Basics of procurement law
Public buyers in Germany cannot simply shop around. Above the EU thresholds, Part 4 of the GWB (Act against Restraints of Competition) and the VgV (Public Procurement Ordinance) govern the process, with VOB/A EU for construction works, the SektVO for utilities and the KonzVgV for concessions. Below the thresholds, budget law applies, usually with the UVgO for supplies and services and section 1 of VOB/A for works. All of them rest on the principles of section 97 GWB: competition, transparency, equal treatment and value for money.
Procedures and thresholds
The estimated contract value net of VAT decides which rules apply. Since 1 January 2026 the EU threshold is €5,404,000 for works, €216,000 for supplies and services and €140,000 for central government authorities. Above it, buyers choose freely between the open and the restricted procedure, while the negotiated procedure, competitive dialogue and innovation partnership need a legal ground. Below it, the national procedures are the public tender, the restricted tender and the negotiated award, called freihändige Vergabe for works.
Tender documents and your bid
The tender documents set out what you offer and how: the specification or bill of quantities, contract terms, award criteria and the evidence required. You clarify open points through bidder questions before the bid deadline, and any change you make to the documents gets your bid excluded. The contract goes to the most economically advantageous tender under the published criteria, and variant bids count only where the buyer allows them.
Suitability and evidence
Only a suitable company can win the contract. Section 122 GWB looks at three things: authorisation to pursue the professional activity, economic and financial standing, and technical and professional ability. Above the thresholds, the European Single Procurement Document (ESPD, EEE in German) is enough at first, and the buyer usually asks for the actual certificates only from the bidder in line for the award. If you are prequalified, for example in the PQ register for construction or in the AVPQ, one entry covers much of this evidence.
Bidding consortia and subcontractors
If you lack the capacity or a reference on your own, you can join others in a bidding consortium (Bietergemeinschaft). The members bid together, appoint an authorised representative and are jointly and severally liable, and the consortium must be permissible under competition law. Alternatively, a subcontractor takes over part of the work, and through capacity reliance (Eignungsleihe) under section 47 VgV you can rely on another company's resources.
Platforms and sources
Tenders are not published in one place. Above the thresholds, buyers publish in the Supplement to the Official Journal of the EU on TED, in the eForms standard since October 2023. National procedures appear on procurement platforms run by the federal government, the states, municipalities and private providers, where you usually also download the documents and submit your bid electronically. CPV codes describe what a contract covers and NUTS codes where, which lets you filter notices precisely.
Deadlines and process
A procurement procedure runs on fixed deadlines: for requests to participate, for bids and for the period your bid stays binding. Minimum periods depend on the procedure and the contract value, and a late bid is excluded. Before the award, the buyer informs the unsuccessful bidders and waits out the standstill period. If you spot a breach, you first raise a complaint with the buyer (Rüge), after which the public procurement tribunal (Vergabekammer) decides in review proceedings.
Go deeper.
The glossary explains each term on its own, the blog puts amendments and individual sections of the law in context. The tender overview shows how all of it plays out in live procedures.
Overviews
- Glossary
Every procurement term from A to Z.
- Blog
Statutes, changes and practice for bidders.
- Tenders by industry and state
Live procedures, sorted by type of work and region.