Mandatory Criteria

Mandatory criteria are the minimum requirements that a bid must meet to be considered further. They are part of a solicitation's evaluation criteria and are normally assessed objectively on a pass/fail basis. A bid that fails to meet even one mandatory criterion is generally non-compliant and receives no further consideration.

Mandatory criteria are distinct from point-rated criteria. Point-rated criteria assess relative merit and award points, so they rank bids that are already compliant. Mandatory criteria do not rank anything. They identify the requirements that are essential to completing the work successfully, as described in PSPC's guidance on evaluation criteria.

How Pass/Fail Evaluation Works

Evaluators check each mandatory criterion against the bid and record a simple result: the bid meets the requirement or it does not. There is no partial credit. Canada's guidance for suppliers states that bidders must satisfy all mandatory criteria to proceed, and that the criteria are assessed on a pass/fail basis. See the Government of Canada page on bidding on opportunities.

Mandatory criteria also carry a fairness rule. They cannot normally be changed or relaxed after bid closing, so every bidder is judged against the same minimum standard. The Office of the Procurement Ombud reviews procurement practices and its 2023 review addresses how these criteria should be used.

How to Spot Mandatory Criteria in a Solicitation

Mandatory requirements are typically written with imperative terms such as "shall," "must," or "will." Canadian procurement guidance says they should be clearly stated, objectively measurable, and kept to a minimum. Each one should reflect something the contract genuinely needs, not a preference.

Read the evaluation section of the solicitation closely. Any requirement that uses these terms and carries a pass/fail test belongs in your compliance checklist, even when it appears outside the main evaluation table.

Common Types of Mandatory Criteria

PSPC describes mandatory criteria as minimum requirements that let evaluators screen out bidders who lack the necessary competence or capability. Its examples include:

• Licensing requirements
• Essential personnel qualifications
• Equipment characteristics
• Delivery commitments and deadlines
• Technical requirements
• Certifications

Other Government of Canada solicitations use mandatory criteria for accessibility features, financial stability, equipment performance characteristics, and service-performance specifications.

They also appear in PSPC supply arrangements and task-based professional-services procurements, where materials identify mandatory technical criteria and minimum qualifications for specific categories or streams. The PSPC professional services page is one example.

Green procurement uses them too. PSPC publishes mandatory environmental criteria for applicable instruments, covering greenhouse-gas disclosure and reduction targets, packaging, and embodied carbon in construction.

Indigenous Services Canada also reviews proposals against mandatory requirements on a pass/fail basis. A proposal that does not fully meet a requirement, omits the required information, or proposes an alternative to the stated requirement is not considered further, as set out in its proposal guidance.

What Mandatory Criteria Mean for a Supplier

Answer every mandatory criterion exactly as the solicitation asks, and supply the specified evidence before the closing deadline. Missing information, or a failure to demonstrate compliance, can lead to the bid being declared non-compliant and excluded from further evaluation.

• Build a checklist of every "shall," "must," and "will" statement before you start writing.
• Do not propose an alternative to a stated requirement.
• Confirm that each required document, licence, or certification is included.

A strong technical offer cannot recover a bid that fails a mandatory criterion, so compliance comes before everything else.