What does AVPQ mean?
The Amtliches Verzeichnis Präqualifizierter Unternehmen (AVPQ, official register of prequalified companies for supplies and services) is a central register that lets companies prove their general suitability for taking part in public procurement procedures in advance and on a lasting basis. Instead of submitting suitability evidence such as commercial register extracts, clearance certificates from social insurance agencies, tax returns or references again for every single tender, prequalified companies can refer to their entry in the AVPQ.
The register is maintained by the Chambers of Industry and Commerce (IHKs) under the umbrella of the DIHK (German Chamber of Industry and Commerce) and can be accessed at amtliches-verzeichnis.ihk.de. Entry takes place after a prequalification body has reviewed the submitted documents and is usually valid for one year before a new review is required. The evidence stored in the AVPQ typically covers the qualification to pursue the professional activity, economic and financial standing, and technical and professional ability.
The AVPQ does not cover construction work. For that, there is a separate prequalification register run by the Association for the Prequalification of Construction Companies (PQ-Verein) at pq-verein.de. Prequalification is a recognized form of suitability evidence that public contracting authorities must generally accept, provided the evidence stored in the register covers the criteria required in the notice.
Relevance for bidders
An entry in the AVPQ gives bidders significant practical advantages. It clearly reduces the administrative effort for each individual bid submission, because standard evidence does not have to be compiled and submitted again and again. This saves time and resources, especially for companies that take part in public tenders regularly.
Prequalification also signals a certain reliability and credibility of the company to contracting authorities. However, the AVPQ entry does not replace contract-specific suitability evidence that goes beyond the standard evidence. Even with an existing prequalification, bidders must therefore check whether the specific requirements of each tender are fully covered by their AVPQ entry.
Legal framework
The legal basis for official registers of prequalified companies is in Section 48(8) VgV (Public Procurement Ordinance) and Section 35(6) UVgO (Sub-Threshold Procurement Rules). At European level, Article 64 of EU Procurement Directive 2014/24/EU provides for official lists and certification schemes. The contracting authority may not require an AVPQ certificate as the only form of suitability evidence, but must also accept other equivalent evidence.