Procurement Record in Procurement Law

The procurement record is the legally required documentation of the entire procurement procedure and a central instrument for transparency, review and audit-office oversight.

Definition: The procurement record is the written documentation that the contracting authority is required to keep of all material decisions and steps of a procurement procedure. It evidences the lawfulness of the procedure and serves as the basis for review proceedings, audit-office controls and internal audits.

Last updated: January 2026 · Legal status: Art. 84 Directive 2014/24/EU; AT: § 150 BVergG 2018; DE: § 8 VgV

What is the procurement record?

The procurement record – in Germany also referred to as procurement documentation – is the "memory" of the procurement procedure: it records all decisions, reasons and procedural steps relevant for procurement law in writing and makes it possible at any time to retrace the course of the procedure without gaps. The procurement record is not a mere formality but has direct legal significance: decisions that are not documented cannot be recognised as lawful in review proceedings or audit-office controls.

The procurement record must be kept continuously by the contracting authority throughout the procurement procedure – not only after the event. It must be drawn up individually for each procurement procedure and must reflect the actual course of the procedure.

Importance and function

The procurement record fulfils three central functions: it serves as a means of evidence vis-à-vis review authorities and audit offices, as a self-monitoring tool for contracting authorities, and as a source of information for internal and external audits.

Mandatory content of the procurement record

Art. 84 of Directive 2014/24/EU and the national transposing laws define the minimum content of the procurement record. This includes in particular:

On the preparation of the procedure:

Name and address of the contracting authority
Subject matter and value of the contract
Type of procedure chosen and its justification (in particular for restricted procedures and negotiated procedures)
Suitability criteria applied and their weighting
Award criteria applied and their weighting

On the conduct of the procedure:

Contacts with economic operators before the launch of the procedure and their effects on the procedure
Exclusions of candidates or bidders, with reasons
Outcome of the suitability assessment, with reasons
Outcome of the bid examination and evaluation, with reasons

On the conclusion of the procedure:

Name of the selected bidder and reasons for the award decision
Information on conflicts of interest and measures taken
Where applicable, reasons for the cancellation of the procedure

Retention obligation

The procurement record and all associated documents must be retained after the conclusion of the contract for a statutorily defined period:

EU requirement: At least three years (Art. 84(3) Directive 2014/24/EU)
Austria: At least seven years after the end of the budgetary year in which the contract was concluded (§ 150(6) BVergG 2018); for EU-funded projects, the longer retention periods of the relevant funding scheme apply (often 10 years)
Germany: At least three years from the day of contract award (§ 8(2) VgV); shorter periods possible for sub-threshold procurements

Importance for review and audit offices

In review proceedings, the procurement record is the central means of evidence for the lawfulness of award decisions. Incomplete or contradictory documentation may result in decisions being classified as unlawful, even where they were substantively correct. The maxim is: what is not documented did not happen.

For audit offices – the Federal Audit Office (DE), the Austrian Court of Audit and the Länder audit offices – the procurement record is the primary basis for the financial audit. Missing or deficient procurement records regularly give rise to objections.

Legal basis

The procurement record is governed by EU law and detailed national provisions.

EU: Art. 84 Directive 2014/24/EU (reporting)
Austria: § 150 BVergG 2018 (procurement record); §§ 151 et seq. (statistical reporting)
Germany: § 8 VgV (documentation of the procurement procedure); § 20 UVgO (sub-threshold area)

Related terms

FAQ

Must the procurement record be drawn up during the procedure or only afterwards? The procurement record is a continuous document that must be kept in parallel with the procurement procedure. Every material decision must be documented promptly. Retrospective preparation of the procurement record after the conclusion of the procedure is not permitted and would defeat the purpose of the instrument – the contemporaneous evidencing of the reasons for decisions.

What happens if the procurement record is incomplete? An incomplete procurement record may, in review proceedings, give rise to the presumption that the undocumented decisions were not taken at all or were not taken properly. This can lead to award decisions being set aside. In audit-office controls, missing documentation can be classified and objected to as a breach of procurement law.

Do bidders have a right of access to the procurement record? Unsuccessful bidders have, within certain limits, a right to be given reasons for the award decision and to be informed of the relative advantages and disadvantages of their bid compared with the successful bid. Full access to the procurement record is possible in review proceedings, but is subject to the protection of other bidders' trade secrets.

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