A CLASSIFIED / PROTECTED contract is any contract or formal agreement, which contains a security clause or which requires or will require access to CLASSIFIED / PROTECTED information or assets by those associated with it.

It may include pre-contractual inquiries and negotiations. A contract may have a security requirement even though the contractual documents are not themselves PROTECTED / CLASSIFIED.

	BIDDING Provided that it would not discriminate unfairly between potential suppliers, a solicitation may include a security level as a mandatory technical requirement prior to bid evaluation.
	SRCL The security requirements associated with a PROTECTED / CLASSIFIED contract are identified on a Security Requirements Check List (SRCL) form, (PDF 250KB)
	SUBCONTRACTS Prime contractors must ensure the security of all CLASSIFIED / PROTECTED information and assets placed with subcontractors.