Amendment of Procurement Documents 2026

Amendment of procurement documents: conditions and limits for corrections and additions to already published tender documents.

Definition: The amendment of procurement documents is the subsequent correction, supplementation or adaptation of already published tender documents by the contracting authority, which must be carried out in accordance with strict procurement-law principles and with corresponding extensions of deadlines.

Last updated: January 2026 · Legal status: Art. 27(3) Directive 2014/24/EU; § 20 VgV; § 95 BVergG 2018

What is an amendment of the procurement documents?

Subsequent amendments to the procurement documents are admissible under procurement law but subject to strict conditions. Reasons for amendments may include: incorrect information in the specifications, unclear award criteria, bidder queries requiring clarification, or changes to the project framework.

Every amendment must be communicated to all bidders simultaneously and in full so that the principle of equal treatment is preserved.

Permissible and impermissible amendments

As a rule, only amendments that do not fundamentally change the nature of the procurement are permissible.

Permissible amendments

Correction of obvious errors (typographical errors, calculation errors)
Clarification of unclear requirements following bidder queries
Technical clarifications that do not constitute a fundamental change to the subject matter
Extension of deadlines

Impermissible amendments

Fundamental change to the subject matter of the contract (replacement of the works/services)
Change of award criteria after their publication (requires re-tendering)
Amendments that favour or disadvantage individual bidders

Procedure for amendments

Amendments to the procurement documents must be communicated according to a set procedure:

All previous recipients of the procurement documents must be informed of the amendment.
The amendment must be published through the same channels by which the original documents were made available.
The tender deadline must be extended appropriately so that all bidders can take the amendment into account in their tenders.

In EU-wide procedures, a corrigendum to the contract notice must also be published in the OJEU/TED.

Extension of the deadline

In the case of material amendments to the procurement documents, an adequate extension of the deadline is mandatory. What "adequate" means depends on the scope of the amendment. Art. 27(3) of Directive 2014/24/EU provides that the tender deadline must be extended so that all affected economic operators receive the necessary information and can adapt their tenders.

Legal consequences of defective amendments

If notification of an amendment is not provided to individual bidders, or if the tender deadline is not extended sufficiently, this constitutes a breach of procurement law. Affected bidders can apply for review and seek the setting aside of the award decision.

Related terms

FAQ

Does the contracting authority have to amend the procurement documents for every bidder query? No. Bidder queries only lead to a formal amendment where the answer requires a substantive adjustment of the documents. Mere clarifications that do not alter the text of the documents are possible informally.

What happens if a bidder has not received the amended procurement documents? If the contracting authority has duly published the amendment, the lack of knowledge is at the bidder's risk. Where the contracting authority has breached its notification duty, this constitutes a procedural defect.

Can award criteria be amended after the fact? In principle no. An amendment of the award criteria after their publication is a breach of procurement law and would generally require a complete re-tender.

Last updated: January 2026 All information provided without warranty. For legally binding advice, consult a law firm specialising in public procurement law.