sites. Requires a 5-year background check, electronic fingerprints, and a credit check	10 years
Secret	Classified information, assets, and work sites at the Secret level	10 years
Top Secret	Classified information, assets, and work sites at the Top Secret level	5 years

A foreign-ownership rule sits underneath both organization screenings: an organization with foreign ownership (direct, intermediate, or ultimate) from a country that is not a NATO member and has no bilateral security instrument with Canada cannot be granted an FSC or DOS. More on that in the foreign-ownership and subcontractor notes below.

The one thing everyone gets wrong

You cannot apply for a clearance yourself

This is the single most important fact for a first-time bidder. There is no form you fill out on your own, no line you join, no fee you pay to start. In the ordinary case, an eligible organization must be sponsored to get security screened, and individuals cannot apply directly either. Personnel screening requests are made by a Company Security Officer on behalf of an organization that is already registered in the Contract Security Program. There is no self-serve path.

That sounds like a wall. It is actually a doorway, because the sponsor is usually sitting right there in the tender.

Who can sponsor you

For a first domestic contract, a federal government official (a procurement, security, project, or executive officer) is your sponsor.
A security officer of an already-cleared organization in good standing that holds a government contract with security requirements can also sponsor.
A prime contractor can sponsor a subcontractor, but only after the prime contract with security requirements has already been awarded.

The escape valve: a Provisional Security Clearance. If you have never held a clearance, you are not shut out. The program grants a Provisional Security Clearance to organizations not yet screened into it, so their bid-preparation team can access protected or classified information at the pre-solicitation stage. In the program's own words, this puts all potential bidders on the same footing, and organizations of all sizes are eligible to bid on tenders with security requirements. It is valid only for the bid solicitation stage. If you win and later get a full DOS or FSC, you keep your Company Security Officer's existing screening rather than start over. Foreign organizations are not eligible for provisional clearances.

What a first-time bidder actually does

The moment you see a security requirement in a tender, contact the contracting officer named in the tender's contact tab and tell them you do not yet hold a clearance. They submit the sponsorship request to the program on your behalf. The program validates your eligibility and, if it approves, contacts your organization directly to begin the screening. From there you complete an Application for Registration, appoint a Company Security Officer, and start the personnel screening. The full walk-through is in the process timeline.

An extra door for underrepresented-owned businesses. Organizations that are majority (at least 51 percent) owned and operated by members of underrepresented groups, as defined by the federal Policy on Social Procurement, can be sponsored for an organization clearance before a procurement even starts. A federal approved source sends the program a request signed by a director-level or higher executive. This is a real, named pathway, though it is not the default route most bidders take.

Step by step

How the process actually runs

Six moves from spotting a security requirement to being cleared in time for award. Where the government publishes a timeline, it is shown. Where it does not, that is stated plainly.

Find the SRCL and contact the contracting officer

The Security Requirements Check List is the controlling document. It is completed by the buying department, not by you, and it names the exact clearance levels required. Read it, then contact the officer in the tender's contact tab as soon as possible to get the process started.
Get sponsored

You cannot self-apply. The contracting officer submits the sponsorship request to the program on your behalf, which validates your organization's eligibility.

Underrepresented-owned businesses have a separate stream that can start before a procurement, covered in the sponsorship section above.
Register your organization

Complete an Application for Registration with the program, signed and dated within the last six months, including documentation on your organization's structure, ownership, and legal status. Only organizations formed or incorporated in Canada and physically located and registered to do business here are eligible, including Canadian-citizen sole proprietors.
Appoint a Company Security Officer

Every organization the program screens must appoint exactly one Company Security Officer, screened at the same level as the organization itself. The Company Security Officer is your single point of contact with the program and is the only person who can submit personnel screening requests. If you have staff depth, appoint an Alternate as well.

This is the bottleneck. Until your Company Security Officer is screened, nothing else can move, so start it first.
Screen your people

The Company Security Officer submits personnel screening forms for themselves, for owners, officers, and directors as the program determines, and for staff who need access. Background checks include an RCMP inquiry with electronic fingerprints, a CSIS check, and a credit check. Higher levels can add out-of-country verifications and a security interview.

The program charges no fee, but you pay for fingerprinting, police certificates, and any document translation or authentication. Reliability Status timelines vary widely: official figures range from about a week for straightforward cases to several months, and complex cases can extend well past a year. Treat any single number as an estimate.
Be cleared in time for award

Organization screening alone runs up to four months for a DOS and six months or more for an FSC, before personnel screening even begins. In the general case, your clearance has to be in place by contract award. For standing offers and supply arrangements it can need to be in place sooner. This is why you start the day you see the requirement.

Top Secret personnel screening does not have a single published processing figure, so we do not quote one.

Bid, award, perform

Can you bid before you are cleared?

Usually yes, but the details depend on the procurement method, and the official guidance is genuinely nuanced. Do not oversimplify it to "you can always get cleared after you win."

Open, one-off solicitations

If you only need sensitive information to perform the contract, procurement officers must give bidders until the date of contract award to obtain their organization security clearance. You only need to meet security requirements during the bid process if you need protected or classified information to prepare your bid, and the Provisional Security Clearance exists precisely for that situation. So the hard deadline for full clearance is contract award, not bid submission.

Standing offers and supply arrangements

These are stricter. Where suppliers are pre-qualified into a standing offer or supply arrangement, the resulting requests can require security to be in place at bid closing, because those suppliers were already validated at the appropriate level when they were issued the arrangement. Only pre-qualified suppliers are eligible to bid, so here the clearance effectively has to exist before you can bid at all.

Verification happens again at award

Regardless of method, the contracting officer verifies your security status with the program before award, and signs the award only after the program confirms your clearance. In rare, urgent cases, the contracting officer, the client department's chief security officer, and the technical authority can agree on a documented risk-mitigation strategy so work can begin before screening is fully complete. That is an exception, not the default.

The one rule that matters. You can usually submit a bid before you are cleared. But clearance has to be in place by contract award, sooner for standing offers and supply arrangements, and screening runs for months. Start the sponsorship process the moment you see a security requirement, not when you are shortlisted.

A different regime

The Controlled Goods Program is not a clearance

Some bidders hit a second requirement that looks similar but works differently. The Controlled Goods Program requires registration for any individual or organization that examines, possesses, or transfers controlled goods in Canada, meaning items and technical data with military or national-security significance. It is also run by Public Services and Procurement Canada, under the Defence Production Act and the Controlled Goods Regulations.

How it differs from the Contract Security Program

The Contract Security Program screens people and organizations for access to sensitive information, tied to a specific contract.
The Controlled Goods Program registers people and organizations to handle controlled goods, and can apply even without a specific government contract, for example a manufacturer that handles controlled goods as part of normal business.

These are two separate registration and screening regimes with different triggers, not two names for the same thing. A single defence contract can require both at once.

What registration involves

You appoint an Authorized Individual, usually the owner or a senior official, and a Designated Official for each place of business where controlled goods are handled. Registration is valid for up to five years, there is no registration fee, and processing takes up to 32 business days, longer if the application is incomplete. Failure to register may be an offence under the Defence Production Act.

A newer, separate program for defence cyber. The Canadian Program for Cyber Security Certification is rolling out for some Department of National Defence contracts. It is a cybersecurity certification led jointly by Public Services and Procurement Canada and National Defence, not a personnel or organization security clearance, and it layers on top of the Contract Security Program rather than replacing it. If a defence tender mentions it, treat it as a distinct requirement and confirm the current details on the official program page.

Common questions

Security clearance questions, answered

Can I apply for a security clearance myself in Canada?

No, not in the ordinary case. You cannot walk up to the Contract Security Program and request a clearance on your own. An eligible organization must be sponsored to get screened, and individuals cannot apply directly either: personnel screening requests are made by a Company Security Officer on behalf of an organization already registered in the program. For a first federal contract, your sponsor is usually the contracting officer named in the tender.

How much does a security clearance cost?

The Contract Security Program does not charge a fee to process organization or personnel screenings. You do pay for your own costs: fingerprinting, obtaining police certificates or alternative documents, and translating or authenticating those documents. Note the program's own fraud warning: if anyone claiming to work for the program asks you for money, report it to your local police.

Do I need a security clearance to bid on a government contract?

Not always to bid. If you only need sensitive information to perform the contract, procurement officers must give bidders until the date of contract award to obtain their clearance. You only need to meet security requirements during bidding if you need protected or classified information to prepare the bid itself, and a Provisional Security Clearance exists for exactly that. For standing offers and supply arrangements, security often has to be in place at bid closing, because those suppliers were pre-qualified with the right level.

How long does Reliability Status take?

It varies a lot with the complexity of each case. Official figures on the costs and processing times page range from about a week for straightforward cases to several months, and complex cases can run well past a year. Published estimates differ, so treat any single number as an estimate and check the official page for the current figure.

What is the difference between DOS and FSC?

Designated Organization Screening (DOS) clears your organization to screen its people to Reliability Status so they can access protected information, assets, and work sites. Facility Security Clearance (FSC) clears your organization for classified information, assets, or work sites, at the Confidential, Secret, Top Secret, or NATO level. In short: protected-level work needs a DOS, classified-level work needs an FSC.

What is a Provisional Security Clearance?

It is an organization clearance the program grants to companies not yet screened into it, so their bid-preparation team can access protected or classified information at the pre-solicitation stage. It puts all potential bidders on the same footing, and organizations of all sizes are eligible to bid on tenders with security requirements. It is valid only for the bid solicitation stage. If you win and later get a full DOS or FSC, you keep your Company Security Officer's existing screening rather than restart it. Foreign organizations are not eligible.

Who can sponsor my company for a security clearance?

For a first domestic contract, a federal government official (a procurement, security, project, or executive officer) sponsors you. A security officer of an already-cleared organization that holds a government contract with security requirements can also sponsor. A prime contractor can sponsor a subcontractor, but only after the prime contract with security requirements has already been awarded.

Is the Controlled Goods Program the same as a security clearance?

No. The Contract Security Program screens people and organizations for access to sensitive information tied to a specific contract. The Controlled Goods Program registers people and organizations to examine, possess, or transfer controlled goods, meaning items and technical data with military or national-security significance, and it can apply even without a specific government contract. They are two separate programs run by Public Services and Procurement Canada, with different triggers.

From reading to bidding

Federal tenders open right now

Most federal tenders carry no security requirement at all. Here is a snapshot of what is open across CanadaBuys, updated from the live feed.

Open on CanadaBuys

As of Jul 20, 2026 · CanadaBuys open data

777Federal tenders open · Jul 20

352Closing within 14 days

Security-flagged tenders are rare in the open feed. Browse everything and filter by what fits you. Open the tender browser →

Browse every open federal tender

Search, filter, and shortlist live CanadaBuys notices in one place, then come back here when a security requirement appears.

Open the tender browser Free · no account needed

New to federal contracting? Start with how to sell to government in Canada, learn where to find government contracts, and see the difference between an RFP, an RFQ, and a standing offer. When you are ready to bid, our guide to writing a winning government bid walks through the submission itself. You can also explore every Canadian tender portal, the Ontario tenders feed, and the numbers on federal contracting, or check the small-business procurement programs you may qualify for.

Fund the work

Bidding takes capacity, and grants can fund it

Getting cleared, standing up a Company Security Officer, and putting real hours into a competitive bid all cost money before any contract pays out. Canadian business grants and funding programs can cover the people, systems, and growth that make you a credible bidder. Take our free two-minute quiz to see which programs you may qualify for, or find grants for your business and browse the full funding catalog.

Sources

All facts on this page are drawn from the following official Government of Canada pages, reviewed July 2026. Always verify current requirements on the official notice and program pages before you act.

Security requirements for contracting with the Government of Canada · Organization security clearances (DOS and FSC) · Obtain a security screening for your organization · Sponsorship process · Provisional security clearance · Reliability status request process · Security clearance request process · Costs and processing times for personnel security screenings · Completing the Security Requirements Check List · How security clearance changes affect methods of supply · About the Controlled Goods Program · Register in the Controlled Goods Program · Subcontracting security requirements · Foreign ownership, control or influence