Award of Contract in Procurement Law 2026

Award of contract: acceptance of the most economically advantageous tender by the contracting authority – the central act of public procurement, concluding the contract.

Definition: The award of contract (in short: the award) is the formal act by which a public contracting authority accepts a bidder's tender and thereby concludes the publicly regulated contract for the advertised performance; the award may only be granted after the expiry of a standstill period and only to the bidder with the most economically advantageous tender.

Last updated: January 2026 · Legal basis: Directive 2014/24/EU Art. 66–67, BVergG 2018 §§ 130 ff., GWB §§ 127 ff.

What is the award of contract?

The award of contract is both the culmination and the conclusion of a public procurement procedure: by granting the award, the contracting authority accepts the best bidder's tender and thereby establishes the contractual relationship. Under procurement law, the award functions as the contracting authority's declaration of intent; combined with the bidder's previously submitted tender, a binding contract arises under the general rules of contract law.

The award must be strictly distinguished from the mere award decision: the award decision is the contracting authority's internal decision as to which bidder should be awarded the contract, and is communicated to the bidders (bidder notification). Only after the expiry of the standstill period may the contracting authority actually grant the award.

Award and standstill period

Between the notification of the award decision and the actual award of contract lies the legally prescribed standstill period, during which unsuccessful bidders may file review applications.

Pursuant to Directive 2007/66/EC (Remedies Directive), the minimum standstill period is:

15 calendar days where bidder notification is sent by electronic means or by fax
15 working days where other means of transmission are used

In Austria, the standstill period under § 132 BVergG 2018 is 15 days in the above-threshold area. In Germany, § 134 GWB sets a period of 15 days (electronic transmission) or 15 working days.

If a contracting authority grants the award before the standstill period expires, the contract is generally challengeable and may be declared void.

Award criteria and the most economically advantageous tender

The award must be granted to the bidder with the most economically advantageous tender – a purely price-based award is only permissible in certain exceptional cases.

Art. 67 of Directive 2014/24/EU stipulates that the award is to be granted to the most economically advantageous tender. The price-quality ratio or a cost approach (e.g. life-cycle costs) must be applied. Pure lowest-price approaches are only permissible for standardised services.

Award criteria must be defined in advance in the contract notice or the procurement documents, and must be transparent and non-discriminatory. Subsequent changes to the award criteria are not permitted.

Form and documentation of the award

The award must be made in writing and communicated without delay to all bidders; at the same time, a contract award notice must be published.

In the above-threshold area, pursuant to Art. 50 of Directive 2014/24/EU, a contract award notice must be published in TED no later than 30 days after the award. Documentation of the entire procurement procedure, including the award decision and the award itself, must be recorded in the procurement file (Vergabevermerk).

Special constellations

Award after expiry of the binding period

If the award is granted after the binding period has expired, there is no effective acceptance, as the tender has lapsed. Contracting authorities must therefore ensure that the award is granted in time.

Award where exclusion grounds are not met

If, after the award has been granted, it becomes known that the contractor has met a mandatory ground for exclusion, the contract may, under certain conditions, be declared void.

Related terms

FAQ

What is the difference between the award decision and the award of contract? The award decision is the internal decision on which bidder should be awarded the contract; it is communicated to the bidders but does not yet establish a contract. The award of contract is granted after the expiry of the standstill period and concludes the contract.

Can an award be challenged? Yes, but only up until the contract has been performed. Unsuccessful bidders may file review applications within the standstill period. After an effective award, the contract may only be declared void under narrow conditions.

Must the award be granted to the cheapest tender? No – the award must be granted to the most economically advantageous tender. Price and quality must be assessed on an equal footing.

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