Application for Registration (AFR)

The Application for Registration (AFR) is a form used by the Contract Security Program (CSP), which Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) administers. It collects detailed information about an organization's structure, ownership and legal status. PSPC uses that information for organizational security screening. See the PSPC guidance on completing the AFR.

The AFR supports screening for organizations seeking a designated organizational screening (DOS) or a facility security clearance (FSC). It appears in federal procurements that carry security requirements, and it is a step a supplier completes before it can be cleared to handle sensitive work.

What the AFR collects

The form is built around three subjects: how the organization is structured, who owns it, and what its legal status is. PSPC's guidance for completing the form is published as part of the CSP's forms and documents for security requirements in contracting. The AFR is the organization-level record. It is separate from any screening of individual employees.

Because the form describes the legal entity, the information on it should match the organization that will hold the contract. The entity named on the AFR is the one the CSP screens.

When PSPC requires an AFR

PSPC requires a completed AFR when an organization is to be sponsored for security screening. This can happen during a pre-solicitation, a competitive solicitation or a sole-source contract process, as set out on the PSPC page on obtaining security screening for an organization.

The same page sets a timing rule. When the AFR is submitted for sponsorship, it must be signed and dated within the previous six months. A form signed earlier than that does not meet the requirement, so suppliers who prepare one well ahead of a bid should check the signature date before submitting.

How the AFR moves through a solicitation

CanadaBuys instructs buyers to include the AFR with the solicitation documents for any procurement that requires security screening. The buyer guidance on the AFR for contract security and privacy requirements sets out the division of work:

• Offerors complete the AFR and submit it with their offer.
• Buyers forward the completed forms to the CSP.

For requests for standing offers (RFSO) and requests for supply arrangements (RFSA), PSPC explains in its guidance on how security clearance changes affect methods of supply that a complete AFR submitted during bid evaluation can support sponsorship for a DOS or FSC. Once an organization has been issued a standing offer or supply arrangement, it generally does not submit another AFR for each later call-up or contract under that method of supply.

AFR and the IISS form for foreign bidders

The AFR is the form for Canadian-based bidders. Foreign-based bidders may be required to complete the CSP's Initial International Security Screening (IISS) form instead. PSPC solicitation documents state this split, for example in the request for proposal W6369-24-A006. A bidder should read the security clause of each solicitation to confirm which form applies to its situation.

What the AFR means for a supplier bidding on Canadian contracts

If a solicitation carries a security requirement, treat the AFR as part of the bid package, not as an afterthought. Find the form among the solicitation documents, complete it accurately for the legal entity that is bidding, and have it signed and dated within six months of submission. Submit it with the offer, because the buyer forwards it to the CSP.

Suppliers pursuing standing offers or supply arrangements should plan to file the AFR at the bid stage. After the award, they generally do not need to resubmit it for each call-up. Foreign-based firms should confirm early whether the IISS form applies in place of the AFR.