Goods and Services Identification Number (GSIN)

The Goods and Services Identification Number (GSIN) is a Government of Canada classification code. It identifies generic descriptions of the goods and services that the federal government procures, so that a single code stands for a category of purchase rather than one specific contract.

GSINs connect procurement information across its life cycle, including tender notices, award notices, standing offers, supply arrangements and contract history. The Government of Canada publishes the code list as open data and updates it as codes are created or deactivated. GSIN is a Canadian federal procurement system and is separate from NATO terminology.

Where GSIN codes appear in federal procurement

Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) lists GSINs on its standing-offer and supply-arrangement pages to show which goods or services an instrument covers. Examples include:

• Moving services: GSIN V001BA
• Information retrieval services: GSIN D317B
• Propane: GSIN N6830
• Commercially available IT training: GSIN U009E
• Executive search and personnel recruitment: GSIN R201H

GSINs also appear on CanadaBuys notices as a "GSIN Description". One award notice gives the description "Gasoline Reciprocating Engines (Except Aircraft) and Components". Another award notice gives "Chemical Analysis Instruments".

GSINs and PSPC contact information

PSPC uses GSINs in its procurement information and offers a service that connects active GSIN codes with the PSPC division responsible for buying the relevant goods. This is described on the CanadaBuys procurement assistance page. The service excludes specified IT infrastructure services, which fall under Shared Services Canada.

GSINs are also used in national master standing offers (NMSOs) and other collaborative procurement tools. Depending on the instrument, these may be available to federal departments, agencies, Crown corporations and organizations participating in the Canadian Collaborative Procurement Initiative (CCPI). The hand tools and security hardware products commodity pages are examples of this collaborative listing.

GSIN and the UNSPSC transition

The Government of Canada's open-data material states that GSINs were used before 2021 and are being compared with the United Nations Standard Products and Services Code (UNSPSC), version 21. The government provides a mapping between GSINs and a subset of UNSPSC version 21 codes used in current Government of Canada procurement data. An earlier supplier guide stated that UNSPSC would replace GSIN in 2017. GSIN codes nonetheless remain on current PSPC standing-offer pages and CanadaBuys notices, so suppliers will meet both systems and can use the mapping to move between them.

What a GSIN means for a supplier bidding on Canadian public contracts

For a supplier, a GSIN is mainly a search and classification aid. Use the code that matches your product or service to find relevant tenders on CanadaBuys. Use it also to identify the federal organization or PSPC division tied to that procurement category.

A GSIN does not create eligibility, registration, a contract or a right to bid. You must still meet the requirements of the specific solicitation or standing offer. Read the notice itself, and treat the GSIN as the way to find it.