How to get on a framework or dynamic market

To get on a framework, you do one of three things. Bid when the buyer tenders a new framework. Join when an open framework reopens to new suppliers. Or apply to a dynamic market, which must accept applications at any time (s.36(6)).

Before you spend the effort, remember that a place is not revenue. Government guidance says a framework will not usually commit the buyer to award any contract (guidance, para 2). This guide covers how frameworks and dynamic markets work, how to spot the entry windows, and how to judge whether a place is worth having. It is part of our guide to winning public sector contracts.

What a framework is

A framework is a contract between a buyer and one or more suppliers that provides for the award of future contracts (s.45(2)). Those future contracts are called call-offs. A buyer can award a public contract in accordance with a framework (s.45(1)).

Think of it as a pre-approved list of suppliers with agreed terms, which the buyer then buys from. Most frameworks do not commit the buyer to spend anything (guidance, para 2).

A framework must state what it covers, the price or how it is calculated, its estimated value, how call-offs will be selected, its term, which buyers can use it, and whether it is an open framework (s.45(5)). That list is your checklist when you decide whether it is worth joining.

How work is awarded under a framework (call-offs)

There are two ways a buyer can award a call-off:

• With competition. The default is a competitive selection process among the framework’s suppliers (s.45(3)). Some people call this a mini-competition.
• Without competition. Allowed where only one supplier is party to the framework, or where the framework sets out the core contract terms and an objective mechanism for choosing the supplier (s.45(4)). The guidance gives examples of objective mechanisms: a rotation, sometimes called a taxi-rank system, or a highest-ranking system with caps on the number or value of contracts per supplier (paras 49-50).

This matters to you. If work is rotated, the rotation spreads call-offs between suppliers, if the buyer places any, whereas in a mini-competition you have to win each one. If it is awarded by ranking, your position on day one is what counts. The framework documents set out which applies, so read that part first.

Call-off contracts are publicly noticed too: contract award notices are required for call-offs, with limited exceptions (para 84). That makes it possible to see who is winning work under a framework.

One difference from a standard tender: call-off contracts awarded under a framework have no mandatory standstill period after the award notice (standstill guidance, para 37). A buyer can still choose to apply a voluntary one of at least eight working days (para 38), but you should not assume there will be one.

How long frameworks last, and why that matters to you

A framework may not run for more than four years, or eight years for defence and security or utilities frameworks (s.47(1)). A longer term is possible if the buyer considers the nature of the goods, services or works requires it, and then it must set out its reasons in the notice (s.47(2)-(3)). The limit does not apply to frameworks awarded under an open framework, to private utilities’ frameworks, or to light touch frameworks (s.47(5)).

For a small firm, the point is timing. If you miss the tender for a standard framework, the door can stay shut for years. That is why open frameworks and dynamic markets matter.

Open frameworks: a second chance to join

An open framework is a scheme of successive frameworks on substantially the same terms (s.49(1)). The guidance explains the benefit: unlike a standard framework, an open framework lets new suppliers join when it is reopened, and it suits markets with many suppliers so that suppliers are not locked out for long periods (paras 33-34).

The timing rules: an open framework must be reopened at least once in its first three years and then at least every five years, and it lasts eight years in total (para 35, s.49). There is an exception for a scheme with a single supplier.

Reopening can also help suppliers already in. If the open framework does not cap the number of suppliers, a buyer can award a new framework to an existing supplier by reference to the fact that it already holds one under the scheme, to a tender from an earlier award, or to a tender from the current award. If the number of suppliers is capped, it can rely only on a tender from an earlier or the current award (s.49(4)-(5)). So the quality of what you submit now may count again at the next reopening.

Practical steps: check whether the notice says it is an open framework (buyers must state this: s.45(5)), then note when the next reopening is due and put it in your diary.

Dynamic markets (formerly dynamic purchasing systems)

A dynamic market is a list of qualified suppliers eligible to take part in future procurements. The Act uses it to replace both dynamic purchasing systems and qualification systems (guidance, para 7). A buyer can set one up under s.35. The rules on membership, fees and notices are in sections 34 to 40 (contents).

Apply at any time; you must be admitted if you qualify

The buyer must accept membership applications at any time during the market’s term, consider them within a reasonable period, and admit as soon as reasonably practicable any supplier that is not excluded or excludable and meets the membership conditions. It must also tell each applicant the outcome and reasons (s.36(6)).

This is the big change for small firms. Under a standard framework, you wait for a window. Under a dynamic market, you apply when you are ready.

What membership conditions can ask for

A buyer can set membership conditions only if they are a proportionate way of checking that members have the legal and financial capacity, and the technical ability, to perform the contracts awarded through the market (s.36(1)).

The Act sets limits. Financial conditions cannot require audited accounts, unless the supplier is legally required to have its accounts audited, and cannot require contract insurance to be in place before award (s.36(2)). Technical conditions cannot require a previous contract with a particular authority, and a required qualification must come with equivalents accepted (s.36(3)). So a small company with no legal duty to audit its accounts cannot be asked for audited accounts as a condition of joining.

Use that as a checklist. Read the conditions, list what you hold (accounts, insurance, qualifications, similar jobs) and mark any gap. If a condition looks as though it goes beyond what section 36 allows, ask the buyer to clarify before you apply, rather than assuming you are ruled out.

No cap on members; conditions fixed for the market’s life

The buyer cannot limit the number of suppliers admitted, and it cannot change the membership conditions during the market’s term (s.36(7), guidance, para 23). So you can read the conditions now, see what you are missing, and fix it before you apply.

Only members can win contracts awarded through the market

Contracts under a dynamic market must use the competitive flexible procedure, and the buyer must exclude non-members from the procedure and cannot award the contract to one (paras 10-11). There is some help for late joiners: a supplier that is not yet a member but submits a request or tender can apply to join, and the buyer must consider that application before excluding the supplier (para 11), unless the procurement’s complexity leaves insufficient time.

Do not rely on that. The minimum tendering period for a contract awarded under a dynamic market is 10 days (time periods guidance, para 20). Be a member before the opportunity lands.

Fees: only on contracts you win

Fees may be charged only if they are set out in the documents establishing the market. For most dynamic markets, they can be charged only to suppliers awarded a contract, not for membership, and they must be a fixed percentage of the contract’s estimated value (paras 28-29).

Fees: you can’t be charged to get on a framework

The same principle applies to frameworks. The guidance says it is not permissible to charge suppliers to gain access to a framework (para 20). A fee can be charged only to a supplier awarded a call-off contract, as a fixed percentage of that contract’s estimated value, and it cannot change during the framework’s life (para 19, s.45(7)).

If a framework or a third party asks you for an up-front fee for a “place”, check the framework documents before you pay anything.

How to spot framework and dynamic market opportunities

• Search notice titles for “framework”, “dynamic market” and, for older notices, “dynamic purchasing system”. 72 of 470 live notices mentioned frameworks or DPS, about one in six or seven (as of 10 Oct 2026, covering the week to that date, from our own data; how we count). Our live tender pages list current notices by sector and region, so you can run the same search yourself.
• Look for planned procurement notices. Where one was published between 40 days and 12 months before the tender notice, the minimum tendering period can be as short as 10 days (time periods guidance, para 20). An early signal gives you the weeks to prepare that the later notice does not.
• Watch for dynamic market notices. A buyer must publish a dynamic market notice before setting one up (s.39(2)).
• Read the lot structure. Frameworks can be split into lots by area or service. Your fit may be in one lot only.

Our guide to finding tenders covers how to set up searches for these terms.

Is a framework place worth it? The bid/no-bid view

Treat a framework application like any other bid. Ask:

1. Do you meet the conditions? Read the conditions of participation or membership first: insurance, accreditations, turnover, experience. This is the cheapest check and it is where small firms get knocked out.
2. What is the framework worth? Look at the estimated value, the lots and the buyers who can use it (s.45(5)).
3. How will call-offs be awarded? Rotation, ranking or competition changes your chances a lot (see above).
4. What will it cost you? Application time, plus the time to bid for call-offs, with no guaranteed return (guidance, para 2).

A place is only the start. For a call-off you may still have to win a mini-competition, and the buyer may place no call-offs at all, so weigh the cost of applying against that.

Our bid or no-bid checklist covers the wider decision. Our tender eligibility checker is coming soon. Until then, tell us your trade and postcode to join the free weekly list of live tenders, starting soon. For how framework bids are marked, see how tenders are scored.

Missed the window?

You have options:

• Open frameworks. Find out if it reopens, and when.
• Dynamic markets. Apply to one now for your area of work.
• Subcontracting. You could approach suppliers already on a framework about working as a partner or subcontractor. That is a commercial conversation, not something the Act requires.
• Watch for the next tender. Note the framework’s end date. A framework is generally capped at four years (s.47), so the buyer will need to buy again at some point.

Councils and NHS bodies can also buy through frameworks. See council frameworks and dynamic markets and NHS frameworks.

Tell us your trade and postcode to join the free weekly list of live tenders, starting soon. On Pro (£49/month), notices that fit your trade and area are checked against what each states about insurance, certifications and location, and you get an email each morning on days with new matches. Start here.