Bid Opening Office in Procurement Law 2026
Bid Opening Office: The contracting authority's body responsible for receiving and opening bids in the procurement procedure.
Definition: The bid opening office is the organisational unit or person within the public contracting authority responsible for receiving, safely holding and opening the bids submitted during the procurement procedure.
Last updated: January 2026 · Legal status: BVergG 2018 §§ 116 et seq., VOB/A § 14, VgV § 55
Duties of the bid opening office
The bid opening office plays a neutral fiduciary role in the procurement procedure: it receives bids, ensures they are submitted on time and opens them at the scheduled bid opening date. Its core duties are:
- Receipt of bids: Bids are received before the deadline and held securely and unopened until the opening.
- Deadline monitoring: Bids received after the bid deadline must be marked as late and may not be opened.
- Opening act: At the bid opening date, the bid opening office opens all bids received on time and records the essential data.
- Recording: The bid opening office produces the opening minutes (bid opening results).
Special requirements for electronic procurement
In electronic procurement procedures, the procurement platform takes on the role of the bid opening office: bids are transmitted in encrypted form and can only be opened by the contracting authority after the bid opening date. Technical assurance of confidentiality replaces physical safekeeping. This is required by Directive 2014/24/EU and the national implementing rules.
Organisational requirements
The bid opening office must be organisationally separated from the persons handling the procurement in order to ensure independence and confidentiality. Persons involved in drafting the procurement documents or in bid evaluation should not at the same time be active in the bid opening office.
Related terms
FAQ
May a bidder submit its bid directly to the bid opening office? Yes, provided this is foreseen in the procurement documents. In electronic procedures, submission takes place exclusively via the procurement platform.
What happens to bids received late? They must be returned unopened or marked as late and may not be included in the evaluation.
Last updated: January 2026 All information without guarantee. For legally binding advice, please consult a law firm specialising in procurement law.
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