Credit and Tracking System (CFR-CATS) - Registration frequently asked questions

Registration FAQ (PDF version)

Credit and Tracking System (CATS)

Environment and Climate Change Canada's Credit and Tracking System (CATS) is a platform that has a shared, common access point for the Output Based Pricing System, Canada's GHG Offsets Credit System and the Clean Fuel Regulations. CATS is a secure, web accessible platform that enables registration, credit creation, and other activities in keeping with each of the respective regulations.

Existing CATS Carbon Markets Account for the Output Based Pricing System (OBPS) or Canada's GHG Offset Credit System

If a user has a Carbon Markets account in CATS for the Output Based Pricing System (OBPS) or Canada's GHG Offset Credit System, a separate account still needs to be created to access CATS for the Clean Fuel Regulations.

While separate accounts need to be created, the same email address can be used under each of the programs in CATS (OBPS, Offsets, or CFR).

Browser Compatibility

CATS works with the latest versions of Edge, Firefox, Chrome and Safari.

Registering as a carbon-intensity contributor

In order to register as a carbon-intensity contributor, please contact ECCC at cfsncp@ec.gc.ca. Registration for carbon-intensity contributors will not be done through CATS.

Authorized Agent Required for Account Creation

Authorized agent has the same meaning as section 1(1) of the Clean Fuel Regulations. This person is the first to access CATS for a given organization and completes the registration report and identity authentication (if applicable) in order to create the organization's account. This person has full account permissions, including onboarding of all other users to the account. 

Only one user per account may be assigned this role, however an authorized administrator may be designated by the authorized agent to do many of the same tasks, including submitting applications. It is the organization's responsibility to determine the appropriate person for these roles. Refer to the User Guide posted on Clean Fuel Regulations for more information.

Requirements for Authorization & Identity Verification Documents

All authorized agents and any authorized administrator they designate must submit an Authorization Document, which is a letter from a person with signing authority, authorizing the authorized agent or authorized administrator to act on behalf of a primary supplier, a registered creator, a foreign supplier or a verification body (as applicable).

Authorized agents for primary suppliers, registered creators, and verification bodies must submit also an Identity Verification Document.

Guidance related to both the Authorization and Identity Verification Documents can be found in the User Guide on Clean Fuel Regulations.

Accessing CATS for the Clean Fuel Regulations

Confirm you are using the correct URL: https://marchescarbone-carbonmarkets.canada.ca/

New account:  If you are the authorized agent for a primary supplier, registered creator, foreign supplier or a verification body, and have not registered for an account in CFR-CATS, click on the "Open a CFR Account in CATS" button and follow the on-screen instructions.

Existing account, authorised agent access:  If you are an authorized agent and have already uploaded and submitted the documents required to open a CFR-CATS account, use the "Log In" button to get back into the system. 

Existing account, all other user access: If your authorized agent has added you as a user in CATS, you will receive an email with a special activation link. The activation link allows you to log in through your preferred sign-in method on your first login. When you need to log in again, use the same secure sign-in method and start at the main URL shown above.

For additional information, please refer to the User Guide on Clean Fuel Regulations.

Secure Sign In

In order to facilitate a secure sign in process, users can register for a GCKey or use Sign-In Partner, which uses the same login credentials as for other online services (e.g. online banking). A GCKey is a unique electronic credential that allows you to communicate securely with online enabled Government programs and services. For more information on registering for a GCKey, refer to section 3.1 of the User Guide on Clean Fuel Regulations. The secure sign in will generate the 2FA code to use for CATS login.

GCKey or Sign-In Partner Error

Please ensure you log out of any other secure Government of Canada websites that use GCKey or Sign-In Partner prior to logging into CATS. Closing all browser windows and/or clearing cookies can help, or using an InPrivate or Incognito window when logging into CATS.

Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)

In order to enhance security, CATS uses a two-factor authentication (2FA) process. The 2FA is a six-digit code automatically generated by the system for each login. Users can configure their preferences to receive the authentication code via either email or SMS.

CATS Account Recovery Process

If you have a CFR-CATS user profile set up, but are having trouble logging in, you can reset your account using the following Account Recovery process:

1. Navigate to CATS and select Login.
2. On the "Choose a Secure Sign-In Method" page, scroll down and click on the Recover your account link, located below the GCKey box. (See screen capture below.)
3. Enter the email address associated with the CATS user account to be reset.
4. CATS will send an email to that address with a special recovery link.
5. Ensure you are logged out of all other secure Government of Canada websites.
6. Open a fresh browser window (Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari).
7. Copy and paste the recovery link from the email in to the browser.
8. Select your preferred sign in method. If you prefer GCKey, select Continue to GCKey. If you need to create a unique credential, select Sign Up (instead of Sign In), and follow the on-screen instructions to create a new GCKey username, password and recovery questions. Make a note of this new GCKey, as this will be used each time you login to CFR-CATS moving forward.
9. Once the new GCKey is set up, you should receive a CATS two-factor authentication (2FA) code to log into CATS.

If these steps do not resolve your issue, please contact us as soon as possible at cfscats-scscncp@ec.gc.ca so that we can investigate further.

User Roles in CFR-CATS

Primary suppliers, registered creators, and foreign suppliers have three user roles in CFR-CATS: authorized agents, authorized administrators, and read/write users.

Verification bodies have authorized agent and basic user roles.

An authorized agent will be the first user to register within CFR-CATS, and will be responsible for onboarding additional users.  There is only one authorized agent per account.

For more information on user roles, as well as a complete description of their levels of authority within the system, please refer to the Primary Supplier/Registered Creator/Foreign Supplier User Guide or the Verification Bodies User Guide on Clean Fuel Regulations.

NB: As of Version 1 of CATS, verification bodies are asked to only register their authorized agent. Additional users are not to be onboarded by the authorized agent at this time.

Responding to a Request for More Information from CFR-CATS Administrators

In the event that the Registration Report for an authorized agent is incomplete and/or one of the documents submitted requires further clarification, an ECCC administrator will contact you. You will receive an automatically generated email from SCSCNePasRepondre-CATSNoReply@ec.gc.ca or a direct email from cfscats-scscncp@ec.gc.ca notifying you that an ECCC Administrator is requesting additional information regarding your submission to participate in CATS. Please log into CATS regularly to check for Need More Information requests in the event the automatically generated email is not received to your inbox.

To reply to these requests, log in to your CFR-CATS account and respond to the request for information in the comment box under Respond to Admin Comments, which will appear directly after the login page. It may be necessary to upload a new version of a document previously submitted. Once you are finished, click "Request Participation in CATS". Please do not respond to the automatically generated email.

Changes to Information - Updating a Registration Report

Only the authorized agent is permitted to update the Registration Report. Some information in the Registration Report can be updated while identity verification, authorization documents, and agreements to create credits (if applicable) are pending approval. Once the account is approved, the authorized agent will have full ability to change information in the Registration Report. Please refer to Change of Information section of the User Guide on Clean Fuel Regulations for additional information.