TED in Procurement Law

TED (Tenders Electronic Daily) is the EU's mandatory publication platform for public contracts above the thresholds, with new tenders published daily.

Definition: TED (Tenders Electronic Daily) is the online supplement to the Official Journal of the European Union and the mandatory publication platform for procurement notices on contracts above the EU thresholds; it is published daily and is binding for all EU Member States and further states.

Last updated: January 2026 · Legal status: Directive 2014/24/EU Art. 51, Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/1780 (eForms)

What is TED?

TED – Tenders Electronic Daily – is the heart of EU-wide transparency in public procurement: on this platform, public contracting authorities from all EU Member States, the European Economic Area and further contracting states publish their tenders, prior information notices and contract award notices daily. TED is the electronic supplement to the Official Journal of the European Union (S series) and is operated by the Publications Office of the EU.

Several thousand new notices appear on TED every day in all EU official languages. Bidders can use TED to search specifically for contracts in particular sectors, countries or value ranges and register for notifications.

Significance and function

For contracting authorities, TED is the legally prescribed publication platform for procurements that exceed the EU thresholds – a tender without a TED notice is null and void under procurement law for such contracts. The thresholds are adjusted by the European Commission every two years and currently amount to EUR 143,000 (central government authorities) or EUR 221,000 (other public contracting authorities) for supply and service contracts of classical contracting authorities, and EUR 5,538,000 for works contracts (as of 2024).

Content of a TED notice

A complete notice on TED contains:

Contracting authority: Name, address and contact details of the awarding body
Type of procedure: Open procedure, restricted procedure, negotiated procedure, competitive dialogue, etc.
Subject of the contract: Precise description of the service (supply, services or works contract)
Deadlines: Bid submission deadline or participation deadline and date of bid opening
Award criteria: Price, quality, economic advantage
Value: Estimated contract value (if published)

eForms from October 2023

With the introduction of the eForms Regulation (Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/1780), the previous standard forms for TED notices were replaced by a new, machine-readable format. Since 25 October 2023, eForms have been mandatory for all newly initiated procedures. eForms enable more structured recording of procurement data and facilitate automated analysis by bidders, procurement platforms and research institutions. Transmission to TED takes place via the European Commission's SIMAP system, either directly via the eNotices2 portal or via certified procurement platforms.

Access and use

TED is accessible free of charge and without registration at ted.europa.eu. Bidders can:

Carry out full-text and field searches
Filter results by country, CPV code (Common Procurement Vocabulary), procedure type and contract value
Set up notification services for new notices
View notices in all EU official languages

Contracting authorities do not submit notices directly to TED, but via the SIMAP/eNotices2 portal or via certified national procurement platforms that ensure automated forwarding.

Legal basis

The obligation to publish on TED follows directly from EU secondary law and is specified by national law.

EU: Art. 51 Directive 2014/24/EU (publication rules); Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/1780 (eForms standard forms)
Austria: §§ 55 et seq. BVergG 2018 (publication obligations); ÖNORM A 2050
Germany: §§ 37 et seq. VgV, § 12 EU VOB/A; § 40 SektVO

Related terms

FAQ

Must all tenders be published on TED? No. Only contracts exceeding the respective EU thresholds must be published on TED. Contracts below the thresholds are subject exclusively to national publication obligations, e.g. in national procurement databases or official journals.

What is the difference between TED and the Official Journal of the EU? The Official Journal of the European Union (OJ EU) is the official legal source for EU legislation and notices of all kinds. TED is specifically the S supplement to the Official Journal, which contains only procurement notices. Both are published by the Publications Office of the EU, but TED is the daily online offering with search functions.

How long does it take for a notice to appear on TED? After correct transmission via SIMAP/eNotices2, a notice is generally published on TED within five calendar days. Contracting authorities must take this lead time into account when planning bid submission deadlines. For urgent procedures, accelerated publication can be requested.

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