Documents Needed to Bid on Public Tenders in Canada

This guide is the checklist behind a Canadian federal bid: each document and step, grouped by the point in a solicitation when it is asked for, with who can lawfully do it. For how Canadian procurement works overall (the trade agreements, thresholds, procedures, assessment, complaints and payment), see How to bid for government contracts in Canada, and for the account set-up screen by screen, How to register on CanadaBuys and SAP Business Network.

Before you bid

Can your company take part?

1. The reciprocal procurement check. Since 14 July 2025, federal procurements of $10,000 or more are generally limited to Canadian suppliers and suppliers from the countries listed in the schedule to the CITT Procurement Inquiry Regulations. A Canadian supplier has a place of business in Canada where it carries out activities on a permanent basis, and every member of a joint venture must meet the test. Contracts that are at least 51% defence goods or services, some sole-source contracts and deliverables wholly outside Canada are excluded. Nothing is filed here: you simply give truthful facts about your Canadian place of business before any bid work starts.

Your accounts

2. SAP Business Network, through CanadaBuys. Every federal bid on CanadaBuys is read in full and submitted through SAP Business Network.

Cost and time: free; the account is activated the same day from an email link.
Who does it: the person who creates the account becomes its main administrator, so one of your people creates it; the company data can be prepared for you. Only one account is allowed per CRA business number.
Advisers: your administrator creates a role and adds a bid consultant as a named user with their own username. Nobody else uses the administrator’s credentials.
From abroad: allowed. Registration asks for your head office country, and no business number is needed to bid.

3. The Government of Canada supplier questionnaire, questions 3 to 8. These must be answered before any bid: privacy consent and agreement to the Code of Conduct for Procurement (Q3), industry (Q4), business type and the names of owners, directors and partners (Q5), voluntary Indigenous and under-represented-group self-identification (Q6–Q7), and greenhouse gas measurement and sustainability (Q8). It is free and you can edit and resubmit it at any time. A consultant can draft the answers inside your account; you give the consent, agree to the Code of Conduct, confirm the names and decide on any self-identification.

4. Provincial portals. Provinces run their own. BC Bid, for British Columbia’s public sector, is free and needs a Business BCeID, which is tied to your identity, so you obtain it yourself.

Contracts that need an authorization first

5. Québec: AMP authorization to contract. Enterprises bidding on Québec public contracts or subcontracts of $5 million or more in construction or PPP, or $1 million or more in services (renewal options included), must hold authorization from the Autorité des marchés publics on the bid submission date.

Cost: $539 per enterprise to apply, plus $270 per person or entity audited; $203 for the annual update; $270 for a renewal. Fees are non-refundable.
Valid: indefinite since 2 April 2026, subject to the annual update; missing it can trigger automatic suspension and a monetary penalty.
Who does it: your enterprise’s respondent completes and submits it, through AMP e-Services with clicSÉQUR or on paper forms, and may sign a power of attorney so that someone else, such as your lawyer, communicates with the AMP. The org chart, business-relationship disclosures, governance measures and tax attestation can be prepared for you. Your officers and shareholders supply their criminal-record declarations, and you pay the fees.
Tax attestation: an Attestation de Revenu Québec, issued no more than 30 days before the application. Your accountant can retrieve it with your authorization.
From abroad: no clicSÉQUR, so paper forms; an equivalent document from your country’s tax authority, issued within 30 days, stating that you have filed the required returns and have no overdue accounts; consent to information sharing outside Québec; and criminal or penal record documents for officers of a head office outside Québec.

6. Controlled Goods Program registration. Needed to examine, possess or transfer controlled goods or technology in Canada, including before you receive solicitation documents that contain them.

Cost and time: free; 32 business days as standard, currently longer because of a surge in applications.
Valid: up to 5 years.
Who does it: your company applies by email, fax or mail. Its designated official, an employee who is a Canadian citizen or permanent resident living in Canada, consents to a security assessment, completes the mandatory training and supplies ID, proof of citizenship or residence and a fingerprint-based criminal record check.
From abroad: the business must be incorporated or authorized under Canadian federal, provincial or territorial law, and foreign individuals need a visitor exemption to examine controlled goods.

7. Indigenous Business Directory, for set-asides. Set-aside contracts under the Procurement Strategy for Indigenous Business require a listing on the IBD or a modern treaty business list. The business must be at least 51% owned and controlled by Indigenous people ordinarily resident in Canada, and the federal target is at least 5% of contract value. The ownership and control documents can be assembled for you; the owners provide their identity proof and the business applies online. Indigenous Services Canada notes delays are longer than usual, and listings are subject to compliance reviews and audits.

With your bid

8. Open the posting. On the SAP Business Network event you click Respond, review the prerequisites and accept the Government of Canada agreement for that event. Accepting doesn’t oblige you to bid, but a consultant should click it only after you approve. Questions go to the buyer through Compose Message before the enquiry deadline.

9. The forms you’ll be asked for.

Form	When it’s asked	Who prepares it	What only you do
Integrity: List of Names (directors and, for private corporations, owners of 5% or more)	Every bid for a contract under the Ineligibility and Suspension Policy	Filled in from your corporate registers	Confirm the names are complete and approve the list
Integrity Declaration	Only if you cannot certify compliance with the policy	You, with your lawyer	Make and sign it
First-tier subcontractor check	Bids naming first-tier subcontractors	Company subcontractors are checked against the public Ineligibility and Suspension List	Sign the request form for individual subcontractors, with their consent
Buy Canadian attestations (Canadian supplier status, Canadian goods or services)	Strategic procurements of $5 million or more	Evidence and forms drafted for you	Your authorized officer signs them
Application for Registration (AFR), Contract Security Program	Solicitations with a Security Requirements Check List	Prepared for you	Sign it (within the last 6 months) and appoint a Company Security Officer
Agreement to Implement Employment Equity (LAB1215)	Organizations with 100 or more permanent employees in Canada, on goods or services contracts of $1 million or more including taxes	Applicability checked and the form prepared	An authorized executive signs it, or you quote your existing AIEE number
Technical and financial offer	Every bid	A bid consultant drafts and uploads	Approve the content
The price	Every bid	—	Set it yourself

A few details matter. Leaving out the list of names makes the bid non-compliant, and changes after award must be reported by the deadline in the solicitation. Ineligibility can last up to 10 years and suspension 18 months, and foreign offences similar to listed Canadian ones count. Under Buy Canadian (the threshold fell from $25 million to $5 million on 15 June 2026), Canadian suppliers get a 10% reduction to their evaluated price; a Canadian supplier must actively operate in Canada with a real location and CRA registration, and false attestations trigger compliance action. For the AFR, the procurement officer sponsors your company: organizations can’t apply or request pre-clearance themselves, and a provisional clearance lasts only for the solicitation. The AIEE does not apply to construction, legal services, real property or federally regulated private-sector employers.

10. Bid security, where the solicitation asks. Federal buyers must not require bid security at or below $500,000; it is typical of federal construction above that value, at the percentage the solicitation sets. A licensed surety issues a bid bond on form PWGSC-TPSGC 504 with your company as principal, or you lodge a security deposit: government guaranteed bonds, bills of exchange or an irrevocable standby letter of credit from a bank. The bond must come from an insurer licensed in the contract’s jurisdiction and listed in the solicitation, and it runs for the bid validity period. You sign as principal and sign the surety’s indemnity agreement.

11. No digital signature certificate. A logged-in user submits with “Submit Entire Response”; the guides describe no qualified electronic signature. Forms that need an authorized signatory are signed by you.

12. Submit. Upload attachments section by section, answer the drop-downs and save the draft often: there is no autosave. Submission can be made by you or by the consultant’s named user once you have approved the final package in writing. Until the deadline you change a bid with “Revise Response”; never submit a second bid for the same opportunity. If a solicitation names Canada Post Connect as the delivery method, use only the methods it lists, sent from your own Connect identity or a named participant the department allows. Bids can be in English or French; foreign-language documents need a certified translation.

If you’re in line for award

Certificate or proof	Issued by	Cost and time	Valid for	What only you do
Full registration: questionnaire Q9 with your CRA business number and financial information	PSPC, through SAP Business Network	Free	—	Your administrator enters the banking details and the BN
CRA business number	Canada Revenue Agency	—	—	Your authorized officer signs or submits the registration
CPCSC Level 1 cyber self-assessment (13 controls from ITSP.10.171)	PSPC and National Defence, through the online tool	—	Annual; expiry date shown on the results	Make the self-attestation, record it in Q12 and keep evidence for at least one year
CPCSC Level 2 or 3	An SCC-accredited certification body (Level 2, 98 controls); National Defence (Level 3, 130+ controls)	—	Annual affirmation	Undergo the assessment and affirm each year
Insurance under SACC clause G1001C or specific clauses	An insurer, through a licensed broker	—	Contract term	Hold the policy and supply the certificate
Performance bond (505) and labour and material payment bond (506)	A licensed surety	—	Contract term	Sign as principal and provide financials for underwriting
Designated Organization Screening (protected) or Facility Security Clearance (classified)	PSPC Contract Security Program	DOS up to 4 months; FSC 6 months or more	DOS 2 years; FSC 1 year, if compliant and unchanged	Appoint and screen your CSO and key officials; sign the security agreement
Personnel screening (reliability status, Secret)	PSPC Contract Security Program	No CSP fee; reliability 7 business days (simple) or 120 (complex); Secret 75 or 120 business days more	—	Your CSO or ACSO submits; each person consents and gives fingerprints

The business number. Since the old supplier registration system was decommissioned (CanadaBuys notice of 6 July 2026), suppliers must hold a valid CRA business number; the Procurement Business Number route is gone. An accountant prepares the registration, and a non-resident uses the CRA’s online Non-Resident Business Registration form or paper Form RC1.

CPCSC. Level 1 was launched in April 2026 and is required at award, not at bidding, in select defence contracts whose Cyber Security Risk Assessment sets it; a valid CMMC certification also satisfies it. Levels 2 and 3 are for higher-risk defence contracts and are being phased in later.

Construction contract security. It must be sought for construction contracts estimated over $500,000 (clauses E5000C and E8000C), with the amounts set in the solicitation.

Organization screening. The federal procurement officer sponsors it; your package includes the security agreement, the CSO appointment, the CSO’s personnel forms and a fingerprint request, and for an FSC also form TBS/SCT 330-60. No outside adviser can hold the CSO role. Only your CSO or ACSO may request a clearance for an individual; staff pay for their fingerprints and any police certificates, including translation and authentication, and foreign residence history goes through out-of-country verification.

Before the contract

GST/HST registration. A non-resident carrying on business in Canada that makes taxable supplies must register unless it is a small supplier, tested at $30,000 of worldwide taxable revenues. Without a permanent establishment in Canada it generally posts security: 50% of estimated net tax for the first 12 months, at least $5,000 and at most $1 million, payable in Canadian dollars, and recalculated each year at 50% of the prior year’s actual net tax. No security is needed if taxable sales in Canada are estimated at no more than $100,000 a year and net tax falls between $3,000 remittable and $3,000 refundable. Your accountant assesses whether you are carrying on business in Canada and your small-supplier status, and prepares the registration and the security calculation; you sign and fund the deposit.

Provincial and extra-provincial registration. A corporation must register in each province or territory where it does business, for example with an address or phone there or by offering services there, and most provinces charge a fee. A lawyer files it as your agent; your officers sign the declarations and resolutions and appoint any local attorney for service the province requires.

Ontario WSIB clearance. Ontario owners typically ask for a clearance number showing that you, and your subcontractors, are registered and up to date with the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board. It is immediate online, or 3-5 business days by email, and valid up to 90 days. You register with the WSIB and keep payments current; most newly registered businesses needing a clearance pay a $250 advance payment credited to premiums.

Certificate of Recognition (COR). Many construction owners pre-qualify on this safety-management certificate, issued by the provincial construction safety association (IHSA in Ontario). The national audit standard is a minimum of 65% per element and 80% overall. You implement the system and pass the audit.

Apostilles. Canada joined the Apostille Convention (accession 12 May 2023, in force 11 January 2024). Global Affairs Canada, or some provinces, issue apostilles on paper on Canadian documents bearing an original recognized signature; at Global Affairs Canada it takes about 25 business days plus mailing (5-10 business days from Canada). A notary or lawyer certifies copies or witnesses the signatures of your officers, who sign the originals in person. Documents from other Convention states are apostilled in their home country.

Who does what

Step	Who can do it	What only you do
Reciprocal procurement check	Screened for you	Give truthful facts about your Canadian place of business
SAP Business Network account	Data prepared for you	Create the account, stay main administrator and add users
Questionnaire Q3–Q8	A bid consultant drafts	Give consent, agree to the Code of Conduct, confirm names, decide on self-identification
BC Bid	—	Obtain the Business BCeID
AMP authorization (Québec)	Prepared for you; a lawyer can deal with the AMP under power of attorney	Your respondent submits; officers give record declarations; pay the fees
Controlled Goods Program	—	Appoint the designated official and sign the application
Questions, offer and uploads	A bid consultant, as a named user	Approve the content and the terms of each event
Integrity list, Buy Canadian, AFR, AIEE, Integrity Declaration	Prepared for you	Sign or approve them
Submission	You, or the consultant’s named user	Approve the final package in writing
Bid bond and contract bonds	A licensed surety or bank	Sign as principal and the indemnity
CRA business number, GST/HST	A CPA	Sign the registration; fund any security
Q9 full registration	Data prepared for you	Enter the banking details
Security screening	Sponsored by the procurement officer	Appoint the CSO; staff consent and give fingerprints
CPCSC Level 1	Walked through with you	Make the self-attestation
Extra-provincial registration	A lawyer	Officers sign the declarations
Apostille and certified copies	A notary or lawyer; Global Affairs Canada	Officers sign the originals
Translations	A certified translator	—

The professionals involved

Professional	Licensed or regulated by	What they do for a bidder
Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA)	Provincial CPA bodies (for example CPA British Columbia, CPA Ontario, CPA Québec)	Prepare a non-resident CRA business number registration for you to submit or sign, prepare the GST/HST registration and estimate the security deposit, act as your CRA representative once you authorize it, prepare or audit financial statements, and obtain the Revenu Québec attestation or a foreign equivalent for an AMP application
Lawyer (barrister and solicitor; in Québec, an avocat)	Provincial and territorial law societies; Barreau du Québec	Register you extra-provincially, draft powers of attorney, board resolutions and joint-venture or teaming agreements, communicate with the AMP under your power of attorney, review integrity disclosures, Buy Canadian attestations and contract terms, and advise on complaints to the CITT or the Procurement Ombud
Notary (a Québec notaire, or a common-law notary public, usually a lawyer, appointed provincially)	Chambre des notaires du Québec, for Québec notaries	Certify true copies and witness signatures on corporate documents, powers of attorney and declarations, and prepare documents with an original recognized signature for an apostille
Bid or proposal consultant	Unregulated	Work in your SAP Business Network account as a named user with an assigned role, read solicitations, draft technical and financial responses, compile the mandatory certifications and forms, send questions and prepare the response for your final approval
CPCSC Level 2 certification body	Standards Council of Canada (accreditation); PSPC and National Defence (program)	Conduct the external Level 2 assessment of 98 controls for defence suppliers once Level 2 is in force
Surety company or bank	Insurance regulators (licensing); the Surety Association of Canada is the industry’s trade association	Issue bid bonds (504), performance bonds (505) and labour and material payment bonds (506) for federal construction, and irrevocable standby letters of credit as security deposits
Certified translator	OTTIAQ (Québec); ATIO’s “Certified” title (Ontario)	Translate foreign corporate documents, police certificates and financial statements into English or French, and translate bid content between the two

If your company is from abroad

You don’t need a Canadian company if your country has procurement commitments to Canada; a firm from a country without them qualifies for most federal buys over $10,000 only through a permanent, identified place of business in Canada. Who may bid from abroad, and on which contracts, is explained in How to bid for government contracts in Canada. For the paperwork:

Register on SAP Business Network with your head office country, and get a non-resident CRA business number before award, online or on Form RC1. Foreign offences similar to listed Canadian ones count under the integrity regime, so check the list of names and any declaration with a lawyer. If you carry on business in Canada, register for GST/HST and expect to post security without a permanent establishment there. For Québec AMP authorization, use the paper forms, a tax good-standing document from your country issued within 30 days and record documents for your head office officers. A bid bond must come from an insurer licensed in the contract’s jurisdiction. Security screening isn’t available to you directly: your national security authority sponsors you under its arrangement with Canada, and controlled goods registration requires a Canadian-incorporated business. Your corporate documents are apostilled at home, and documents not in English or French, including police certificates, need a certified translation.

Pitfalls

Keep the administrator role. Never share the SAP Business Network administrator login; add each adviser as a named user with their own username.
One account per business number. Never open a second SAP Business Network account for the same company.
One bid per opportunity. Change a submitted bid with “Revise Response”, never with a second submission.
Check eligibility before the work starts. Without a permanent Canadian place of business or a trade-agreement basis, most federal bids of $10,000 or more are closed to you.
Sign your own attestations. Buy Canadian attestations, the Integrity Declaration, the AFR, the AIEE and the CPCSC self-attestation are yours alone.
Don’t tick Indigenous self-identification or chase set-asides unless you are on the IBD or a modern treaty list.
Don’t count on a clearance. Organizations can’t request pre-clearance, and foreign organizations can’t be sponsored through the CSP.
Handle controlled goods documents carefully. Pass them only to people who are CGP-registered or exempt.
Check first-tier subcontractors against the Ineligibility and Suspension List before you name them.
Hold AMP authorization on the bid date for Québec contracts of $5 million or more in construction or $1 million or more in services.
Save drafts often. SAP Business Network does not autosave.
Keep your auditor out of the bid. Audit work is subject to provincial independence rules: the accountant who audits your financial statements should not also act as your bid adviser on the same matter.

Doing it with askTender

In Canada, your askTender Partner is added as a named user on your company’s account on CanadaBuys (SAP Business Network) and works under their own login. You keep your own login and sign only what the law reserves to you: approving the final response, confirming the integrity list of names, signing the attestations, the AFR and the employment equity agreement, and appointing your security officers. The askTender Desk prepares the questionnaire answers, forms and responses, assembles the bid and coordinates the certificates; askTender Partners, such as a CPA, a lawyer, a notary or a certified translator, do the steps their licence covers.

Questions

Do I need a digital signature to bid on a Canadian federal tender?

No. On SAP Business Network a logged-in user submits the bid with ‘Submit Entire Response’; there is no qualified electronic signature step. Forms that need an authorized signatory, such as the AFR, the employment equity agreement, Buy Canadian attestations or an Integrity Declaration, are signed by your own officer.

Does a non-resident supplier have to register for GST/HST?

If it carries on business in Canada and makes taxable supplies, yes, unless it is a small supplier under the $30,000 test on worldwide taxable revenues. Without a permanent establishment in Canada it generally posts security of 50% of estimated net tax for the first 12 months: at least $5,000 and at most $1 million, in Canadian dollars.

When does a Canadian federal tender need a bid bond?

Bid security must not be required at or below $500,000, and is used mainly in federal construction above that value. It is a bid bond on form PWGSC-TPSGC 504 or a security deposit such as an irrevocable standby letter of credit, at the percentage the solicitation sets. Contracts then need a performance bond (505) and a labour and material payment bond (506).

How long does federal security screening take?

For a company, a Designated Organization Screening takes up to 4 months and a Facility Security Clearance 6 months or more. For staff, reliability status takes 7 business days for a simple case and 120 for a complex one; Secret takes a further 75 or 120 business days. The government sponsors it; you can’t apply for pre-clearance yourself.

What does AMP authorization cost in Québec?

$539 per enterprise to apply, plus $270 for each person or entity audited, then $203 for each annual update; a renewal costs $270. Fees are non-refundable. You need it for Québec public contracts or subcontracts of $5 million or more in construction or $1 million or more in services.

Sources

This guide explains the rules in plain English; it isn’t legal advice. Procurement rules change, and each tender document sets its own conditions — it always prevails.