Certifications and Additional Information Form

Certifications and Additional Information is a standard section of Canadian federal solicitation documents. It requires bidders to provide specified certifications and other requested information as a condition of being considered for, or awarded, a contract. In the examples published on CanadaBuys, it appears as Part 5 of requests for proposals and requests for quotations.

Although suppliers often call it a form, the term is used as a section heading rather than as the name of one standalone document. Some solicitations use the longer heading "Certifications Precedent to Contract Award and Additional Information." Either way, the section tells the bidder what must be declared, what must be supplied, and when.

Where Part 5 sits in a federal solicitation

The wording comes from the Government of Canada's federal procurement templates and standard solicitation structure. Part 5 is separate from the technical and financial bid, and separate from the contract's substantive requirements. Security, financial and other requirements can also sit in their own part of the solicitation, so a bidder should read each part on its own terms.

Federal departments and agencies use the structure in solicitations published through CanadaBuys. Examples include the Department of National Defence solicitation W4938-23-073/S, which titles Part 5 "Certifications and Additional Information," and Parks Canada solicitations such as 5P420-25-0009/A.

What bidders are asked to certify

The content of Part 5 varies with the procurement. The certifications can include procurement-integrity declarations, independent-bid-determination certificates, environmental or packaging declarations, security-program information, and other items the contracting authority specifies.

• An RCMP request for proposals requires bidders to submit the Part 5 certifications and additional information, including an environmentally preferable packaging declaration and a certificate of independent bid determination.
• The DND solicitation W4938-23-073/S states that bidders must provide the required certifications and additional information to be awarded a contract.

Timing: with the bid or afterward

When the material is due depends on the solicitation. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada's solicitation 01R11-24-C012A says the certifications and additional information should be submitted with the bid, but may be submitted afterwards under the stated procedure. Where later submission is allowed, the contracting authority sets the deadline for providing any missing material.

Failure to provide the required certifications or information within the specified period renders the bid non-responsive. DND's W4938-23-073/S states this directly, and the other solicitations in the set follow the same approach.

Verification and obligations after award

Part 5 does not end at bid closing. Parks Canada's solicitation 5P300-23-0216/B states that the contracting authority may request additional information to verify a bidder's certifications. Solicitation 5P420-25-0009/A states that continuing compliance with certifications, and ongoing cooperation in providing additional information, are contract conditions unless otherwise specified.

A certification is therefore a statement the supplier must keep true for as long as the solicitation or contract requires, not a one-time checkbox.

What it means for a supplier bidding on Canadian public contracts

Treat Part 5 as a compliance gate. Read it at the start of bid preparation and list every certification and item of additional information it requires. Check whether each item is due with the bid or may follow, and set an internal deadline well ahead of the one the contracting authority gives.

• Complete every certification listed in Part 5.
• Supply any additional information requested there.
• Submit the material with the bid unless the solicitation permits later submission.
• Provide anything missing within the contracting authority's deadline.
• Keep certifications accurate and, where required, valid after award.

A technically strong bid can still be set aside if this section is incomplete, so assign a named owner for it on every bid team.