PQQ (pre-qualification questionnaire): what replaced it

A PQQ (pre-qualification questionnaire) was the form a public buyer used to check suppliers before inviting tenders. The government’s standard PQQ was replaced by the standard selection questionnaire (SQ) in September 2016. For procurements under the Procurement Act 2023, the SQ has been replaced too.

If a main contractor, housing association or council has asked you for a “PQQ”, or an older guide told you to pass one, this page explains what the term meant, what took its place and where the old names are still legitimate. It sits within our guide to the Procurement Act 2023 for suppliers.

What a PQQ was (formerly)

Formerly, the PQQ was the questionnaire a buyer used at the front of a public tender, to decide which suppliers went through. The old rules called that a “pre-qualification stage”: one where the buyer “assesses the suitability of candidates to perform a public contract for the purpose of reducing the number of candidates to a smaller number who are to proceed to a later stage of the process” (regulation 111(4) of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015).

The government’s standard version was replaced in 2016. PPN 8/16 says its SQ “replaces the current standard Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ)”. So the SQ’s structure, in the next section, shows what the PQQ was for.

From PQQ to SQ (2016 to 2025)

• 26 September 2016: PPN 8/16 publishes the standard SQ. It “supersedes the guidance on supplier selection and PQQs in PPN 03/15”. It applied to English contracting authorities, and to Welsh and Northern Irish ones exercising wholly or mainly reserved functions, above the thresholds in the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. gov.uk now files it under “Out of date procurement policy notes”.
• 27 March 2024: PPN 03/24 is the last SQ version. The collection lists it under “Public Contract Regulations 2015 PPNs”. It replaced PPN 03/23 and applied to above-threshold procurements under Part 2 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (PPN 03/24 update, paras 2 and 5). Its mandatory questions in Parts 1 and 2 could not be left out (Annex A, para 13).
• 24 February 2025: the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 were revoked (subject to the transitional arrangements below).

The SQ had three parts: general information, exclusion grounds and selection criteria (Annex B). See what changed from PCR 2015 for the wider picture.

What replaced the SQ under the Procurement Act 2023

Three things now do the job of the old questionnaire.

Conditions of participation

To award a contract through a competitive tendering procedure (section 19), run as an open or competitive flexible procedure (section 20), the buyer first publishes a tender notice and provides the associated tender documents (section 21(1), (3)).

It may set conditions of participation only if they are a proportionate way of checking legal and financial capacity, or technical ability (section 22). The detail of what a buyer can and can’t ask for is in our PSQ guide, linked below.

Core supplier information on the Central Digital Platform

Your core supplier information has four parts: basic information, economic and financial standing from your most recent accounts, connected persons and exclusion grounds (para 59). The buyer has to obtain confirmation that you have submitted it and that it is up to date (conditions of participation guidance, para 38). Our guide on registering on the Central Digital Platform covers the sign-up.

The buyer’s own questions (often called a PSQ)

Anything the platform doesn’t cover, the buyer obtains from you directly (para 39). The Act doesn’t prescribe the format, and buyers may use templates that comply with it (para 8).

“PSQ” is the name buyers and their templates use. The Act doesn’t define it, and the gov.uk guidance on conditions of participation doesn’t use it. Our guide to the Procurement Specific Questionnaire (PSQ) covers what one asks.

The official e-learning says supplier information in above-threshold procurements “will no longer be captured using the Standard Selection Questionnaire (SQ) used under PCR 2015” (module 6).

Small contracts: is there still a pre-qualification stage?

Formerly: regulation 111(1) of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, as made, said “A contracting authority shall not include a pre-qualification stage in a procurement”. It sat in the chapter of the regulations on below-threshold procurements (regulation 109(1)), so it was a small-contract rule. Regulation 111 was revoked on 24 February 2025.

Now: for regulated below-threshold contracts, the Act bars a separate suitability stage before tenders are submitted, but the buyer can still assess suitability at the award stage (Welsh devolved buyers and framework call-offs aside). That is section 85(1) and guidance para 16. The guidance gives the reason: checking technical capacity, legal status and financial standing “can be disproportionate and resource intensive and a particular barrier for SMEs and VCSEs” (para 17).

The exceptions are in section 85(3) and (5): works contracts worth £135,018 or more (central government) or £207,720 or more (other authorities), from 1 January 2026; devolved Welsh authorities; and framework call-offs.

More in below-threshold contracts and council contracts for small businesses.

Where you’ll still see “PQQ” or “SQ”

Procurements started under the old rules

Procurements commenced under the previous legislation continue under it (para 6). A competitive procurement is “commenced” when, for example, a contract notice has been submitted for publication under the old rules, or a below-threshold opportunity has been published under them (para 8). So an SQ in such a pack is not a mistake.

Construction pre-qualification

PAS 91, the old construction pre-qualification specification, was withdrawn by the BSI (PPN 03/24, para 7). The industry’s question set is the Common Assessment Standard (CAS). Under the old rules, PPN 03/24 already told buyers to use CAS in place of the standard SQ for works contracts (Annex A, para 14). Government guidance on conditions of participation says buyers can keep using industry pre-qualification questionnaires such as CAS for works contracts, provided they meet the Act’s requirements (para 36). See SSIP schemes and the Common Assessment Standard.

Scotland

Devolved Scottish authorities are generally outside the Act (section 2(5)(a)) and procure under the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015 rather than the Act. See tenders in Scotland.

Private-sector and supply-chain questionnaires

A main contractor or private client may send its own “PQQ”. The Act’s rules on conditions of participation apply to procurements by contracting authorities (section 2; section 22). For anything else, follow the instructions in the document you were sent.

What to have ready

Whatever the questionnaire is called, the same few things get asked for:

• a current Central Digital Platform record
• your latest accounts
• a letter from your insurer showing your cover
• certificates, with their equivalents

Keep them together and each new questionnaire starts from existing answers. Our PSQ guide shows how to build a PSQ answer bank, and the wider list is in the documents to have ready.

Your next step

In the week to 10 Oct 2026, 29 of 470 live notices stated insurance requirements in the notice itself (as of 10 Oct 2026; how we count). Most requirements sit in the tender pack and the buyer’s questionnaire, so always confirm there.

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.