Supplementary Contract Terms (EVB) in Public Procurement Law 2026

EVB (Supplementary Contract Terms): sector-specific contract clauses in public procurement, notably EVB-IT for IT procurement.

Definition: EVB (Supplementary Contract Terms) are standardised, sector-specific contract clauses that public contracting authorities incorporate into procurement documents in addition to the general procurement and contract regulations (VOL/B, VOB/B) – the best-known example are the EVB-IT for the procurement of IT services.

Last updated: January 2026 · Legal basis: EVB-IT (Federal Coordination Office for IT Standards), VOL/B, BVergG 2018

What are EVB?

EVB (Supplementary Contract Terms) are standardised contract forms and clauses that integrate the specific requirements of certain service areas into public procurement contracts. They supplement general bodies of terms (e.g. the Procurement and Contract Regulations for Services, Part B – VOL/B) with sector-specific provisions that are not contained in the standard works.

The best-known and practically most significant example are the EVB-IT, the Supplementary Contract Terms for the Procurement of Information Technology. They were developed by the Coordination Office for IT Standards (KoSIT) and the German Federal Ministry of the Interior and are used by the Federal, Länder and municipal levels in Germany for IT procurement.

Overview of EVB-IT

The EVB-IT are a modular system of standardised contract terms for various types of IT procurement.

The EVB-IT system includes, among others:

EVB-IT Kauf: for the purchase of hardware and standard software
EVB-IT Überlassung Typ A/B: for the time-limited licensing of software
EVB-IT Pflege S: for the maintenance of standard software
EVB-IT Service: for IT services (e.g. maintenance, support)
EVB-IT Instandhaltung: for the maintenance of hardware systems
EVB-IT System: for complex IT systems (combined hardware and software)
EVB-IT Erstellung: for bespoke software development
EVB-IT Cloud: for cloud services (SaaS, PaaS, IaaS)

Use in procurement practice

EVB-IT are made available by the contracting authority as part of the procurement documents and become part of the contract on award. Tenderers must accept the EVB-IT; deviation generally leads to the bid being rejected as non-compliant. The EVB-IT are designed as standard forms that fit a wide range of IT procurement situations; for complex projects, supplementary individual contract clauses may be necessary.

EVB-IT in Austria

There is no direct equivalent of the German EVB-IT system in Austria. The federal procurement agency (BBG) provides its own model contracts and framework agreements for IT procurement. In addition, public contracting authorities draw on general bodies of terms and individual contract drafting.

Related terms

FAQ

Are EVB-IT mandatory for all public contracting authorities in Germany? No. At federal level, the EVB-IT are binding for federal authorities. At Länder and municipal level different rules may apply; many contracting authorities, however, use EVB-IT voluntarily as a quasi-standard.

Can tenderers depart from the EVB-IT? Generally not. Deviations from the EVB-IT typically lead to exclusion of the bid. Change proposals can only be put forward where the contracting authority expressly permits them.

Where can the current EVB-IT be obtained? The current EVB-IT forms are available free of charge on the website of the Federal Ministry of the Interior and from KoSIT.

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