Use ESDC's Grants and Contributions Online Services (GCOS) in Canada: create the account in three steps, validate your identity and organization, submit an application, sign an agreement, and manage an approved project through the portal.
Applies in: CA
GCOS, the Grants and Contributions Online Services, is Employment and Social Development Canada's secure online platform for funding applications. Through it, an organization applies for funding, tracks an application's status, signs agreements, manages active projects, submits supporting documents, and reviews past projects submitted through GCOS, as described in Grants and Contributions Online Services (GCOS). Creating a GCOS account is a one-time process, and you can create it ahead of time so you are ready to apply for future funding opportunities. You get 24/7 access, including on mobile devices, on the same page.
This guide is about the portal, not about which funding program to choose. It does not list programs, rank them, or advise whether your organization or project is eligible for any of them. For that, use the programs-overview guide in Related guides below, then open the specific program's own page and guidelines and check whether its call is open. Individual calls for proposals open and close; GCOS itself is the standing channel they use. Work through the steps in order, and set the account up well in advance of any application deadline, as Grants and Contributions Online Services: Account Registration User Guide recommends.
Each GCOS account has two kinds of users: primary officers and representatives, according to Grants and Contributions Online Services: Account Registration User Guide. The primary officer is the user who creates the organization's GCOS account, must have the authority to act on behalf of the organization, including the authority to sign applications for funding, agreements, and project management items, and must validate their identity. There can be only one primary officer per organization's account, and the primary officer can be replaced at any time. Representatives are additional users, such as employees, contractors, or volunteers, who are invited and given specific rights. Every individual, primary officer or representative, must have their own unique username and password.
Before anyone starts, confirm the organization's CRA details, because validation checks them exactly. Grants and Contributions Online Services (GCOS) states that organization validation checks the business number, legal name, and address as registered with the CRA. The registration guide recommends using the full business payroll RP account number, in the format 123456789RP0001, to speed validation. If the legal name, operating name, or address in your files differs from the CRA record, resolve that difference before registering, since the guide says Service Canada validates the organization from the information provided and confirms by email if further steps are required. The business-number guide in Related guides below covers getting a business number if your organization does not yet have one.
You need one of two Government of Canada sign-in methods, and you must use the same method every time you access GCOS, according to Grants and Contributions Online Services: Account Registration User Guide: sign in with your financial institution through an Interact Sign-in Partner, or sign in with GCKey. For GCKey, you must register for a new GCKey to create your GCOS user profile; you cannot access GCOS with an existing GCKey, although you may reuse the same username and password as an existing GCKey. Keep the GCKey username somewhere safe, because the guide states you cannot retrieve it if forgotten. For a Sign-in Partner, use the username and password you already have with one of the listed financial institutions, and read the Notice to Applicants and click I agree to continue.
On the Create my Profile page you are offered two options: new user, or returning user recovering access with a previously assigned user reference number (URN). A new user selects Register for Grants and Contributions Online Services, fills in all required user and contact information and security questions, reviews and confirms the information, and submits it. The Thank You screen provides your URN, in the guide's example format MAR-000-000-000-000. Note it and keep it somewhere safe: you may need it to confirm your identity as a GCOS user, a representative gives it to the primary officer to be invited, and recovering access later requires it. If you are a returning user who already has a GCOS profile, go directly to the recovery steps in the registration guide rather than creating a second profile.
Two practical limits apply from the first session. GCOS is compatible with Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, and Opera, on the registration guide's list. And any active session expires after about 15 minutes of inactivity, with unsaved work lost, so save each screen as you go; a warning message appears as the timeout approaches.
If you will be the primary officer of an organization not yet registered in GCOS, create its profile from the Welcome screen: click Register a New Organization, click Get Started, fill in all required fields on the Create the Organization Profile screen, and click Save and Continue, as set out in Grants and Contributions Online Services: Account Registration User Guide. At any point during registration you can view your status by clicking the organization's name on the Welcome screen, which takes you to the New Registration Summary screen. If you are replacing the primary officer of an existing account instead, do not create a second organization profile; use the replace-primary-officer steps in the FAQ above and section 5 of the registration guide.
Validation is mandatory, and it has two parts. First, validate the organization: from the Create the Organization Profile screen, or from the Incomplete link for the Validation of the Organization step, fill in the CRA business number, CRA legal name, and the organization's default address, and click Save, according to Grants and Contributions Online Services: Account Registration User Guide. After the profiles are created and the organization is validated, you can complete and submit a funding application using the Apply for Funding button if a deadline requires it, or click Skip for Now if you do not wish to apply immediately; the account still stays pending until registration is fully complete.
Second, validate and authenticate your own identity as primary officer. Grants and Contributions Online Services (GCOS) gives two routes: online through the Canada Revenue Agency using your My Account, or in person at a Service Canada Centre. The pamphlet states that validating online through CRA My Account is faster than validating in person, and that on average creating an account takes 2 weeks, with the validation step estimated at 1 to 10 days. For the online route, the registration guide states you must have a valid CRA My Account for Individuals or My Business Account. For the in-person route, bring your URN plus two pieces of identification from the guide's list, one of which must contain a photograph, such as a provincial driver's licence, a Canadian passport, a provincial health care card, a birth certificate, a permanent resident card, or a certificate of Canadian citizenship. Identity validation is required because GCOS lets you apply for funding and manage agreements on behalf of your organization, and the main account holder's identity must be validated to do that with confidence and integrity, on the pamphlet page.
Once the organization and the primary officer have been validated, a letter is sent to the head of the organization, addressed to the chief executive officer, and an email is sent to the primary officer, according to Grants and Contributions Online Services: Account Registration User Guide. Both communications contain an authorization code you need to finalize registration. Log in to GCOS, select the organization from the Welcome screen, click the Incomplete link beside Confirm your Authority to Act as Primary Officer on Behalf of the Organization, enter the code in the Authorization Code field, and click Continue. The pamphlet page estimates this step at 3 to 7 days. The pamphlet also notes that in the event of a disruption of Canada Post services, ESDC and Service Canada will provide additional support to complete this step; if the letter does not arrive, contact the GCOS team rather than starting a second registration. Until all three steps are complete, the account shows as pending, and it stays pending until the organization and the individual are validated and the authorization code has been used to activate the account, on the pamphlet page.
The first time you access GCOS through the Gs and Cs Online Services link, you must fill in additional organizational information. Grants and Contributions Online Services: Account Registration User Guide states that the legal name, operating name, and business number are pre-filled and not editable, and you complete the required fields for organization type, year established, telephone number, the organization's mandate, and the number of signatories needed. The signatories section defines how many representatives must agree to an item before it can be submitted to ESDC; the system prevents submission until the necessary concurrences are recorded, so set the number from the drop-down menu for each item and make sure the same number of representatives hold submission access for the corresponding items.
Then set up the people and payment details before a deadline forces the issue. To invite a representative, click Manage Representatives, click Invite Representative, enter the representative's URN, confirm the identity shown, set their position title and level of access, including administrative rights and CRA business rights of None, Read, or Read/Write, and click Send Invitation. The representative accepts by logging in, since no email is sent to them, and the organization shows as Pending User Acceptance until they do; the primary officer then customizes their function-specific rights, and the representative must log out before those rights can be customized. For direct deposit, add an account under Organization Identification, agree to the privacy notice statement, complete all mandatory fields, and upload a void cheque or a direct deposit document from your financial institution in the supporting document field, on the same guide. The same screen lets you upload supporting documents that do not vary by project, such as patent letters or bylaws, for reuse across applications. Add the automated correspondence address no-reply-aucune-reponse@hrsdc-rhdcc.gc.ca to your contacts so GCOS emails do not land in junk, as the guide advises. If you need help, or are unsure whether your organization is already registered, the guide gives the GCOS team email and the Employer Contact Centre at 1-800-367-5693, open 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern time, Monday to Friday, on the pamphlet page.
From the Welcome screen you can view the complete list of the organization's applications and projects and their statuses, add an application, convert an existing project to GCOS, and view open calls for proposals and submit an application, according to Grants and contributions online services: User Guide (Applications and Project Management). The route depends on the program's intake method. Click Add an Application for Funding to apply to a program with continuous intake, which takes you to the Program Selection screen. For a call for proposals, all open calls appear under Open Call for Proposal on the Welcome screen; clicking Apply under a listed call takes you to the same Program Selection screen. Complete the required fields there, including the program group from the pre-filled list and a brief, descriptive project title; a link to the program guidelines appears as you choose the program. If you started an application and did not finish it, return to it through the Draft link in the Applications and Projects section. You can also copy and edit a previously created application to start a new one, except that you cannot use copy and edit on a converted project.
Complete the application screens from the Summary of Application screen, where each piece of information shows as completed, incomplete, or information, and each screen shows as Complete, Mandatory, Optional, or Error. The screens, in the guide's order, are project identification with planned start and end dates; mailing address, to which all correspondence and any payments without direct deposit are sent; organization contacts, with at least one main application contact at all times; organizational capacity; amounts due, which you leave blank if the organization owes nothing to the Government of Canada; project description, used to assess quality and funding eligibility; project details, answered Yes or No with details up to 30,000 characters where you answer Yes; project locations, with only one main location; budget, broken down by expenditure category, sub-category, and funding source; anticipated sources of contribution, used to verify the request against any stacking limit or requirement for funding from other sources; budget details for contract values and planned capital assets; supporting documents, each scanned by an anti-virus application before submission and rejected if a virus is detected; and forecast of project expenditures, mandatory on all new projects using an advanced payment frequency. Two arithmetic checks will block a sloppy file: total planned expenditures must equal the amounts in the Cash and In-kind columns on the Anticipated Sources of Contribution screen, and the Forecasted Grand Total must equal the ESDC project budget amount. Uploaded documents must be of an approved file type and no more than 10MB each. For program-specific questions, click the question mark beside a question, or the Program Applicant Guide under Help and Support.
Review and submit last, not first. On the Review and Submit screen, expand each section, print the online version to review it, and edit anything wrong before clicking Next to reach the Declaration screen. An application must be completed by the official representative or representatives in accordance with the organization's by-laws or other constituting documents. If only one signatory is required, check the boxes certifying your authority and click Submit; a confirmation number, or tracking number, is displayed, sent to your email address, and shown on the Applications and Projects screen. If multiple signatories are required, the representatives with delegated submission rights are listed, you can notify them by email that action is required, and each retrieves the application at Pending Signatories status until the last signature produces the confirmation screen and number. If you do not have the rights to sign, the Submit button will not be available; check your rights under My GCOS Account and Representatives, and ask the primary officer or an authorized representative to delegate them. After submission, watch the status: Submitted, Under Assessment, Pending Re-Submission, or Rejected, as defined in the FAQ above.
Project management in GCOS opens only after approval and a signed agreement. Following approval, each representative with the rights to sign an agreement receives an email from the Department saying a funding agreement is ready to be signed electronically, according to Grants and contributions online services: User Guide (Applications and Project Management). From the Welcome screen, click Ready To Sign and then Sign Agreement to reach the Review and Sign screen, read the agreement through the Link to Document before signing, and check the number of signatures required against the number captured so far. With one signatory, check the certification boxes, click Next, answer the security question, and click I Accept; a confirmation number is displayed. With multiple signatories, notify the other delegated signatories by email and the last to sign receives the confirmation screen and email. To view a signed agreement later, use View List of Applications and Projects, identify the project, and click View Agreement.
Direct deposit can be requested at any time during the project's lifecycle, but if you have not signed the agreement, you must submit the request on the Review and Sign screen, on the same guide. Otherwise, from the project's Manage screen, click Select Direct Deposit, choose an account already added to the organization's profile from the drop-down menu, or add one for the organization or for this project only, again with a void cheque or direct deposit document, then Review and Submit and complete the certification screen. A confirmation number is displayed on successful submission.
Once the Department has approved the application and the funding agreement is signed, you can create, modify, submit, and view project management items, according to Grants and contributions online services: User Guide (Applications and Project Management). Access the module by signing in, selecting your organization, clicking Gs and Cs Online Services, then Active or View List of Applications and Projects, identifying the project, and clicking Manage. The Manage Project Summary screen is the hub for claims, Forecasts of Project Expenditures (FPEs), activity reports, supporting documents, and participant information, with further items for intervention and follow-up listed in the guide.
Report expenses under Claims, submitting quarterly or monthly as identified in the project information section or in your signed agreement, using the same cost-category structure as the agreement. Add a claim, complete the required fields, attach supporting documents, review and submit, complete the Declaration screen, and keep the confirmation number. You can withdraw a submitted claim only until the Department begins processing it; after that, contact your assigned program delivery staff. Forecasts of Project Expenditures track anticipated agreement expenses for future periods, estimate the expenditures you expect to incur, and revise future estimates where required; an FPE is mandatory on all new projects using an advance payment frequency, and the screen is not available if you are on progress payments. Activity reports capture overall progress against the project's objectives, the activities conducted, and issues that could affect success, and completing an activity report is mandatory for all contribution projects except Canada Summer Jobs. Add the report from the Manage Project Summary screen, complete each section including Report on Progress, Amendment, Success Stories and Lessons Learned, Additional Information, and Other Information, saving every screen, then review, submit, and keep the confirmation number. Supporting documents, participant information, intervention, and follow-up items follow the same create, submit, and view pattern, and each requires the matching Create, Submit, or View rights; if a checkbox is not selected for you, ask the primary officer or an authorized representative to delegate the right. A submitted item can generally be withdrawn only until the Department begins reviewing it, and an unsubmitted or withdrawn item can be removed; after review starts, contact your assigned program delivery staff.
Keep the organization's GCOS record current as the project runs. Editing organizational information is available only once the account is active, and address updates apply only to future funding applications, so contact your project officer to update the address on previously submitted applications or active projects, according to Grants and Contributions Online Services: Account Registration User Guide. Do not assume a submitted claim or report has been accepted because it left your screen: check its status on the Applications and Projects list, keep every confirmation number, and use the Contact Us link under Help and Support in GCOS for technical and non-technical questions.
In one narrow case, yes. [Grants and Contributions Online Services: Account Registration User Guide](https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/services/funding/gcos/userguide/register-account.html) states that after creating your user and organization profiles and validating the organization, you can complete and submit an application for funding using the Apply for Funding button if there is a deadline to submit your application. Do not treat that as full registration. [Grants and Contributions Online Services (GCOS)](https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/services/funding/gcos/pamphlet-create-account.html) states that the account remains pending until all three registration steps are completed, including entering the authorization code. Finish registration promptly, and set the account up well in advance of deadlines, as the registration guide recommends.
No. [Grants and Contributions Online Services (GCOS)](https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/services/funding/gcos/pamphlet-create-account.html) answers this directly: for security and accountability reasons, each user must have their own username and password. The registration guide states the same rule for primary officers and representatives alike, and adds that there can be only one primary officer per organization's account. A representative joins only by invitation: the representative first creates their own user profile and gives the primary officer their user reference number (URN), and the primary officer invites them with that URN and sets their rights. Never share credentials to work around the invitation step.
Yes, through the replace-primary-officer route, not by reusing the departed person's sign-in. [Grants and Contributions Online Services (GCOS)](https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/services/funding/gcos/pamphlet-create-account.html) states that after you create your own username and password, validate your identity, and enter the authorization code, you will be able to access all the account information. [Grants and Contributions Online Services: Account Registration User Guide](https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/services/funding/gcos/userguide/register-account.html) sets out the steps: create your own profile, use Replace Primary Officer from the Welcome screen, identify the organization by its 15-digit CRA business number or its organization ID, validate your identity if you have never been a primary officer in GCOS, and complete the authorization-code step. The current primary officer then loses access to the account, although they can later be invited back as a representative.
GCOS does not save automatically. [Grants and Contributions Online Services: Account Registration User Guide](https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/services/funding/gcos/userguide/register-account.html) states that any active session expires after about 15 minutes of inactivity and any unsaved work will be lost, with a warning message displayed as the timeout approaches. Save every screen as you complete it, and do not leave a half-finished application open. The same guide caps each uploaded document at 10MB, with no limit on how many documents you upload, and lists the approved file types. If a document is larger than 10MB, split or compress it into an approved format before uploading rather than expecting GCOS to accept it.
[Grants and contributions online services: User Guide (Applications and Project Management)](https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/services/funding/gcos/userguide/applications-projects.html) defines each status. Draft means you are still developing the application. Submitted means you successfully submitted it. Under Assessment means the Department is assessing it. Pending Signatories means more signatories must sign before it goes to the Department. Pending Re-Submission means the application requires modifications and a departmental representative will contact you about what is needed. Ready to Sign means the organization's authorized representatives need to sign the agreement. Active means the Department approved the application and you can submit project management documents. Rejected, Withdrawn, and Closed mean what they say, and Submission failed means you must re-submit because of a system error. The functions offered under each item vary with its status, so check the status before assuming an action is available.
No. GCOS is the channel for applying, signing, and managing a project; it is not a funding decision. [Grants and Contributions Online Services (GCOS)](https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/services/funding/gcos/pamphlet-create-account.html) describes GCOS as the secure online platform for applying for various funding opportunities with Employment and Social Development Canada, and for tracking status, signing agreements, managing active projects, submitting supporting documents, and reviewing past projects. Whether a particular program or call is open, who is eligible, and what costs it covers are decided on that program's own pages and in its guidelines, not by GCOS. This guide gives no eligibility advice beyond the published process, and states no funding amount, because the GCOS pages state no amount.
No funding amount, eligibility threshold, program deadline, or decision timeline is stated in this guide, because no official GCOS page states one. Figures left out: a 45-day funding-decision expectation for one program that no official page states; a 15MB upload limit from an older program-specific user guide, superseded by the 10MB limit in the current registration and project-management guides; and any wage-subsidy rate or cost-share percentage, none of which the GCOS pages state. For any figure that decides an application, check the program's own How to apply page and guidelines, linked from the Program Selection screen in GCOS, and recheck it on the day you apply, since calls for proposals open and close.