Ex-Post Transparency in Public Procurement Law 2026

Ex-post transparency in procurement law: subsequent publication of awarded contracts. Obligation to publish award outcomes under EU procurement law.

Definition: Ex-post transparency refers to the procurement-law obligation of public contracting authorities to publish the outcome of a procurement procedure – in particular the award made – after its completion, thereby providing subsequent transparency over the use of public funds.

Last updated: January 2026 · Legal basis: Directive 2014/24/EU Art. 50, BVergG 2018, GWB/VgV

What is ex-post transparency?

Ex-post transparency is the procurement-law counterweight to the protection of competition: it ensures that not only the procurement procedure itself but also its outcome is open to public scrutiny. The term is derived from the Latin: "ex post" means "afterwards" or "after the event". In the context of procurement law, it describes all transparency obligations that arise after the award has been made.

The obligation of ex-post transparency follows from Art. 50 of Directive 2014/24/EU and is implemented in Germany by the VgV and the GWB, and in Austria by the BVergG 2018. It serves several purposes: the supervision of award practice, informing bypassed bidders, and the statistical recording of public procurement volume.

Instruments of ex-post transparency

Ex-post transparency is realised through a range of legal instruments that differ in their addressees and reach.

Contract award notice (notice of awarded contracts)

The most important form of ex-post transparency is the contract award notice (also: notice of awarded contracts). It must be published within 30 days of the award in the Supplement to the EU Official Journal (TED) and contains:

Name and address of the successful tenderer
Award value
Date of the award
Number of offers received
Award criteria applied

Bidder information (rejection)

The individual bidder information under § 135 BVergG 2018 or § 62 VgV is addressed to all unsuccessful bidders and informs them of the name of the successful bidder and the reasons for the rejection. It is a precondition for the standstill period to begin.

Procurement statistics

Contracting authorities are required to transmit data on awarded contracts to the competent national statistical authorities, which forward them to the European Commission. This enables statistical analysis of the EU-wide procurement volume.

Relationship to ex-ante transparency

While ex-ante transparency publishes awards in advance to create legal certainty, ex-post transparency serves the purpose of subsequent accountability.

The two instruments complement each other and together form the transparency system of EU procurement law. Ex-ante transparency is voluntary and serves the contracting authority as a protective instrument; ex-post transparency is mandatory and serves the public interest.

Legal consequences of breach

Breaching the obligation to publish a contract award notice can have supervisory consequences and reinforce the right of bypassed bidders to damages.

In practice, a missing or late contract award notice mainly results in criticism by procurement supervisory authorities and can, in the case of repeated breaches, give rise to administrative sanctions.

Related terms

FAQ

Must every award be published ex post? In the EU above-threshold area, the contract award notice is mandatory. In the sub-threshold area, simplified or no publication obligations apply, depending on the national law.

Within what period must the contract award notice be made? No later than 30 days after the award pursuant to Art. 50 Directive 2014/24/EU.

Must all details of the award price be published? For certain service contracts, price information may be restricted on grounds of legitimate business secrecy; however, at a minimum, the contract value must be given within a range.

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