Incomplete Bid in Procurement Law 2026 – Exclusion and Subsequent Request

Definition: An incomplete bid is a bid that is missing required declarations, evidence or information, which in principle leads to mandatory exclusion from the procurement procedure, unless the contracting authority issues a subsequent request or the missing documents are not eligible for a subsequent request.

Last updated: January 2026 · Legal basis: § 57 VgV, § 16 VOB/A, § 16 EU VOB/A, BVergG 2018

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What is an incomplete bid?

A bid is incomplete where a bidder has failed to submit some or all of the declarations, evidence, documents or information required by the contracting authority. Completeness of a bid is a central formal requirement in procurement law, because only complete and comparable bids allow for proper evaluation.

Typical cases of incompleteness:

• Missing price entries in individual items of the schedule of services
• Missing suitability evidence (references, certificates)
• Forms not filled in or not signed
• Missing declarations on collective agreement compliance or grounds for exclusion
• Missing technical information for complex supplies

Exclusion as the default consequence

Procurement law treats the exclusion of an incomplete bid as the default legal consequence. Under § 57 (1) No. 1 VgV, bids that do not contain the required declarations and evidence must be excluded. The principle of equal treatment prohibits giving a bidder an unlawful advantage over fully compliant competitors by accepting an incomplete bid.

Possibility of a subsequent request

Procurement law does, however, recognise the mechanism of subsequently requesting missing documents, which can soften the strict exclusion rule. Under § 56 (2) VgV, the contracting authority may (but is not obliged to) request that missing, incomplete or defective company-related documents be submitted subsequently, provided that this does not lead to a change in the substance of the bid. The deadline for the subsequent request is in principle at least six calendar days.

Documents that may not be requested subsequently:

• Missing or incomplete price entries
• Information that affects the substance of the bid itself (description of services, prices)
• Documents whose subsequent submission would distort competition

Documents that may be requested subsequently:

• Missing suitability evidence (references, certifications)
• Missing general declarations (e.g. self-declaration on grounds for exclusion)
• Formal defects in signature or stamping

The contracting authority's discretion

Whether the contracting authority makes use of the subsequent request option is in principle a matter of discretion. However, it must exercise this discretion equally for all bidders: if it requests missing documents from one bidder, it must in principle do the same for other bidders if the same documents are missing (requirement of equal treatment).

FAQ

Does every missing document necessarily lead to exclusion? No. If the contracting authority uses the option of a subsequent request under § 56 (2) VgV and the missing document is one that may be supplied later, the bid remains in the procedure.

What happens if a bidder fails to submit the requested documents within the deadline? In that case the bid must be excluded. The deadline for the subsequent request must be observed; late submission cannot be taken into account.

Can a bidder challenge their own exclusion? Yes. A bidder excluded incorrectly can initiate review proceedings before the Procurement Chamber and request that the exclusion be set aside.

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