Guide
TED advanced search: how to find EU tenders by CPV, value and country
TED publishes thousands of notices every month. The basic search is useful for a quick lookup, but if you are serious about finding contracts that fit your business, you need the advanced search. It lets you combine CPV codes, countries, value ranges, notice types, and dates into a precise query — the same query a tender radar runs automatically.
Start with CPV codes
CPV (Common Procurement Vocabulary) codes are the taxonomy EU buyers use to classify what they are buying. A CPV code is an eight digit number. The first two digits define the division (for example, 71 for architectural and engineering services), and additional digits narrow the category.
In TED advanced search you can enter one or more CPV codes, or search by CPV text. If you provide IT consulting services, you might use 72000000 (IT services) or more specific codes like 72261000 (software development services). Start broad, then narrow based on the results you see.
Filter by place of performance
TED lets you filter by the country or NUTS region where the contract will be performed. This is especially important for services that require local presence or for companies that only operate in specific EU member states. You can select multiple countries at once.
Remember: some tenders allow cross-border bidding even when the place of performance is fixed. Do not automatically exclude a notice just because it is outside your home country.
Add value and date filters
Use the estimated total contract value filter to match your delivery capacity. A small consultancy should not waste time on a €50 million works contract, and a large contractor may not want €10,000 service notices. TED lets you set minimum and maximum values.
Date filters help you focus on recent notices with realistic deadlines. A common approach is to search for notices published in the last 30 days with a deadline at least two weeks away, giving you time to request documents and prepare a response.
Save, export, or automate the query
Once you have a useful query, save it in TED or bookmark the URL. You can also export results to XML or CSV for offline review. But the real leverage comes from automation: a tool that re-runs the same query daily, removes notices you have already seen, and scores new ones for fit.
That is exactly what a tender radar does. It takes the same logic you just built in TED advanced search and runs it continuously, so the right opportunities reach you before your competitors have even opened the portal.