Becoming a NATO supplier starts with the right buyer.

Build an evidence file, not a generic NATO certificate.

Start with NSPA vendor guidance or NCIA Neo instructions , depending on the buyer. Keep legal identity, authorised contacts, catalogue descriptions and references current. Add certifications, national declarations and security evidence as required by that procedure. Identification, registration and eligibility answer different questions; none is a universal invitation.

Record permitted countries, requested evidence, responsible authority and when outstanding conditions must be met. If access is unresolved, seek confirmation instead of treating a product match as approval. The NSPA registration checklist details that route; the portal guide locates official systems. Return to NSPA tenders for documents and amendments. Readiness makes a review possible; your team still decides whether the specific contract is worth pursuing.

Step by step

How to become a NATO supplier

The order matters: some steps depend on others, and national checks take time you cannot recover once a competition is open.

1. Identify the buyer. NSPA for logistics, acquisition and sustainment; NCIA for communications, IT and cyber; NATO Headquarters, ACT or ACO for their own needs; a host nation or national ministry for infrastructure and national programmes. The rest of the route depends on this choice.
2. Get your NCAGE code. Search the NCAGE Code Request Tool first, since each entity can hold only one active code. It identifies your organisation; it does not approve you as a supplier.
3. Register with the agency. For NSPA, submit your Source File registration through its Vendor E-Registration Tool (see our NSPA vendor registration guide ). For NCIA, send the signed Neo supplier registration form ; NCIA creates the account once it has verified your records (see our NCIA procurement guide). For NATO Headquarters, register on its BizOpps portal, hosted on Bonfire.
4. Line up the national eligibility check. Find out which authority in your country issues Declarations of Eligibility or confirms eligibility to NSPA, and what it needs from you.
5. Watch and qualify opportunities. Follow the official lists of the agencies you registered with, and read the permitted countries, evidence and deadline of each solicitation before deciding to bid.

National eligibility

Declaration of Eligibility

NCIA defines the Declaration of Eligibility (DoE) as a statement from a national authority that the potential bidder is technically, financially and professionally capable of taking on the scope of the competition. It is issued by the authority of the country where the company is based, and getting it in time is the bidder's responsibility.

• At NCIA: each NATO Competitive Procurement requires its own DoE. Under NCIA's procurement process , companies submit it through their national authority after the Notification of Procurement Opportunity, and the solicitation is then released to the companies with a DoE. The contracting officer named in the notice can give you the contact details of your DoE issuer.
• At NSPA: its sourcing instruction provides that NSPA asks the authority appointed by your country to confirm your eligibility status when you register in the Source File. Each solicitation can add its own conditions.
• For NSIP infrastructure: NATO's Procedure for NATO Competitive Procurement makes a DoE from the national authorities of your nation of origin mandatory above Established Financial Limit Level E. A vendor without one is referred to its nation's delegation to NATO.

A DoE is neither a portal account nor a security clearance. Keep the three apart in your file, and start the national request as soon as an opportunity is announced.

02 / Official entry points

Register with the route that matches your catalog.

Start from the named issuing authority. The NSPA registration guide separates supplier access from notice discovery; the profile alone is never a promise of invitations.

04 / Monitor what you can deliver

Turn the catalog into a relevance check.

Map buyer vocabulary to your products and service categories, define the agencies and countries that matter, separate active competitions from future signals and review apparent matches against delivery capability. Link each catalogue item to the codes the buyer uses (NATO Stock Numbers, CPV or the agency's own categories), and flag framework agreements: one admission can lead to repeated call-offs over several years.

Viglia matches opportunities to catalog, geography, capabilities and priorities on supported sources within the agreed perimeter, with a justified match score and source-backed summary. Your team retains the decision to respond.

Illustrative workflow, not a live opportunity or customer result. Bid / no-bid screening is included and remains human-approved; Viglia AutoSender, which builds and sends the response, is not commercially available yet.

05 / Build a bounded watch

Choose tender families by product and delivery geography.

Where a route is not supported or a document requires an account, the limitation stays visible. Coverage is never inferred from a keyword, agency name or registration status.