Guide
How to find EU tenders on TED and national portals
The EU publishes thousands of public procurement notices every year. The main source is TED, the Tenders Electronic Daily, but not every opportunity lives there. Below-threshold contracts and some national procedures sit on member-state portals. Knowing where to look — and how to filter — saves hours every week.
Start with TED
TED is the official EU journal for public procurement above the EU thresholds. It is free, multilingual and searchable by country, CPV code, value, notice type and procedure. Create an account, save searches and subscribe to RSS feeds for the queries that matter to you.
Use national portals for below-threshold work
Each member state runs its own procurement portal for contracts below TED thresholds. Examples include:
France: Places de marchés publics and BOAMP for national notices.
Germany: Bundesdruckerei and regional Vergabeplatformen.
Spain: Plataforma de Contratación del Sector Público.
Italy: ANAC's national procurement database.
These portals are fragmented, but they contain a large share of the work available to SMEs.
Filter by CPV code and value
The fastest way to reduce noise is to search by CPV code rather than keyword. Add a contract-value range that matches your delivery capacity and a country list that matches where you can realistically deliver. Most SMEs win by being selective, not by chasing every notice.
Check notice type and procedure
Open procedure: anyone can submit a tender.
Restricted procedure: only invited candidates can bid after a selection stage.
Negotiated procedure: the buyer negotiates with one or more candidates.
Prior information notice: early warning of a future contract — useful for relationship-building.
Automate the daily search
Bidly scans TED daily, reads CPV codes, values and deadlines, and scores each notice against your company profile. You get a ranked shortlist with fit scores and bid briefs, so you spend your time on tenders you can win instead of searching for them.
Always confirm deadlines, eligibility and submission requirements on the original TED or national portal notice before bidding.