Auctions trainings & resources

CITSS onboarding — Steps 1 & 2

The Compliance Instrument Tracking System Service (CITSS) is the online platform that provides accounts for market participants to hold and trade compliance instruments (emissions allowances and offset credits). All auction and market participants must set up an account in CITSS.

CITSS accounts are also required in order to receive allocation of no-cost allowances for EITEs, natural gas utilities, and electric utilities.

Step 1 – User registration

User registration in CITSS is the first step in the CITSS onboarding process. User registration applies to you as an individual CITSS user, not the entity you may be representing or bidding on behalf of in cap-and-invest auctions. Some of the required information will be used to verify your identity, which helps us ensure a safe and secure marketplace.

If you are already registered in CITSS in another jurisdiction, such as California, please refer to the Cross-Jurisdiction User Form, linked below.

Each entity needs to have at least two approved CITSS users registered before they will be able to begin Step 2 — Entity account application.

Module 1 – All users

This training walks through the entire user registration process in CITSS — including for cross-jurisdiction users — from document completion to acceptable forms of signature and submission.

• Watch the Module 1 training on YouTube
• Download the Module 1 training slides

Commonly asked questions

Step  2 – Entity account application

Once your entity has two approved CITSS users, you will be able to submit an entity account application for Washington. The information submitted in this step of the CITSS onboarding process pertains to the entity you represent — which could be a covered or opt-in business, or a general market participant, like an investment company or an individual investor. The required forms include information about the entity's corporate associations and ownership structure. 

All entities need to have new CITSS accounts for Washington, even if your entity already has an  account in another CITSS jurisdiction (California, Québec, or Nova Scotia). Cross-jurisdiction users may begin the process of adding a Washington entity as soon as your Cross-Jurisdiction User Form has been submitted. 

Module 2a – Covered and opt-in entities

This training walks through the entity account application process — including the addition of individual facilities — for covered and opt-in entities.

• Watch the Module 2a training on YouTube
• Download the Module 2a training slides

 Module 2b – General market participants

This training walks through the entity account application process for general market participants. This includes organizations, such as financial institutions and offset project developers, as well as individual investors.

Download the Module 2b training slides

This training will be live on our website soon. In the meantime, you can email us for a link to the recording.

Commonly asked questions

CITSS account management

If you have already completed Steps 1 & 2, but need to make changes to your account, you can find the necessary forms below. 

WCI auction platform onboarding — Steps 3, 4, and 5

The WCI auction platform is new to Washington. We held a training aimed at helping auction participants understand how to use this new platform. This training covered the last three steps in the auction registration process:

• Step 3 – Apply to participate in an auction.
• Step 4 – Activate your auction platform account.
• Step 5 – Submit your bid guarantee.

Auction participant training

This training covers Steps 3–5 of the auction onboarding process, outlined above.

Please note: Your CITSS user registration and entity account application Steps 1 and 2 must both be approved before you can apply to participate in an auction, Step 3.

Download the auction training slides

Additional auction information

In addition to this training, there are a number of useful documents on the WCI auction platform, including detailed bidding instructions and auction examples. You can find links to these documents in the dropdown below.

You can also access them directly on the auction platform webpage. Simply click "FAQs and resources" in the upper right corner, select "Washington" from the menu, and click the "Resources" tab.

Commonly asked questions

A note about the auction application window

At least 60 days prior to each auction, we will publish an Auction Notice announcing the auction date and time, the number of allowances available for sale, and other important information. You will be able to find these documents in the Auction Notices tab of the More Information section, below.

The "auction application window" for a given auction opens on the same day this notice is issued and closes exactly 30 days before the auction. If you would like to participate in an auction, you must submit your application within this timeframe. You will not be able to submit an auction application unless your CITSS User Registration and Entity Account Application have been approved.

Please read each Auction Notice, once published, for more details on timelines, dates, and requirements. Sign up for our Auctions and Market email list to receive email alerts when Auction Notices are posted.

Using the WCI auction platform

In preparation for the first auction, we provided this additional video resource to help participants learn how to use the auction platform.

Please note that these trainings are intended as additions to, and not replacements for, the many other resources provided above under the WCI auction platform resources dropdown.

Practice bidding demonstration

This video covers the steps account representatives will take in the WCI auction platform to place bids during the bidding window.

We recommend that all auction participants review the documents noted above before viewing this demonstration, attending the walkthrough webinar, or participating in auctions.

Live auction platform walkthrough

In addition to the resources above, we also held a webinar where attendees had the opportunity to present questions in a live, interactive setting.

To preserve auction participant privacy and market security, webinar participants submitted questions anonymously, and our staff demonstrated auction platform capabilities in real time. If you were not able to attend this webinar, please contact us at RegistrarCCA@ecy.wa.gov to request access to the recording.

We also continue to offer confidential, one-on-one support to anyone who intends to participate in cap-and-invest auctions.

More information

Notices and reports