Standard Acquisition Clauses and Conditions Manual (SACC Manual)

The Standard Acquisition Clauses and Conditions Manual, known as the SACC Manual, is a Government of Canada procurement reference. It contains standard terms, conditions, instructions and clauses commonly used in federal contracting. Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC), now Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC), issued it, and its contents were referred to in bidding opportunities and contracting activities. See the federal publication record.

SACC stands for Standard Acquisition Clauses and Conditions. The manual was meant to give suppliers and PWGSC clients information on the terms and conditions most often used in federal government contracting. Instead of rewriting contract language for every purchase, contracting authorities pointed to the manual's clauses by name, number and date.

What the SACC Manual covered

The manual spanned many procurement subjects. Its sections dealt with general conditions and modifications, financial security, insurance, supply arrangements and Indigenous procurement, along with other standard procurement clauses. CanadaBuys hosts individual manual sections, including those on supply arrangements and Indigenous procurement.

Insurance is a clear example of how the sections were applied. Insurance requirements were put in place by inserting the applicable clauses from section 5-G of the manual into a contract annex. The section 5-G page shows how an individual clause is presented.

How SACC clauses were cited in solicitations and contracts

Federal bid solicitations stated that the applicable instructions, clauses and conditions were set out in the SACC Manual issued by PWGSC. Each clause was identified by its title, clause number and date. Federal contracts incorporated SACC clauses in the same way, by title, number and date. The federal publication that sets out this wording shows how the incorporation by reference worked.

The manual also appeared in templates and arrangements. In professional-services supply arrangements, the resulting supply arrangement and contracts identified the applicable SACC clauses. Procurement templates offered different solicitation formats, including a High Complexity bid-solicitation template chosen according to the estimated value and complexity of the requirement.

Archived status since June 2023

The SACC Manual has not been maintained since June 2023. Clauses that were previously marked "Active" are now archived. Contracts that contain SACC Manual clauses remain valid, so the manual still governs existing agreements that incorporated it. The CanadaBuys manual page carries this notice.

Archiving does not change the way a clause is read inside a contract that already cites it. The clause as identified by title, number and date continues to apply to that contract.

What the SACC Manual means for a supplier

A supplier must read the solicitation and the resulting contract, identify every SACC clause incorporated by title, number and date, and comply with each one. Depending on the procurement, those clauses could cover insurance, financial security, general contractual obligations, supply arrangements or other specified conditions. Only the clauses incorporated into a particular solicitation or contract apply to it. Not every clause in the manual applies to every procurement.

Because the manual is archived, rely on the clauses and versions expressly identified in the current opportunity rather than assuming an archived SACC provision applies. Bid teams should keep a record of the clause numbers and dates listed in each solicitation and check them against the archived text on CanadaBuys.