Notice in Public Procurement Law

Notice in procurement law: mandatory publication of tenders in the EU Official Journal (TED) or nationally. Contract notice, eForms since 2023.

Definition: A notice is the formal publication of information about a procurement procedure by the contracting authority in the Supplement to the Official Journal of the European Union (TED) or in national publication media, in order to open up competition and ensure transparency.

Last updated: January 2026 · Legal basis: Directive 2014/24/EU, Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/1780, BVergG 2018, VgV

What is a notice?

The notice is the central instrument of transparency in public procurement law and the formal signal by which a contracting authority informs the market of a procurement need. It is the precondition for undertakings throughout the European single market to learn equally about the competition and to participate in it. The publication obligation is the practically most important element of the non-discrimination requirement in EU procurement law.

In the above-threshold range – i.e. for contracts that exceed the EU thresholds – publication in the Supplement to the Official Journal of the European Union is mandatory. This Supplement is published electronically via the TED (Tenders Electronic Daily) platform and is freely accessible.

Significance and Function

The notice obligation gives effect to the principle of transparency and creates the basis for effective cross-border competition in the European single market.

There are three main types of notice:

Prior Information Notice (PIN)

The Prior Information Notice is a voluntary, or in certain cases mandatory, advance announcement of planned procurement procedures. It serves to inform the market early about forthcoming contracts. If a contracting authority publishes a PIN, it may under certain conditions shorten the tender deadline (Art. 27 para. 3 Directive 2014/24/EU). For certain service contracts (social and other specific services), the PIN can serve as a call for competition (Art. 75 Directive 2014/24/EU).

Contract Notice

The contract notice is the actual tender publication by which the procurement procedure is formally opened. It contains the essential information about the contracting authority, the subject matter of the contract, the suitability requirements, the award criteria and the deadlines. The minimum content is set out in Annex V Part C of Directive 2014/24/EU. From the date of publication, the statutory minimum deadlines for the submission of tenders or applications begin to run.

Contract Award Notice

The contract award notice is the mandatory publication after the award of the contract, containing information about the outcome of the procurement procedure. It must be published no later than 30 days after the conclusion of the contract (Art. 50 Directive 2014/24/EU). Its content includes, among other things, the name of the successful contractor, the contract value and the number of tenders received. The contract award notice serves the traceability of the decision and the statistical recording of the public procurement market.

eForms since October 2023

Since October 2023, the new eForms notice forms are mandatory in the EU above-threshold range, fully replacing the previous standard forms. eForms are based on Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/1780 and are machine-readable, structured XML forms that enable automated further processing of the data. They contain more than 170 data fields and distinguish between 40 different form types, from the prior information notice to the contract award notice.

The key innovations introduced by eForms:

Machine readability – All fields are coded and can be read automatically by third-party systems.
Structured award criteria – Weightings and descriptions must be specified in machine-readable form.
New mandatory fields – e.g. on subcontracting, subsidy financing and sustainability aspects.
National subfields – Member States may define additional national fields.

Legal Basis

The publication obligation is anchored in a multi-layered framework of norms.

Art. 48–50 Directive 2014/24/EU – prior information notice, contract notice, contract award notice
Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/1780 – eForms specifications
Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/1780 – adaptation and refinement of the eForms

Austria

In Austria, the publication obligations are regulated in §§ 60 ff. BVergG 2018. Contract notices in the above-threshold range are published via TED; in the below-threshold range, publications in the Lieferanzeiger or on the procurement platform of the respective federal state are prescribed. Bundesbeschaffung GmbH (BBG) provides separate publication infrastructure for federal contracting authorities.

Germany

In Germany, notices in the above-threshold range are to be published in accordance with §§ 37 ff. VgV via TED; in addition, a national publication via the German Procurement Portal (DTVP) is possible. In the below-threshold range, § 28 UVgO regulates the national publication obligation. The federal states may provide their own publication rules for the contracting authorities maintained by them.

Related Terms

FAQ

What is TED and where can I find EU notices? TED (Tenders Electronic Daily) is the electronic Supplement to the Official Journal of the EU and is freely available at ted.europa.eu. All contract notices in the EU above-threshold range are published there.

What are the consequences of a missing or defective notice? A missing or insufficient notice can render the concluded contract ineffective (Art. 2d Remedies Directive 89/665/EEC). Bidders that have been passed over can initiate a review procedure.

Does every procurement have to be published? No. Below national value thresholds (e.g. direct awards) there are simplified or no publication obligations. In the above-threshold range, however, publication is mandatory without exception.

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