Special Services in Public Procurement Law 2026

Definition: Special services are social, health-related, educational, cultural and other services listed in Annex XIV of Directive 2014/24/EU, for which a simplified procurement procedure reduced to the basic principles of public procurement law applies.

Last updated: January 2026 · Legal basis: Articles 74–77 Directive 2014/24/EU, Sections 64 et seq. VgV, Section 150 BVergG 2018

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What are special services?

Special services are a separate category in EU public procurement law for which a raised threshold applies and the procedural requirements are simplified compared to the standard procedure.

The European legislator recognised that certain services – particularly social services, health and educational services – have specific characteristics: they are often closely tied to local and personal components, are subject to specific national or local regulations, and are less tradable across borders than typical commercial goods. Therefore, simplified procurement rules apply to them.

Applicable threshold

A raised threshold of EUR 750,000 (excluding VAT) applies to special services.

The special procurement provisions of Articles 74–77 of Directive 2014/24/EU only apply from an estimated contract value of EUR 750,000. Below this value, the general national sub-threshold rules apply.

Which services are covered?

The catalogue of special services is exhaustively set out in Annex XIV of Directive 2014/24/EU.

Typical categories of special services:

• Health, social and care services (e.g. hospital services, outpatient care)
• Education and vocational training services
• Legal and attorney services (certain categories)
• Hotel and restaurant services in certain contexts
• Postal and courier services
• Certain administrative and governmental services
• Legal services (arbitration, mediation)

Not all services in these areas automatically fall under Annex XIV – the precise CPV code classification is decisive.

Simplified procedural requirements

For special services, the directive prescribes only a few minimum requirements.

For special services, contracting authorities must:

• Publish a notice in TED (or a prior information notice)
• Observe the basic principles of transparency and equal treatment
• Publish a contract award notice after the award

They are not required to:

• Comply with strict minimum deadlines (no minimum deadline regime as for the open procedure)
• Choose a specific procedure (considerable flexibility in designing the procedure)

National transposition

Germany and Austria have transposed the simplified procurement rules for special services into national law.

In Germany, Sections 64 et seq. VgV govern the award of special services. The contracting authority has considerable leeway in designing the procedure but must observe the basic principles of public procurement law. In Austria, corresponding rules can be found in Sections 150 et seq. BVergG 2018.

FAQ

Does the higher threshold also apply to sector contracting authorities? For sector contracting authorities, a threshold of EUR 1,000,000 applies to special services under Directive 2014/25/EU.

Can social non-profit providers be favoured? Article 77 of Directive 2014/24/EU permits Member States to restrict the right to participate in procurement procedures for certain special services to specific organisations (e.g. non-profit organisations).

Must special services be tendered if the threshold is not reached? Below EUR 750,000, the national sub-threshold rules apply. A competitive procedure may nevertheless be required under procurement law if national thresholds are exceeded.

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