What does bid deadline mean?
The bid deadline (Angebotsfrist), also called the tender deadline or submission deadline (Abgabefrist), is the period set by the contracting authority within which bidders must submit their bids. It usually starts when the contract notice is published and ends at an exactly defined point in time (date and time). Bids that arrive after the bid deadline has expired are always excluded from the procedure, regardless of whether the bidder caused the delay.
In the EU-wide open procedure, the minimum bid deadline is generally 35 days from the date the notice is sent. If a prior information notice was published, this deadline can be shortened to 15 days under certain conditions. In accelerated procedures, which are allowed in urgent cases, the deadline can also be reduced. Below the EU thresholds, shorter deadlines apply, which vary by procedure type and state law.
When setting the bid deadline, the contracting authority must take into account the complexity of the contract and the effort needed to prepare a bid. If the procurement documents or the notice are changed during the bid deadline, the deadline usually has to be extended to give bidders enough time to take the changes into account. The same applies if bidder questions require material clarifications.
Relevance for bidders
Meeting the bid deadline is of the highest importance for bidders. Even bids that are only minimally late are inevitably excluded, even if they are the best bid in terms of content. You should therefore plan enough buffer time, especially for electronic bid submission, where technical problems such as upload errors or server outages can occur.
It is advisable not to put off submitting your bid until the last few minutes before the deadline. Many tender portals log the exact time of receipt to the second. Bidders should also make sure they observe the correct time zone and have uploaded all required documents in full. If anything about the deadline is unclear or technical problems arise, contact the contracting authority right away.
Legal framework
The minimum deadlines for EU-wide procurement procedures are governed by Sections 15 to 20 VgV (Public Procurement Ordinance). Below the EU thresholds, the deadline rules are in Section 13 UVgO (Sub-Threshold Procurement Rules). The VOB/A (Construction Contract Procedures, Part A) governs the deadlines for works contracts. EU Procurement Directive 2014/24/EU sets the European minimum deadlines in Articles 27 to 31, and these must not be undercut when they are transposed into national law.