Apply for a security screening: Step 2. What you need before you start

On this page

• Reliability status
• Secret security clearance
• Top secret security clearance
• Residency and travel outside of Canada

Reliability status

If a hiring official requests that you apply for a reliability status, you will be asked to provide:

• the name and email of the hiring official who initiated this request
• your first, last and commonly used names, and your name at birth
• your birthplace, and if applicable, the date you entered Canada
• your date of birth and gender
• your current contact information (email, telephone, mailing address)
• whether you've completed a previous Government of Canada security screening and if so, the employer, level and year
• your mailing addresses for the past 5 years, with no gaps in "from" and "to" dates, as in:
  • residence 1: 2020-07-20 to 2018-02-03
  • residence 2: 2018-02-03 to 2015-06-30
• details of any criminal convictions inside or outside Canada for which you have not received a pardon
• information on your residency or travel outside of Canada, if applicable

Secret security clearance

If a hiring official requests that you apply for a secret security clearance, you will be asked to provide all the information listed under reliability status, as well as:

• your mailing addresses for the past 10 years, with no gaps in "from" and "to" dates, as in:
  • residence 1: 2020-07-20 to 2018-02-03
  • residence 2: 2018-02-03 to 2015-06-30
• your marital status and the names of any spouses or common-law partners you had in the last 5 years
  • if anyone is deceased, you will also need their date of death and last known address
• the full names of your immediate relatives, including:
  • parents (include "half" or "step" parents)
  • parents-in-law (your current spouse's or common-law partner's father and mother, including "half" or "step" parent-in-laws)
  • children (include all children 18 years or over, including "step" children)
  • siblings (include "half" or "step" siblings)
• information on your citizenship status, which may include:
  • certificate number and date of issue, if you are a naturalized Canadian
  • date of entry in Canada, if you are a landed immigrant
  • date you applied for citizenship, if you are not a Canadian citizen
• your employment and school history for the past 10 years, with no gaps in "from" and "to" dates, including:
  • contact information for past employers
  • mailing address and name of any schools you attended
  • your home address during any time you were unemployed
• information on your residency or travel outside of Canada, if applicable

Top secret security clearance

If a hiring official requests that you apply for a top secret security clearance, you will be asked to provide all the information listed under reliability status and secret security clearance, as well as:

• additional travel information, if you travelled outside Canada for less than 6 months during the last 5 years for personal travel and/or non-government business, other than to Canada, the United States and Mexico (doesn't include one-day visits such as cruise stopovers)
• 3 character references (non-family members) and 1 neighbourhood reference
• more information on your education history, including:
  • the name of the last school or university you attended full time
  • your student identification (ID) number, if you know it
  • the location of the school or university
  • the period you attended, with "from" and "to" dates
  • your field of study, diploma or degree
• information on military services in the Canadian Armed Forces (regular, reserves and sea, army and air cadets), if applicable, including your:
  • name and last position
  • rank and service number
  • period of service, with "from" and "to" dates
• any business, financial or personal assets held outside Canada (not including stocks or mutual funds purchased in Canada)

Residency and travel outside of Canada

As part of your application, we will ask if you lived or travelled outside of Canada:

• for 6 consecutive months during the last 5 years – reliability status
• for 6 consecutive months during the last 10 years – secret and top secret security clearance

If you answer "yes," you will be redirected to a questionnaire that asks for information on:

• the place(s) you lived or visited, with mailing address(es)
• the period(s) of time you spent abroad, with "from" and "to" dates
• the reasons for your residency and/or travel
• names and citizenship of people you stayed or travelled with
• your activities abroad, including work or school