Competition Register Procurement Law 2026

Competition Register: Nationwide register for economic crime that public contracting authorities must query before awarding a contract.

Definition: The Competition Register is an electronic register maintained at the Federal Cartel Office in which final decisions for certain economic offences are recorded, and which public contracting authorities are obliged to query before awarding contracts above defined values.

Last updated: January 2026 · Legal status: Competition Register Act (WRegG) of 18 July 2017, §§ 123, 124 GWB

What is the Competition Register?

The Competition Register is Germany's central instrument for preventing economic crime in public procurement. It was introduced by the Competition Register Act (WRegG) and is maintained by the Federal Cartel Office. Entries have been possible since 1 December 2021; since 1 June 2022 the obligation to query exists for public contracting authorities for contracts with a value from 30,000 euros (excluding VAT).

The register is intended to ensure that companies which have been finally convicted of serious economic offences are not favoured through public contracts.

Conditions for entry

Companies are entered in the Competition Register if there is a final conviction for certain offences against them or their management personnel.

Offences that lead to entry include, among others:

Bribery and corruption (§§ 299, 299a StGB)
Bid rigging (§ 298 StGB)
Fraud and breach of trust (§§ 263, 266 StGB)
Money laundering (§ 261 StGB)
Offences under the Temporary Employment Act, the Act to Combat Illegal Employment, and others

The notification to the Competition Register is made ex officio by public prosecutors, courts and antitrust authorities.

Query obligation

Public contracting authorities are obliged to carry out a register query before awarding a contract from 30,000 euros (§ 6 WRegG). The query is made electronically via the web portal operated by the Federal Cartel Office. The result is communicated to the contracting authority; a positive register entry constitutes a ground for exclusion under § 123 or § 124 GWB.

Self-cleaning

Listed companies have the option of self-cleaning (§ 8 WRegG in conjunction with § 125 GWB). Through appropriate measures – e.g. damages payments, compliance measures, cooperation with authorities – companies can demonstrate that they are reliable and that the ground for exclusion no longer exists. After successful self-cleaning, the entry is deleted.

Deletion

Entries are deleted after a retention period: for § 123 GWB offences after five years, for § 124 GWB offences after three years from the date of entry.

Related terms

FAQ

From what contract value must the Competition Register be queried? The query obligation applies from an estimated contract value of 30,000 euros (net).

Is there a comparable register in Austria? Austria does not have a central register comparable to the German Competition Register. Reliability questions are assessed on a case-by-case basis using criminal record certificates and other evidence.

What happens if a contracting authority forgets the query obligation? Failure to query constitutes a procedural error and can be challenged in review proceedings. The award of a contract to a listed company can be objected to as unlawful under procurement law.

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