Request Deadline in Public Procurement Law 2026

Definition: The request deadline (Anforderungsfrist) in public procurement law is the period within which bidders can request the procurement documents from the public contracting authority, and generally ends a few days before the tender deadline expires in order to give the contracting authority sufficient time to provide the documents.

Last updated: January 2026 · Legal status: § 41 VgV; § 83 BVergG 2018; Art. 53 Directive 2014/24/EU

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What is the request deadline?

The request deadline has become largely obsolete in the modern e-procurement environment, since procurement documents today are normally made available in full on the procurement platform from the date of the contract notice. In classic paper-based procurement law, the request deadline denoted the last day by which bidders had to request the tender documents in writing in order to receive them in good time before the tender deadline.

Under Art. 53 of Directive 2014/24/EU and § 41 VgV, contracting authorities are obliged to make the procurement documents available in full electronically from the date of publication of the contract notice. The separate request deadline in the above-threshold sector has therefore generally been abolished.

Relevance in the below-threshold sector

In the below-threshold sector and in paper-based procedures, the request deadline may still have practical relevance. Where documents are not provided automatically but only sent on request (e.g. for complex works tenders with extensive plans), the contracting authority must set a request deadline that ends sufficiently far in advance of the end of the tender deadline.

Rule of thumb: the request deadline should end at least 6–10 working days before the tender deadline to ensure timely dispatch of the documents.

Bidder queries and request deadline

In some procurements a request deadline (or rather: a query deadline) is also set for bidder queries. Up to this date, bidders can submit questions on the procurement documents; the contracting authority answers these questions by a specified date before the tender deadline. Setting such a query deadline is recommended under procurement law but not mandatory in all cases.

FAQ

Do I have to actively request the procurement documents? In the modern e-procurement system, no — documents are normally available on the platform from the contract notice. Registration on the platform may, however, be required.

What happens if I miss the request deadline? In paper-based procedures you can no longer receive documents and therefore cannot submit a tender. In the e-procurement system, the request deadline has been replaced by direct platform access.

Does the request deadline affect the tender deadline? Indirectly yes: where documents are only sent on request and the contracting authority does not send them in time, it must extend the tender deadline accordingly.

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