Professional Services in Public Procurement Law 2026

Definition: Professional services within the meaning of procurement law are services which, by virtue of their intellectual, creative, or advisory nature and the personal qualification of the service provider, cannot readily be awarded on the basis of the lowest price but are instead awarded on quality criteria, in particular architectural, engineering, legal, and management consultancy services.

Last updated: January 2026 · Legal basis: § 73 VgV, HOAI, §§ 49 et seq. BVergG 2018, Directive 2014/24/EU

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What are professional services?

Professional services are characterised by a high degree of intellectual creation, personal qualification, and individual contract fulfilment – features that distinguish them fundamentally from standardised supply and service contracts. In the classical sense, the liberal professions include:

• Architects and urban planners
• Engineers (structural designers, building-services engineers, surveyors)
• Lawyers and notaries
• Tax advisers and auditors
• Doctors, psychologists, and other health professions
• Management consultants

In procurement law, planning services (architects, engineers), legal advice, and expert services are particularly significant, as public contracting authorities regularly require these for larger construction projects and complex administrative undertakings.

Procurement-law specifics

For professional services – in particular planning services – procurement law contains special rules that take account of the intellectual and personal nature of these services.

Choice of procurement procedure

Professional services are often awarded via the negotiated procedure with prior call for competition or the competitive dialogue, because:

• The subject of the service cannot be conclusively described in advance
• Qualitative aspects are more difficult to evaluate than for standard services
• Negotiations on the scope and concept of the service are useful

In Germany, § 73 VgV stipulates that, for architectural and engineering services from the EU threshold value, a negotiated procedure with prior call for competition or a design contest should be carried out.

Design contest

The design contest (§§ 78 et seq. VgV, §§ 141 et seq. BVergG 2018) is a special procedure for architectural and engineering services in which competition entries are evaluated anonymously by a jury. The winner is generally awarded the contract for further design elaboration.

HOAI and price regulation

In Germany, the Honorarordnung für Architekten und Ingenieure (HOAI) regulates the fee ranges for planning services. Following the CJEU judgment of 4 July 2019 (C-377/17), binding minimum and maximum fees under the HOAI are not compatible with EU law where they are applied to planners established in other EU states. The 2021 HOAI amendment has therefore relaxed the binding minimum rates; they now serve only as guidance.

Qualitative award criteria

For professional services, the quality of service delivery is more important than price. Pursuant to Art. 67 Directive 2014/24/EU, contracting authorities may use award criteria such as professional competence, project experience, methodology, and team qualification. In practice, 60–70 % of the weighting is often allocated to qualitative criteria and 30–40 % to the price.

Sub-threshold area

In the sub-threshold area, professional services are often exempt from the strictest formal requirements, or simplified procedures apply.

In Austria (§ 49(1) BVergG 2018), professional services can be awarded as a direct award or via a negotiated procedure without prior publication up to certain thresholds.

Related terms

• Intellectual services
• Negotiated procedure
• Competitive dialogue
• Award criteria
• Functional tender

FAQ

From what contract value must architectural services be tendered EU-wide? From the EU threshold for service contracts of public contracting authorities (currently EUR 143,000 excluding VAT for central government authorities, EUR 221,000 for other public contracting authorities).

Must the cheapest provider of professional services always be awarded the contract? No. The lowest-price principle is expressly not to be applied to professional services. Qualitative criteria must be appropriately taken into account in the award decision.

What is the difference between a negotiated procedure and a design contest for professional services? In the negotiated procedure, the contracting authority negotiates with selected bidders on service and fee. In the design contest, designs are evaluated anonymously by a jury; the prize-winner is generally awarded the contract for further elaboration.

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