eTendersNI: how Northern Ireland tenders are published

eTendersNI is run by the Department of Finance’s Construction and Procurement Delivery (CPD). To register you need a D-U-N-S number, and the Department says there is no charge for obtaining one (common questions). TenderWorthy does not ingest eTendersNI.

This guide covers what the portal is, what gov.uk says about Northern Ireland notices, and what that means for the tenders we do and don’t show you. We reviewed the sources on 12 October 2026.

What TenderWorthy covers

TenderWorthy is an independent service. We are not part of the Department of Finance, CPD or eTendersNI.

We take notices from two places only: Find a Tender and Contracts Finder. We do not ingest eTendersNI. A Northern Ireland opportunity advertised only there will not appear in our live list or in a TenderWorthy alert.

In the week to 10 Oct 2026 we counted 8 live notices with a Northern Ireland delivery region across Find a Tender and Contracts Finder (as of 10 Oct 2026). That is what we saw in those two feeds, not the size of the Northern Ireland market. See the Northern Ireland tenders page for today’s list.

Which eTendersNI notices also appear on Find a Tender or Contracts Finder? We cannot tell. gov.uk does not say, and the section below explains why we won’t guess.

What eTendersNI is

gov.uk’s Contracts Finder page says “Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own dedicated public sector procurement websites”. For Northern Ireland it lists eSourcing NI and eTendersNI, both described as the place for opportunities with public sector bodies in Northern Ireland.

The Department of Finance says eTendersNI is run by CPD, its Construction and Procurement Delivery arm. Our portals comparison shows how it sits alongside Public Contracts Scotland, Sell2Wales and the UK-wide portals.

eTendersNI or eSourcing NI?

You will see both names. gov.uk lists them side by side and does not explain how they relate. If the difference matters to you, read the Department’s common questions page rather than relying on us. We have not documented the portal’s screens or search, because gov.uk does not describe them.

Registering: the D-U-N-S number

Per the Department of Finance’s common questions, you need a D-U-N-S number to register on eTendersNI. There is no charge for obtaining one.

That is all we can source. We haven’t set out the registration steps or how long a D-U-N-S number takes, because we couldn’t verify them from gov.uk. Start from the Department’s page, and get the number sorted before a deadline is close.

Which Northern Ireland notices reach Find a Tender?

Here is what gov.uk and the legislation say, and where they stop.

• The Act reaches Northern Ireland. gov.uk’s devolved authorities guidance (para 16) says the Northern Ireland Executive agreed that transferred Northern Ireland authorities should be regulated by the Procurement Act 2023, with some differences in the rules.
• Small contracts differ. Section 84(2) says the Act’s rules on regulated below-threshold contracts do not apply to procurement by a transferred Northern Ireland authority, other than under a reserved procurement arrangement or a devolved Welsh procurement arrangement.
• Contracts Finder duties differ. PPN 019 (para 4) says it does not cover contracting authorities whose functions are wholly or mainly “Scottish, Northern Ireland or Welsh devolved functions”.

Put together: procurement by a transferred Northern Ireland authority is regulated by the Act, but the sources do not say that every eTendersNI notice is copied to Find a Tender. For smaller contracts, the Act’s rules on regulated below-threshold contracts do not apply to those bodies, except under a reserved or devolved Welsh procurement arrangement. The sources do not say where those smaller contracts are advertised.

So treat our Northern Ireland list as a subset, and check eTendersNI yourself if you want to see everything.

Using eTendersNI alongside Find a Tender

This is our suggestion, not a rule.

1. Register on eTendersNI if you want Northern Ireland public sector work, starting with the D-U-N-S number.
2. Set up saved searches on Find a Tender. gov.uk’s short guide says you get an email when someone posts a notice that meets your criteria. Our Find a Tender guide covers the setup.
3. Open each notice and read where it tells you to respond. The portal named there is the one you need.

Or let us check what we do cover

eTendersNI is a government service you can use directly, and we don’t replace it. For the Find a Tender and Contracts Finder side, 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.