How to win public sector contracts: SME guide (2026)

If you want to know how to win public sector contracts without a bid team, start here. This guide takes you through the whole route in eight steps. It is written for directors of small firms who have never bid, or bid once and lost.

The rules changed on 24 February 2025, when the Procurement Act 2023 came into force, and plenty of advice online still uses the old terms. Where it helps, we say “formerly” and give the old name.

Our angle is simple. Check the stated requirements before you spend a day on the response. A supplier that fails one condition of participation cannot be awarded the contract (para 12), however well the bid is written.

How public sector buying works now

The Procurement Act 2023 in one paragraph

The Act sets the rules for how public bodies buy. In section 12, buyers must have regard to value for money, maximising public benefit, sharing information and acting with integrity. They must also have regard to the fact that SMEs may face particular barriers to participation, and consider whether those barriers can be removed or reduced (s.12(4)). That is a duty to think about firms like yours. It is not a quota.

It applies to procurements that started on or after 24 February 2025. Earlier ones continue under the old Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (para 4), so a notice’s start date matters.

Above and below threshold

From 1 January 2026, the thresholds (including VAT) are:

• goods and services: £135,018 for central government authorities, £207,720 for other authorities
• works: £5,193,000

They are reviewed every two years, so older figures you see online may be out of date.

Smaller contracts still have rules. If a buyer advertises a contract worth at least £12,000 (central government, which includes NHS trusts) or £30,000 (other buyers), including VAT, it must first publish a below-threshold tender notice (s.87).

There are exceptions. Devolved Welsh central government authorities use the £30,000 figure (s.87(4)(a)(ii)). Transferred Northern Ireland authorities and schools are outside these below-threshold rules (paras 6 and 9), and Scottish councils are outside the Act altogether.

Two procedures: open and competitive flexible

Section 20 gives buyers two routes. In the open procedure there is a single stage and any interested supplier can tender. The competitive flexible procedure is any other competitive process the buyer thinks suitable. It can start with a request to participate and limit how many suppliers go through. Both start with a tender notice (paras 1 and 9).

Scotland is different

Devolved Scottish authorities are excluded authorities under the Act (s.2(5)(a)) and follow Scottish procurement legislation. Welsh and Northern Irish authorities are regulated by the Act, with some differences. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland also have their own public sector portals. If you work there, see our pages on tenders in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Step 1: Register on the Central Digital Platform

Find a Tender is now the Central Digital Platform. Registration is free: you create a GOV.UK One Login, add your organisation, and receive a unique identifier. You give that identifier to the buyer before a contract is awarded to you.

You do not need an account to look at tenders. The supplier guide says you only need to register at the point you want to bid.

Once registered, you can complete your core supplier information in advance. It covers basic details, economic and financial standing, connected persons and exclusion grounds (paras 59 and 62). Doing it before you find a tender you like saves a scramble later. Our first tender checklist covers the order of work.

Step 2: Find tenders you could realistically win

Finding tenders is the easy part. All buyers publish procurement notices in one place on the platform (para 8), and the supplier guide says it is free to search and set alerts. It also says you should not pay to view opportunities in the public sector.

The hard part is volume. In the week to 10 Oct 2026 (as of 10 Oct 2026), we saw 470 live tenders from 338 distinct buyers across Find a Tender and Contracts Finder (how we count). Of the 366 that stated a value, the median was £400,000 (stated values may or may not include VAT). Most of those will not suit you.

Pick a sector, a region and a value band, then work through the shortlist. Our guides cover how to find public sector tenders and Find a Tender vs Contracts Finder. To browse by trade or area, see live UK tenders.

Step 3: Read the notice in five minutes

A tender notice does not contain everything. Where they apply, notices must include a description of the conditions of participation, the award criteria or a summary, how and when to submit, and any limit on the number of lots (para 85). The detailed documents usually sit in the tender pack, which must generally be free and electronic (para 19).

Here is the catch. As of 10 Oct 2026, only 29 of 470 live notices (about 6%) stated insurance requirements in the notice text, and 29 stated named certifications. For the rest, any requirements will be in the tender pack, so the notice tells you where to look.

Our guide on how to read a tender notice in five minutes gives the order to scan in.

Step 4: Decide: bid or no bid

This is the core of the route. A bid takes days, so decide before you start writing. Ask three things in this order:

1. Can you meet every condition? If you fail one, you cannot win, so this comes first.
2. Can you deliver it? Check the location, the lot structure and the timetable.
3. Is it worth it? Weigh margin, cash flow and what the contract does for you.

Do not assume a gap in your cover is a “no”. On above-threshold contracts, a buyer cannot require insurance for performing the contract to be in place before award (s.22(3)(b)). The exception is insurance you must hold by law anyway, such as employers’ liability, which can be a condition of participation (para 20).

For other cover, the buyer can require it from the start of the contract and ask for evidence, such as a certificate, or an insurer’s letter plus your commitment (paras 18 and 19), verified before award. So a higher level than you hold today may be fixable, but a missing employers’ liability policy may not be. Below threshold, s.85 bars a separate suitability stage before tenders are submitted, but the buyer can still assess suitability, including insurance, at the award stage (below-threshold guidance para 16; exceptions in paras 18 and 20). Check what the pack says.

Our bid or no-bid checklist runs through ten questions. 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.

Step 5: Meet the conditions of participation

Conditions of participation (formerly dealt with at the selection stage) are the pass/fail requirements. Under section 22, a buyer can only set conditions that are a proportionate way of checking your legal and financial capacity, or your technical ability. Proportionate means judged against the contract’s nature, complexity and cost. The Act also says:

• A buyer cannot require audited accounts unless you are already required to have them audited (s.22(3)(a)). The guidance says other evidence of financial capacity must then be assessed (paras 16 and 17).
• A buyer cannot require particular qualifications without allowing equivalents (s.22(4)(c)).
• A buyer cannot require that you have previously won a contract from that authority (s.22(4)(a)).
• You count as meeting a condition to the extent an associated supplier does, for example a partner you tender with, or a firm that guarantees or takes the subcontract (s.22(8) and (9)).

Some buyers let a supplier progress while it works towards a condition, provided it meets the condition before award. That is the buyer’s choice, so look for it in the notice (para 15).

Evidence requirements differ by topic. See what buyers ask for on public liability insurance for tenders, turnover and financial standing tests and SSIP, CHAS and Constructionline.

Step 6: Write a response that scores

Once you pass the conditions, your tender is scored. The buyer awards to the most advantageous tender (formerly “MEAT”), meaning the one that meets its requirements and best satisfies the award criteria (s.19(2)).

The buyer must set out how tenders will be assessed and the relative importance of the criteria (s.23(3)), and if failing a criterion disqualifies a tender, the methodology must say so (assessing tenders guidance, paras 12 and 13).

Our advice: spend your effort where the weightings are. If quality is 70% and one question carries a third of it, that question deserves a third of your writing time. Read writing a tender response and how tenders are scored before you start.

Step 7: Social value

Some tenders score what the contract does for the community, such as local jobs, training or environmental benefit. Central government departments, executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies must apply a minimum 10% weighting in above-threshold procurements, where it is relevant and proportionate, to social value (or an equivalent measure) in procurements started under the Act on or after 1 October 2025 (PPN 002, paras 6–8 and 10). Other buyers may adopt the same approach (para 3).

Notices rarely set out the detail. As of 10 Oct 2026, 7 of 470 live notices mentioned social value in the notice text, so check the pack. Read social value in tenders for how to write it.

Step 8: Frameworks and dynamic markets

Some work is only open to firms already on a list. A framework is a contract that provides for the future award of contracts (s.45(2)), so you need a place on it to win the work awarded through it.

A dynamic market (formerly a dynamic purchasing system) is different: the buyer must accept applications at any time during its term and admit suppliers that meet the membership conditions and are not excluded or excludable (s.36(6)). As of 10 Oct 2026, 72 of 470 live notices mentioned frameworks or dynamic purchasing systems (the former name for dynamic markets). See getting on frameworks and dynamic markets.

Where small firms get their first wins

Council contracts

Councils are “other authorities” for threshold purposes, so the £207,720 and £30,000 figures above are the ones that apply to them in England and Wales. Scottish councils are outside the Act. Our guide to winning council contracts covers how to find them, including approved supplier lists.

NHS contracts

NHS trusts and NHS foundation trusts are generally central government authorities (Procurement Regulations 2024, Schedule 2; below-threshold guidance para 10). So both the £135,018 and the £12,000 figures above apply to them. See winning NHS contracts.

Below-threshold contracts

For regulated below-threshold contracts, buyers cannot restrict who may tender by suitability (s.85), with some exceptions such as larger works contracts. They must also consider SME barriers before inviting tenders (s.86), and may restrict some of them to SMEs or voluntary sector organisations. That makes them a sensible place to start.

Lots and subcontracting

Splitting a contract into lots can help SMEs bid (para 2). As of 10 Oct 2026, 62 of 470 live notices were multi-lot. If you can’t meet a requirement alone, the associated-supplier rule above lets a partner or guarantor count towards it.

After you submit: feedback, standstill and getting paid

On above-threshold contracts, before the contract award notice is published, the buyer must give every supplier with an assessed tender an assessment summary (s.50(3); guidance para 35). Use it, win or lose.

After the award notice, the buyer cannot sign an above-threshold contract during the standstill period (s.51(1)) of at least eight working days (para 2). It is the window for raising concerns or challenging. It does not apply to every award: call-offs under a framework, awards under a dynamic market and light touch contracts are exceptions (para 37).

Below threshold, there is no statutory assessment summary or standstill. Time limits must still be reasonable and the same for all suppliers (s.87(6)).

Then payment. A 30-day term is implied into public contracts for valid, undisputed invoices (s.68), and into regulated below-threshold contracts (s.88).

What we saw in the week to 10 Oct 2026

In the week to 10 Oct 2026 (as of 10 Oct 2026), we saw 470 live tenders from 338 buyers on Find a Tender and Contracts Finder, with a median stated value of £400,000. That is a lot to sift by hand. Browse live UK tenders by sector and region. Or 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.

Your first-tender checklist

If you are about to bid for the first time, our first tender checklist puts all of the above in order, from registration to getting paid, with tick boxes you can print.

If you are not sure you count as an SME, the definition is fewer than 250 staff and either turnover of £44m or less or a balance sheet total of £38m or less.