NUTS Code in Public Procurement
The NUTS code uniformly classifies territorial units across the EU and is a mandatory field in procurement notices to identify the place of performance.
Definition: The NUTS code (Nomenclature des unités territoriales statistiques) is a hierarchical EU territorial classification under Regulation (EC) No 1059/2003, which is used as a mandatory entry in procurement notices to identify the place of performance in a standardised way and thereby enables EU-wide comparison of tenders by geographic criteria.
Last updated: January 2026 · Legal basis: Regulation (EC) No 1059/2003, Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/2066, Directive 2014/24/EU, BVergG 2018, VgV
What is a NUTS code?
The NUTS code (Nomenclature des unités territoriales statistiques – Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics) is the binding EU-wide system for classifying territorial units and is also used in public procurement law to provide a standardised indication of the place of performance. The nomenclature is hierarchical, with three levels (NUTS 1, NUTS 2, NUTS 3) and two local levels (LAU 1, LAU 2). The more digits a code has, the smaller the unit it identifies: AT1 represents the Austrian region of Eastern Austria; AT130 identifies the city of Vienna at NUTS 3 level. All codes for Germany begin with DE, followed by Länder identifiers — DE2 stands for Bavaria, DE212 for Munich.
The legal basis is Regulation (EC) No 1059/2003 in its current version; adjustments to the territorial structure are governed by implementing regulations, most recently Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/2066.
Significance in the procurement procedure
In procurement notices, the NUTS code of the place of performance is a mandatory field and is used on TED and on national tender databases for geographic filter searches. Bidders can search TED and national platforms in a targeted manner by NUTS region, considerably reducing their search effort. Contracting authorities must indicate the NUTS code of the actual place of performance; for nationwide or multi-site contracts, all relevant NUTS codes must be entered.
An incorrect or insufficiently precise NUTS entry restricts the findability of the notice and may be raised as a procurement defect in review proceedings. With the eForms transition, mandatory across the EU for above-threshold procurement since October 2023, NUTS entries must be recorded in even more structured form than before.
Related terms
Last updated: January 2026 All information without guarantee. For legally binding advice, please consult a law firm specialising in public procurement.
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