Notification Duty to Unsuccessful Bidders 2026

Notification duty to unsuccessful bidders: information duty under § 134 GWB before contract award – content, deadlines, standstill period and consequences of breach.

Definition: The notification duty to unsuccessful bidders is the public contracting authority's legal obligation to inform all bidders whose bids are not to receive the award, before conclusion of the contract, of the non-consideration and its reasons, in order to enable them to initiate a review procedure.

Last updated: January 2026 · Legal basis: § 134 GWB; § 264 BVergG 2018; Art. 2a Directive 89/665/EEC; Art. 55 Directive 2014/24/EU

Legal basis and purpose

The notification duty to unsuccessful bidders (bidder information, prior information) is the most important prerequisite for effective primary legal protection in procurement law: only if unsuccessful bidders learn of the intended contract award in good time can they take legal steps before the contract is concluded. § 134 GWB transposes the requirements of the Remedies Directive 89/665/EEC (Art. 2a) into German law.

The purpose of the notification duty is threefold: first, safeguarding individual legal protection; second, promoting transparency of the tender procedure; and third, deterring conduct by the contracting authority that breaches procurement law.

Content of the notification under § 134 GWB

The notification under § 134 GWB must contain the following minimum information:

Name of the company whose bid is to be accepted (award recipient).
Reasons for non-consideration of the own bid (e.g. exclusion, lower score, lack of suitability).
Earliest date of contract conclusion (at least 15 days after dispatch of the notification by electronic means; 15 days for other forms of transmission).

The reasoning for non-consideration must be sufficiently specific to allow the bidder to assess whether a challenge has a chance of success. A mere formula ("Your bid was not the most economically advantageous") is not enough.

Deadlines and standstill period

The notification must be made sufficiently in advance for the statutory minimum standstill period to elapse between dispatch and the earliest possible contract conclusion.

Transmission method	Standstill period
Electronic (e-mail, tender platform)	15 days
Fax	15 days
Postal mail	15 days

The standstill period starts on the day after dispatch (not after receipt) of the notification. During the standstill period, the contract may not be concluded.

Extended information duty under Art. 55 Directive 2014/24/EU

On request from an unsuccessful bidder, the contracting authority is required to provide, within 15 days, further information on the reasons for non-consideration, in particular the characteristics and advantages of the selected bid and the total price, provided no trade secrets oppose disclosure. This extended information duty enables an informed decision on whether to initiate a review procedure.

Austrian legal position (§ 264 BVergG 2018)

In Austria, § 264 BVergG 2018 governs the notification of the award decision; it must be communicated electronically to all bidders and triggers the 15-day standstill period during which no award (contract conclusion) may take place. The award decision must contain the decisive reasons for the selection decision.

Legal consequences of breach of the notification duty

Concluding a contract without prior notification or before the end of the standstill period leads to invalidity of the contract under § 135 GWB. Bypassed bidders can apply to the procurement chamber for a declaration of invalidity within 30 days of becoming aware of the contract conclusion. After six months from contract conclusion, a declaration of invalidity is generally no longer possible.

FAQ

Must the notification also be sent to excluded bidders? Yes; bidders whose bids have been excluded also have a right to notification of non-consideration; the contracting authority then communicates the exclusion and its reasons.

Can the contracting authority refuse to give reasons for non-consideration by invoking trade secrets? Partly; the name of the award recipient and the essential reasons must always be communicated; details of the competing bid may be restricted by invoking trade secrets.

What is the difference between notification under § 134 GWB and the contract award notice? § 134 GWB governs the prior information before contract conclusion; the contract award notice is the public notice in TED required after the contract is concluded.

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