NACE 84.1 – General Public Administration | Public Tenders

Definition: NACE 84.1 covers the general public administrative activities of state bodies — from general government activity through financial administration and tax policy to economic regulation and research funding. This group has a dual role under procurement law: administrative bodies are primarily contracting authorities, but they can also be recipients of service contracts.

Legal basis: NACE Rev. 2 (Regulation (EC) No 1893/2006) · Last updated: January 2026

What does NACE 84.1 cover?

NACE 84.1 (General public administration) classifies the core activity of state institutions — from legislation through budget administration to regulatory activity.

Group 84.1 is broken down into the following classes:

The administrative bodies in this group are themselves contracting authorities in their core function — they procure goods, works and services to fulfil state tasks.

Public Tenders: Activity area NACE 84.1

Public administrative bodies are the most significant contracting authorities in European procurement — across the EU, around 14% of GDP is spent on public procurement. At the same time, they also award contracts for administrative support services to external providers.

Typical types of contract (awarded by administrative bodies)

• IT and e-government: Software development for administration portals, enterprise resource planning (ERP), digital identification systems, IT infrastructure for authorities
• Consultancy services: Strategy consultancy, organisational development, legal opinions, funding evaluation
• Communication and public relations: Media design, campaign development, citizen information materials, translation services
• Property management: Operation and maintenance of government premises, cleaning services
• Education and training: Training measures for administrative staff, leadership development
• Statistics and research: Commissioning of market research institutes, scientific evaluation of funding programmes

Thresholds and procurement procedures

As classic contracting authorities, administrative bodies are subject to the EU thresholds under Directive 2014/24/EU: EUR 221,000 for services, EUR 5,538,000 for works, and EUR 140,000 for supply and service contracts of central government authorities (as of 2024/2025). Procurement procedures are conducted as open procedures, restricted procedures or — for specific requirements — negotiated procedures.

Relevant CPV codes for NACE 84.1

General administration authorities use a broad range of CPV codes — these are the most common for procurement of external services:

Current tenders can be found on TED (Tenders Electronic Daily) as well as on DTVP, evergabe.de, the Bundesanzeiger and the Austrian Federal Procurement Portal.

Who is NACE 84.1 relevant to under procurement law?

Public contracting authorities

All state institutions in the general administration are classic contracting authorities within the meaning of the EU procurement directives. In Germany, this includes federal ministries and subordinate authorities (e.g. the Federal Environment Agency, Federal Network Agency), state ministries and authorities, regional governments and municipal administrations. The Federal Procurement Office of the Federal Ministry of the Interior (BeschA) and Zentraleinkauf coordinate large framework agreements for the federal administration. In Austria, Bundesbeschaffung GmbH (BBG) is the central procurement agency for federal institutions.

Companies and bidders

Companies providing services to administrative bodies typically need to consider the following aspects:

• Understanding of administration: Knowledge of governmental processes, legal bases and hierarchies is a competitive advantage
• Confidentiality and security: For security-related contracts, security clearance of staff may be required
• Formal requirements: Contracting authorities place high demands on the formal completeness of tenders
• Public sector references: Reference projects with public contracting authorities are evaluated favourably

NACE 84.1 in context: Section O and Division 84

NACE 84.1 is the most significant group within Division 84 (Public administration and defence; compulsory social security) of Section O.

• NACE O – Public Administration: Parent section
• NACE 84 – Public administration and defence; compulsory social security: Parent division
• NACE 84.2 – Foreign affairs, defence, justice: Defence procurement and justice
• NACE 84.3 – Compulsory social security: Health insurance and pension institutions as contracting authorities

Frequently asked questions on NACE 84.1 and public tenders

Is the public administration itself a contractor in tenders?
In exceptional cases, yes — for example, when one authority provides services to another (in-house award, inter-municipal cooperation). The classic role, however, is that of contracting authority. In statistical terms, NACE 84.1 classifies the administrative activity itself, not the services procured externally.

What special procurement principles apply to public administrative bodies?
In addition to the general procurement principles (transparency, competition, equal treatment), administrations must observe budgetary principles (economy, frugality). Certain services may be exempt from the obligation to tender (e.g. genuine in-house awards under § 108 GWB).

How do I find tenders of a specific federal authority?
Federal authorities in Germany publish notices on DTVP, evergabe.de and the Supplement to the Official Journal of the EU (TED). The Federal Procurement Office of the BMI maintains framework agreements for various procurement areas. Many authorities also have their own procurement portals on their websites.

Does procurement law also apply to state funding awards?
No — subsidies and the award of funding are in principle not subject to procurement law, but to the law on grants (§§ 23, 44 BHO). Procurement law applies only to remunerated procurement contracts.

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