EU Notices in Public Procurement Law 2026

EU notices in public procurement: mandatory publications in the Supplement to the Official Journal of the EU (TED) for EU-wide tenders. Types and deadlines.

Definition: EU notices are the mandatory notices published in the Supplement to the Official Journal of the European Union (TED – Tenders Electronic Daily) by public contracting authorities for procurement procedures that exceed the EU thresholds. They include prior information notices, contract notices, contract award notices and other notices required under procurement law.

Last updated: January 2026 · Legal basis: Directive 2014/24/EU Annex V, Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/1780 (eForms)

What are EU notices?

EU notices are the central transparency instrument of European procurement law: they ensure that undertakings from all EU Member States have equal access to information about public contracts above the EU thresholds. The obligation to publish in the EU Supplement is a core requirement of Directive 2014/24/EU and the corresponding procurement directives. Without such a notice a procurement procedure is unlawful; contracts already awarded can be declared ineffective.

Since November 2022 publication has taken place in the new eForms format, based on a standardised XML data model that allows machine-readable processing of procurement data.

Types of EU notices

The procurement directives distinguish different types of notice published at different points in the procurement procedure.

Prior Information Notice (PIN)

The prior information notice (Art. 48 of Directive 2014/24/EU) serves to announce planned procurement in advance. It is optional but can be used to shorten tender deadlines. In the area of social and other specific services, the prior information notice is permitted as a means of publication.

Contract Notice

The contract notice is the central mandatory notice at the start of a procurement procedure (Art. 49 of Directive 2014/24/EU). It contains all essential information: contracting authority, subject matter, procedure type, deadlines, eligibility requirements and award criteria.

Contract Award Notice

After a procurement procedure has been concluded, a contract award notice must be published (Art. 50 of Directive 2014/24/EU). It contains information on the selected contractor and the contract value. The notice must be published within 30 days of the award.

Voluntary ex ante transparency notice

The voluntary ex ante transparency notice (Art. 2b of Directive 89/665/EEC) enables contracting authorities to publish the intention to make a direct award and thereby reduce the contestability of the subsequent contract (triggering a 30-day standstill period).

Other notice types

Notice of modifications (Art. 72 of Directive 2014/24/EU): for material contract modifications
Periodic indicative notice for non-open procedures
Notice for the establishment of a dynamic purchasing system
Design contest notice

eForms – the new notice format

Since 25 October 2023 the use of the eForms standard notices for EU notices has been mandatory across the EU. eForms (Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/1780) replace the previous standard forms and, through a machine-readable XML format, enable better analysis and comparability of procurement data across the EU. Contracting authorities and their IT systems must fully support the new form requirements.

TED – the publication platform

All EU notices are published via the TED platform (Tenders Electronic Daily), operated by the European Commission. TED is freely accessible at ted.europa.eu and allows tenders to be searched by sector, country, contracting authority and other criteria. The database includes several hundred new notices each day from across the EU and associated states (EEA, Switzerland).

Deadlines in connection with EU notices

Directive 2014/24/EU lays down minimum deadlines that must be observed from the date the contract notice is sent to the EU Supplement.

Procedure type	Tender deadline	Reduced deadline (with PIN)
Open procedure	35 days	15 days
Restricted procedure (participation)	30 days	–
Restricted procedure (tender)	25 days	10 days

Related terms

FAQ

Where are EU notices published? In the Supplement to the Official Journal of the EU, accessible electronically via TED (ted.europa.eu).

What happens if a contracting authority breaches the publication obligation? Procurement-law-unlawful direct awards (missing notice) can be challenged by overlooked undertakings; contracts already concluded can be declared ineffective.

What are eForms? eForms are the standardised electronic notice templates that have been mandatory for EU notices since October 2023 and use a machine-readable XML format.

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