Contract Documents in Public Procurement Law 2026 – Components & Order of Precedence

Contract documents are all documents that determine the content of a public contract: specifications, terms and conditions, the tender and the award letter.

Definition: Contract documents are the totality of all documents that govern the content of a public contract – in particular the specifications, the general and special contract conditions, the contractor's tender and the award letter.

Last updated: January 2026 · Legal basis: BVergG 2018, VOB/B, VgV, ABGB/BGB

What are contract documents?

Contract documents form the legal basis of the public contract and set out what the contractor must perform and how the contracting authority must remunerate it. The term is broader than "procurement documents": procurement documents comprise all documents issued to bidders during the procurement procedure. Contract documents are those parts of them that, following the award, constitute the content of the contract – supplemented by the tender.

Typical components

In practice, the contract documents consist of several documents that are generally arranged in a hierarchy:

Specifications

The specifications are the central document: they define the subject matter of the contract fully and unambiguously. For construction works they contain bills of quantities (items, quantities, units); for services and supply contracts, technical specifications and functional requirements.

General contract conditions (AVB/AGB)

Public contracting authorities frequently use standardised general contract conditions: in Germany the VOB/B for construction works or the EVB-IT for IT contracts; in Austria ÖNORM B 2110 for construction works. These sets of rules govern, among other things, liability, defects rights, time limits and termination.

Special contract conditions (BVB)

Contract-specific special provisions that supplement or depart from the general conditions (to the extent legally permissible).

The tender

The tender submitted by the contractor and accepted in the award becomes part of the contract and specifies, e.g., the price and technical solutions.

Award letter

The award letter documents the acceptance of the tender and thus the conclusion of the contract.

Order of precedence in the event of conflicts

Where different contract documents contain conflicting provisions, a contractually agreed order of precedence generally applies. For construction contracts under VOB/B, the customary order is: special contract conditions before general contract conditions before specifications before tender. The precise order of precedence should be expressly stipulated in the contract.

Electronic provision

Under § 83 BVergG 2018 and § 41 VgV, procurement and contract documents must, as a rule, be made available electronically via procurement platforms. Bidders have no entitlement to paper copies.

FAQ

Can contract documents still be changed after the submission of tenders? Only within narrow limits and only if all bidders are informed equally. Material changes require an extension of the tender deadline.

What happens if contract documents are unclear? Bidders can and should ask questions in writing before submitting their tender. The contracting authority's answers are made available to all bidders at the same time and become part of the contract.

Are parts of the contract documents subject to confidentiality? Yes, where they contain business or trade secrets of the contracting authority or of third parties. Such sections can be marked as confidential.

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