Planning Competition Procurement Law 2026

Planning competition in procurement law: competitive procedure for obtaining plans in architecture, urban planning and engineering. Legal basis and process.

Definition: A planning competition is a procedure in which public contracting authorities obtain plans or designs in the fields of spatial planning, urban development, architecture or engineering through competition and have them evaluated by a jury panel.

Last updated: January 2026 · Legal status: Directive 2014/24/EU Art. 78–82, § 69 VgV, RPW 2013, BVergG 2018

What is a planning competition?

The planning competition is a standalone procurement procedure under public procurement law, specifically designed for the procurement of planning and design services. Unlike classic procurement procedures, the focus is not on price determination but on the creative and technical competition between planners, architects and engineers. The result of the procedure is an award-winning plan or design, which can form the basis for a subsequent contract award.

The instrument is used when public contracting authorities wish to obtain creative solution approaches from the market for urban planning projects, building designs, infrastructure projects or open-space designs. The competition participants prepare designs that are evaluated by an independent jury panel on the basis of predefined criteria.

Legal basis

The planning competition is enshrined in EU law by the Procurement Directive 2014/24/EU (Art. 78–82) and is implemented in Germany by § 69 of the Procurement Regulation (VgV). In addition, the Guidelines for Planning Competitions (RPW 2013), issued by the Federal Ministry for Housing, Urban Development and Building, apply and contain detailed procedural rules. In Austria, the planning competition is governed by the BVergG 2018 (§§ 153 ff.).

Types of planning competition

Depending on the objective and the openness of the procedure, a distinction is made between open and restricted competitions and between ideas and realisation competitions.

Open competition: All interested planners may participate; maximum breadth of ideas.
Restricted competition: Only selected participants (typically 3–5) are invited to submit entries.
Ideas competition: Aimed at conceptual stimuli without immediate intention to realise.
Realisation competition: The best design is to be actually implemented; the winner generally receives the planning contract.

The jury panel

An independent jury panel, predominantly composed of experts, is the central body of the planning competition and ensures the objective evaluation of the submitted works. The jury must be independent; its members may not be connected to the competition participants. The decisions of the jury panel are in principle binding for the contracting authority, unless the authority deviates from the recommendation on objectively justified grounds.

Subsequent contract award

After a successful planning competition, the contracting authority may award the planning contract to the prize winner or one of the prize winners in a negotiated procedure without prior publication of a notice. However, this possibility must already be announced in the competition notice. Participation fees, prize money and acknowledgements are essential incentives for participating in the competition and must be defined in advance.

FAQ

Is a planning competition always necessary? No. A planning competition is not mandatory, but may be chosen by the contracting authority as a procedure when planning diversity and quality are paramount.

Who is allowed to participate in a planning competition? Generally eligible to participate are natural and legal persons authorised to perform the relevant planning services (e.g. architects, urban planners, engineers). The conditions are set out in the competition notice.

What happens to non-prize-winning designs? Non-prize-winning works remain the property of the participants. In principle, contracting authorities may not use them without consent.

What deadlines apply to a planning competition? The minimum deadline for the submission of competition entries is 30 days from the dispatch of the notice in the above-threshold area.

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