Summary: If you want to find public tenders in Germany, you face a fragmented landscape of dozens of portals at the federal, state and municipal levels. This guide explains the EU thresholds 2026/2027 and the difference between procurement above and below the EU thresholds, and it lists all relevant procurement platforms of the 16 German states (Bundesländer). You will learn step by step how to identify fitting contracts systematically, avoid typical mistakes in manual searching and cut your research effort. As an alternative to manual portal research, procuris aggregates all sources in a single search interface with AI-assisted semantic search and automatic deadline tracking.
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The federal government, states and municipalities in Germany award public contracts worth more than 125 billion euros every year. That figure covers only contracts of 25,000 euros or more. If you add smaller awards, experts estimate the total volume at around 500 billion euros per year. This market holds huge potential for companies of every size. But if you want to find public tenders, you face a fragmented landscape: relevant contracts are spread across dozens of portals at the federal, state and municipal levels.
This guide explains the German procurement landscape in detail, lists all relevant portals, explains the differences between procurement above and below the EU thresholds, and shows step by step how to find fitting contracts systematically, whether manually or with AI-assisted search.
Why finding public tenders is so complicated
Unlike many neighboring European countries, Germany has no single central portal that bundles all public contracts. This is due to its federal structure. Each of the 16 states runs its own procurement platforms. On top of that come federal portals, EU-wide databases and numerous private-sector platforms.
Federal fragmentation
The procurement landscape reflects German federalism. Municipalities award more than half of all public contracts, but almost 60 percent of the procurement volume falls to the federal government and the states. This means that if you want to cover the whole market, you have to search at every level.
In practice, public contracting authorities use different platforms, sometimes even within one state. One city administration may publish on the state platform, while another in the same state uses DTVP or subreport ELViS. This variety makes manual research extremely time-consuming.
Different data formats and search forms
Each platform uses its own search forms, categories and filter options. What one portal lists under “IT services” is called “EDP services” or “information technology” on the next. CPV codes (Common Procurement Vocabulary) do provide a uniform classification, but not all platforms use them consistently, especially for procurement below the EU thresholds.
Registration requirements and access hurdles
On most procurement platforms, viewing notices is free of charge. However, downloading the full tender documents almost always requires registration. So if you want to be active on several portals, you have to create and maintain many accounts. That is another drain on your time.
The tender hierarchy: Above and below the threshold
The most important organizing principle of the German procurement landscape is the thresholds. They decide which rules govern the award of a contract and where it must be published.
EU thresholds 2026/2027
Since January 1, 2026, new, slightly lower EU thresholds apply. The European Commission adjusts them every two years in line with the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA). The current values at a glance:
| Contract type | Threshold 2026/2027 | Before (2024/2025) |
|---|---|---|
| Supplies and services (upper and supreme federal authorities) | €140,000 | €143,000 |
| Supplies and services (other public contracting authorities) | €216,000 | €221,000 |
| Supplies and services (sector contracting entities) | €432,000 | €443,000 |
| Works and concessions | €5,404,000 | €5,538,000 |
The lower thresholds are good news for bidders. More contracts now have to be tendered EU-wide, which increases transparency.
What applies above the thresholds
If the estimated contract value reaches or exceeds the EU thresholds, the strict rules of the GWB (German Act against Restraints of Competition) and the Vergabeverordnung (VgV, Public Procurement Ordinance) apply. The key features:
- Mandatory publication on TED: Every EU-wide tender must be published on Tenders Electronic Daily
- eForms standard: Since October 2023, publication in the eForms format has been mandatory
- Public procurement tribunals for legal protection: Bidders can challenge award decisions before public procurement tribunals (Vergabekammern)
- Strict procedural rules: Open procedure, restricted procedure, negotiated procedure or competitive dialogue
What applies below the thresholds
Below the EU thresholds, less strict rules apply. At the federal level, the Unterschwellenvergabeordnung (UVgO, Sub-Threshold Procurement Regulation) governs the procedure, and for works the VOB/A (German Construction Contract Procedures, Part 1) does. The states have their own procurement laws and implement the UVgO in different ways.
What matters for your search: there is no central mandatory publication for procurement below the thresholds. Depending on the state and the value limit, contracting authorities must publish on the relevant state portal, on service.bund.de or on another approved platform, or in some cases not at all.
Procurement below the thresholds: The underrated market
For small and medium-sized enterprises, procurement below the thresholds is often more interesting than large EU-wide contracts. There is less competition, the requirements for proof of suitability are lower, and the award procedures move faster.
Why procurement below the thresholds matters so much
A large share of public contracts falls below the EU thresholds. Municipalities award more than 50 percent of all public contracts, and most of them are below the thresholds. For regional service providers, trade businesses and specialized SMEs, these contracts are the backbone of their public-sector business.
Especially in areas such as building cleaning, IT services, office equipment, trade work and consulting, contract volumes often range from 10,000 to 200,000 euros. That is far below the EU thresholds, but highly relevant for business. If you find these contracts systematically, you can secure a steady flow of public contracts.
Types of award below the thresholds
The UVgO provides three types of award below the EU thresholds:
- Öffentliche Ausschreibung (public invitation to tender): The standard procedure with a public notice, comparable to the open procedure above the threshold
- Beschränkte Ausschreibung mit Teilnahmewettbewerb (restricted invitation to tender with a call for competition): Only suitable applicants are invited to submit a bid
- Verhandlungsvergabe (negotiated award): Companies are approached directly. This is possible for low contract values or under special circumstances
Only the public invitation to tender and the restricted invitation to tender with a call for competition have to be published. Negotiated awards can take place without a notice. These contracts are invisible to outsiders.
Current reforms: The UVgO is being revised
The procurement landscape below the thresholds is changing. The federal government and the states are revising the UVgO by the end of 2026 at the latest. In North Rhine-Westphalia, simplified rules have applied since January 1, 2026. Municipalities no longer have to apply the UVgO or VOB/A to procurement below the thresholds. Instead, it is enough to follow the principles of cost efficiency, equal treatment and transparency.
This liberalization could become a model for other states. For bidders, it means the rules of the game are changing, and it pays to follow developments closely.
Tender portals in Germany: All platforms at a glance
The German procurement landscape consists of several levels. Below you will find a full overview of all relevant platforms.
EU level: TED and eForms
TED (Tenders Electronic Daily) is the official European Union database for all procurement above the EU thresholds. Thousands of tenders from all EU member states are published here every day. Since October 2023, all EU-wide notices must be submitted in the eForms standard.
The eForms standard (currently eForms-DE version 2.1 in Germany) structures contract notices in a uniform, machine-readable way. For bidders, this means tenders on TED follow a single schema, which makes automated analysis and categorization much easier. In Germany, eForms are sent to the EU Publications Office through the Datenservice Öffentlicher Einkauf (public purchasing data service) of the BMI procurement office, acting as the national eSender.
Federal level
- service.bund.de: The central procurement portal of the federal government. Federal ministries and subordinate authorities publish their contracts here, both above and below the EU thresholds.
- evergabe-online.de: The federal government's electronic procurement platform, run by the BMI procurement office. Federal authorities' award procedures run here.
State level: All 16 states
Each state runs at least one official procurement platform. Here is the full overview:
| State | Procurement platform |
|---|---|
| Baden-Württemberg | service-bw.de (tender service) |
| Bavaria | vergabe.bayern.de |
| Berlin | vergabeplattform.berlin.de |
| Brandenburg | vergabemarktplatz-brandenburg.de |
| Bremen | vergabe.bremen.de |
| Hamburg | fbhh-evergabe.web.hamburg.de |
| Hesse | HAD (had.de) (Hessische Ausschreibungsdatenbank, the Hesse tender database) |
| Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania | vergabe.mv-regierung.de |
| Lower Saxony | vergabe.niedersachsen.de |
| North Rhine-Westphalia | vergabe.nrw.de |
| Rhineland-Palatinate | vergabe.rlp.de |
| Saarland | saarland.de/ausschreibungen |
| Saxony | evergabe.sachsen.de |
| Saxony-Anhalt | evergabe-online.sachsen-anhalt.de |
| Schleswig-Holstein | e-vergabe-sh.de |
| Thuringia | verwaltung.thueringen.de/evergabe |
Important: Not every public contracting authority within a state uses the state platform. Many municipalities and municipal companies also or only publish on cross-regional platforms such as DTVP or subreport ELViS.
Cross-regional and private-sector platforms
Besides the official portals, there are private-sector procurement platforms that public contracting authorities use at various levels:
- DTVP (Deutsches Vergabeportal): One of the most widely used cross-regional platforms. Used by contracting authorities from the federal government, states and municipalities.
- evergabe.de: A widespread procurement platform with contracting authorities from several states, especially North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse.
- subreport ELViS: Used especially often for works contracts. Many municipalities use subreport as their main procurement platform.
- Deutsche eVergabe: Another cross-regional platform used by various public contracting authorities.
- Vergabe24: An aggregation platform with tenders from various sources.
- Vergabe.Autobahn: The specialized portal of the federal Autobahn GmbH for infrastructure projects.
Marktplatz Deutschland: The future of procurement
The federal government is working on a consolidating platform called Marktplatz Deutschland (formerly “Marktplatz der Zukunft”). The goal is to provide a shared platform by December 31, 2027, through which public contracting authorities can run award procedures based on data. Whether this project will actually end the fragmentation remains to be seen. Until then, bidders will still have to work with the existing portal landscape.
Searching for tenders: The traditional way
Many companies still search manually for public contracts today. This approach works in principle, but it has clear limits.
The typical workflow
- Identify relevant portals: Research which procurement platforms are relevant for your industry and region. Depending on your line of business, that can be 5 to 20 portals.
- Create accounts: Register separately on each portal, with name, company data and industry assignment.
- Search daily: Every morning, open several portals, enter search terms and review the results. Typical time spent: 30 to 90 minutes per day.
- Document results: Copy interesting tenders by hand into a spreadsheet or CRM system.
- Track deadlines: Keep an eye on submission dates so no deadline passes.
The limits of manual searching
This process is time-consuming: companies active in several industries or regions easily spend three to five hours per week on research alone. It is error-prone: one wrong search term, one forgotten portal or one missed day is enough to lose a relevant tender. And it does not scale: the more portals you have to monitor, the higher the effort, without the hit rate rising in proportion.
Typical mistakes in manual searching
- Search terms that are too narrow: If you only search for “building cleaning”, you miss tenders for “routine cleaning”, “cleaning services” or “facility services”. Public contracting authorities often use different terms than the private sector.
- Wrong CPV codes: The wrong classification means relevant results are not shown. Some services can be assigned to several CPV codes. Always check whether alternative codes lead to better hits.
- Too few portals: Many companies limit themselves to the state platform of their own state and miss contracts on cross-regional platforms such as DTVP or subreport ELViS, where many municipalities publish.
- Irregular searching: Tenders often have deadlines of only 10 to 15 days in open procedures, and sometimes even shorter below the thresholds. If you do not search daily, you find many awards too late to submit a well-prepared bid.
Step by step: How to start your tender search
Whether you are entering the public market for the first time or want to improve your existing search, these steps help you build systematic tender research.
Step 1: Define your service profile
Before you start searching, describe your range of services precisely:
- Industries and CPV codes: Identify the CPV codes that match your services. You can find the full list on the European Commission website.
- Geographic radius: In which regions can you deliver goods or provide services? Nationwide, statewide or only regionally?
- Contract sizes: Which contract volumes are realistic for your company? Contracts that are too small are not worth the effort, and ones that are too large overstretch your capacity.
- Proof of suitability: Which certificates, references and proof can you provide? Prequalification through the official register (AVPQ) or PQ-VOB makes applying easier.
Step 2: Identify relevant portals
Based on your service profile, determine the portals you need to monitor:
- Always relevant: TED (for EU-wide awards), service.bund.de (for federal awards)
- Regionally relevant: The state platforms of the states where you operate
- Industry-dependent: Specialized portals such as vergabe.autobahn.de (infrastructure) or the procurement platforms of Deutsche Bahn
- Cross-regional: DTVP, subreport ELViS and evergabe.de cover many contracting authorities that do not publish on state portals
Step 3: Develop a search strategy
A good search strategy uses several approaches side by side:
- Keyword search: Use synonyms and variants of your service name
- CPV code search: On platforms that support CPV codes, code-based search often gives better results than full-text search
- Search by contracting authority: If you know which authorities or institutions regularly buy your services, you can filter specifically for their tenders
- Email notifications: Many portals offer search profiles with automatic notifications. Use them on all relevant platforms
Step 4: Build a routine
Make the tender search a fixed part of your daily routine:
- Fixed time block: Set aside 15 to 30 minutes every morning for research
- Structured documentation: Record every relevant tender with its deadline, contracting authority, estimated volume and your assessment
- Go/no-go decision: Develop clear criteria for deciding whether a bid is worth it
- Deadline management: Enter submission deadlines in your calendar right away, with a reminder at least three days ahead
Step 5: Work more efficiently with tools
At the latest when the manual effort exceeds your available resources, an aggregation platform pays off. procuris features include automatically bringing together all relevant portals, AI-assisted search and deadline tracking. This cuts your research effort to a few minutes per day.
The modern way: AI-assisted tender search
Manual searching hits limits that discipline alone cannot overcome. AI-assisted platforms solve the three core problems of tender research: fragmentation, varied terminology and time spent.
How aggregation works
Platforms such as procuris automatically retrieve tenders from TED, service.bund.de and all 16 state portals, as well as the most important cross-regional platforms. New awards appear within a few hours of first publication on the original platform. The result is a single search interface for the entire German procurement market.
Semantic search instead of keyword matching
Classic portals work with exact keyword matching. If you enter “building cleaning”, you get no hits for “routine cleaning”. AI-assisted search, on the other hand, understands the meaning behind the terms. Describe your range of services in your own words, and the search finds fitting tenders no matter which terms the contracting authority used.
Automatic notifications and deadline tracking
Instead of searching manually every day, you define your search profile once. New, relevant tenders are detected automatically and delivered to you. Deadline tracking makes sure you do not miss a submission deadline.
Free start and Pro plan
Getting started with procuris is free, with no credit card and no commitment. Sign up at procuris.eu/signup and try the search right away. For teams with higher volume, the Pro plan costs 149 euros per month and gives up to three people access to extended features.
Frequently asked questions about finding public tenders
Can any company take part in public tenders?
In principle, yes. Procurement law requires competition and equal treatment, and companies of any size can apply as long as they meet the professional and economic suitability criteria. A business registration is enough as the basic requirement. Depending on the subject of the contract, specific industry licenses or certificates may also be required.
Can you view public tenders for free?
Yes, viewing tender notices is free on all official portals. For the full tender documents, some platforms require free registration, but no fee is charged. Only aggregation or notification services that offer extra convenience cost money.
How do I find tenders below the EU thresholds?
Procurement below the thresholds does not appear on TED, only on national, regional or municipal portals. Since there is no central mandatory publication, you either have to search the individual state portals and cross-regional platforms systematically or use an aggregator like procuris that bundles all sources. Especially for negotiated awards without a call for competition, there is no public notice. Here, only direct contact with contracting authorities helps.
What does the eForms standard mean for tender searches?
Since October 2023, EU-wide tenders must be published in the eForms format (currently eForms-DE 2.1), which structures contract notices in a uniform, machine-readable way. AI-based tools can automatically analyze and categorize eForms data and match it against your service profile. In Germany, the data is sent through the Datenservice Öffentlicher Einkauf of the procurement office.
How current are the tenders on aggregator platforms?
At procuris, new tenders are retrieved from all connected portals several times a day. As a rule, awards appear within a few hours of first publication on the original platform. Since most tenders have bid deadlines of at least 10 days, there is enough time to prepare a bid, even if publication is not in real time.
Start searching now
The German procurement landscape is complex, but you no longer have to work your way through dozens of portals by hand. Whether you are entering the public market for the first time or want to improve your existing research: with the right strategy and modern tools, you find public tenders faster, more completely and with much less effort.
Try the procuris search and discover relevant tenders from all over Germany. It is free and ready to go in a few minutes.