If your Canadian company wants to compete for United States Department of War (U.S. DoW) contracts, getting an industrial security clearance is essential. Many U.S. DoW opportunities include strict security requirements, and without clearance, you won’t even make it to the starting line. Canada’s Contract Security Program (CSP), managed by Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC), provides an equivalent to the U.S. system—helping Canadian organizations and their employees meet these requirements.
The process can take time, so plan ahead. Secure your clearance now and position your business to act quickly when opportunities arise. Eligible organizations must be registered and physically located in Canada and be involved in solicitations, contracts, or subcontracts, with security clauses.
Types of organization security clearances
There are three types of organization security clearances.
A provisional security clearance allows organizations to get security screenings for members of their bid preparation teams. This will enable you to access protected or classified information or assets at the pre-solicitation stage of a procurement process.
A designated organization screening (DOS) enables an organization to undergo security screening for its personnel at the reliability status level. This allows them to access protected information, assets, and work sites.
A facility security clearance (FSC) enables an organization to obtain a security clearance for its personnel at the classified level, allowing them to access classified information, assets, or worksites. It can be granted at the Confidential, Secret and Top Secret levels, as well as for North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) clearances. This clearance may also allow access to classified information and assets marked “Canadian Eyes Only”, “COMSEC” (communications security), and “NATO”.
Getting organization security clearances
Public Services and Procurement Canada provides this information on how to obtain and maintain a security screening for your organization and upgrade your organization security clearance.
CCC can sponsor your organizational security clearance request, however, we will only advocate for your application if it determines that the opportunity will materialize in the near term.
Before contacting CCC, please review the information on how to obtain and maintain a security screening for your organization, and complete the necessary forms. Note that the organizational screening process requires sponsorship, confirmation of eligibility, appointment of a company security officer, and screening of key senior officials as needed.
Processing times and validity duration
Processing times for organizational security clearance depend on the request. Please check the Organizational Security Screening web page for estimated timeframes.