Requisition Approval

Before a single dollar gets spent or a purchase order issued, someone with the right authority needs to sign off on your requisition. That's requisition approval—the formal authorization that confirms your purchase request meets policy requirements and has funding behind it. Without it, your procurement goes nowhere.

How It Works

Here's the thing: approval isn't just someone rubber-stamping a form. The process verifies that your requisition aligns with your department's operational needs, complies with Treasury Board policies, and—most importantly—has confirmed budget allocation. In federal departments, this typically involves multiple review layers depending on the dollar value and complexity of what you're requesting.

According to the Government of Canada Supply Manual, the requisition approval stage must confirm several elements before procurement can proceed. Your requisition needs proper coding for financial tracking. Funds must be available in the appropriate budget line. The approving manager must have delegated authority at the right level for the anticipated contract value. In practice, a $5,000 office furniture request might clear with a single manager's signature, while a $500,000 IT service contract could require director-level approval or higher, plus additional scrutiny from your department's contracting authority.

The approval chain varies significantly across departments. At larger organizations like PSPC or DND, you might navigate through multiple approval gates—your immediate supervisor, a finance officer, and a senior manager with spending authority. Smaller departments often use streamlined processes but still require the same fundamental checks. Once approved, your requisition typically flows to the procurement or contracting team, who engage with suppliers through CanadaBuys or other channels depending on the procurement method required.

Key Considerations

• Delegation of authority matters more than job titles. Your director might not have approval authority for certain procurement categories, even if they approve your operational decisions daily. Check your department's delegation matrix before routing requests.

• Timing can derail urgent procurements. If your approver is on leave or if you're submitting near fiscal year-end when budgets freeze, expect delays. Plan accordingly, especially for time-sensitive requirements.

• Incomplete requisitions get bounced back. Missing cost center codes, vague specifications, or uncertain delivery timelines will send your request back to you for revision, restarting the approval clock.

• Funding confirmation isn't negotiable. Even with management approval, procurement won't proceed without verified funding. Your finance team needs to commit those funds in the financial system before contracting begins.

Related Terms

Requisition Checklist, Funding, Delegation of Authority

Sources

• Government of Canada Supply Manual - Official federal procurement policy and procedures

• CanadaBuys - Procurement Portal - Federal government procurement information and opportunities

Getting approvals right the first time accelerates everything downstream. Invest the time upfront to ensure your requisition is complete, properly coded, and routed to approvers with the right authority levels.