Council tenders are open notices from local authority buyers. This page lists them as they appear on Find a Tender and Contracts Finder, refreshed daily. It covers who the buyers are and which ones our list recognises. Treat it as a starting point, not a full register. For how to win the work, read how to win council contracts. Below: the council types in each UK nation, the £30,000 notice figure that decides what gets advertised, where notices are published, and what to check before you bid.
Which council tenders this list counts, and which it misses
Councils we count
We group buyers by the name on the notice. A buyer is counted if its name:
- contains County, District, Borough, City, Metropolitan Borough, Metropolitan District, Town, Parish, Community, Unitary or Combined Authority followed by “Council”, such as “Kent County Council”;
- contains “London Borough of”, “Royal Borough of” or “Unitary Authority”;
- ends in “Combined Authority” or “Combined County Authority”;
- begins “Council of the” followed by Isles of, City, Borough or County;
- contains “City and County of” or “City & County of”;
- begins “Comhairle” or “Cyngor”;
- ends in an upper-case CC, BC, DC, MBC, MDC or CBC, or begins with an upper-case LB or RB, such as “LB Newham”;
- or ends in “Council” unless excluded below, such as “Cornwall Council”.
Buyers we don’t count
Our name filter doesn’t count:
- names ending in “Council” that contain a word on our exclusion list, such as Arts, Research, British, Skills, Funding, Medical, Sport or Trade (so the Arts Council and British Council are out);
- names ending in Ltd, Limited, LLP, PLC, Inc or LLC, which leaves out council-owned companies that use those endings;
- bodies whose names match no rule above, such as the Greater London Authority; fire and rescue, police and national park authorities count only if their name matches.
Because grouping is by name, the list can miss a council published under an unusual name. It can also include a body whose name ends in “Council” but which isn’t a local authority.
The two sources we read
We cover Find a Tender and Contracts Finder only; the publishing section below says what that leaves out.
Types of council in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
England
In England, gov.uk’s guide says county councils run services such as education, transport, planning, social care and libraries. District, borough and city councils handle rubbish collection, recycling, housing and planning applications. Unitary authorities, London boroughs and metropolitan boroughs are one tier covering all of those. Parish, town and community councils can help with allotments and play areas. A combined authority can be established by order for an area of two or more whole local government areas in England.
Scotland
Every local government area has a council. The Procurement Act 2023 generally excludes devolved Scottish authorities, and Scottish procurement legislation continues to apply. Scottish councils buy under the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015 and the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014, so older terms stay current there, such as the restricted procedure and the competitive procedure with negotiation. See tenders in Scotland.
Wales
In Wales, principal areas are counties and county boroughs. The Act applies to devolved Welsh authorities with some differences, and they aren’t exempt from publishing below-threshold notices. See tenders in Wales.
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland has 11 local government districts. Where a council is a transferred Northern Ireland authority, the Act’s below-threshold rules (Part 6) don’t apply to it. See tenders in Northern Ireland.
The £30,000 figure for smaller council contracts
If a council advertises a below-threshold contract worth £30,000 or more including VAT, it must first publish a below-threshold tender notice on the central digital platform. It can instead invite quotes from chosen suppliers, with no notice. Central government buyers, including NHS trusts, use £12,000 including VAT (devolved Welsh authorities excepted).
Above threshold, councils use the sub-central figure of £207,720 for goods and services and the £5,193,000 works figure that applies to every type of buyer, both including VAT; some contract types have other figures, such as light-touch contracts at £663,540 (thresholds guidance). Transferred Northern Ireland authorities are outside the below-threshold rules, and Scottish councils follow their own regulations.
So council work under £30,000, and work offered only to invited suppliers, may never appear on this list. See below-threshold contracts.
Find a Tender, Contracts Finder and council procurement portals
A below-threshold tender notice goes on the central digital platform (Find a Tender) before anywhere else. For procurements started from 24 February 2025, notices need only go on Find a Tender, but Contracts Finder still carries notices for procurements started under the old rules.
Gov.uk lists Public Contracts Scotland, Sell2Wales, and eSourcing NI and eTendersNI as the dedicated sites for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Some councils also run their tenders through their own e-tendering portals, and the notice tells you where to respond.
We cover Find a Tender and Contracts Finder only. See Find a Tender vs Contracts Finder and other places tenders are published.
Trades whose notices can come from councils
Based on the services gov.uk lists for councils, notices in these trades can come from council buyers:
- rubbish collection and recycling: waste and recycling tenders
- social care: social care tenders and home care tenders
- transport: transport tenders and highways tenders
- housing: repair and maintenance tenders and refurbishment tenders
- education: education and training tenders
- play areas and allotments: grounds maintenance tenders
- community centres: cleaning tenders and facilities management tenders
Some quotes go only to pre-selected suppliers, such as those on frameworks, with no notice. See how frameworks and dynamic markets work.
Before you bid on a council notice
On above-threshold contracts, a buyer can’t require insurance for performing the contract to be in place before award, except insurance the law requires, such as employers’ liability.
On a regulated below-threshold contract, section 85 bars a separate suitability stage before tenders are submitted, but the buyer can still assess suitability at the award stage (Welsh devolved buyers, framework call-offs and works contracts worth £207,720 or more aside) (guidance, paras 16 and 18).
In the week to 10 Oct 2026, 29 of 470 live notices (about 6%) stated insurance requirements in the notice itself, across all buyers, not only councils (as of 10 Oct 2026; how we count). See public liability insurance for council contracts and SSIP, CHAS and Constructionline.
On Pro, we check what notices that fit your trade and area state, and flag points a notice leaves vague to confirm in the pack. 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.
Questions
Which councils are included in this list?
Buyers whose published name matches our council rules: county, district, borough, city, metropolitan, town, parish, community and unitary councils, London and Royal boroughs, combined authorities and combined county authorities, City and County of names, names beginning Comhairle or Cyngor, short forms such as CC and LB, and any other name ending in "Council" that isn't on our exclusion list (Arts, Research and British are on it). Notices come from Find a Tender and Contracts Finder only, refreshed daily.
Why can't I see the Greater London Authority or my fire and rescue authority here?
Our name filter doesn't count them. It counts names that match the council rules above, and the Greater London Authority's name has neither "Council" nor "Combined Authority" in it. Fire and rescue, police and national park authorities are counted only if their published name happens to match a rule. That is a limit of the filter, not a judgment about those bodies. We make no claim about where they publish.
Are Scottish council tenders listed here?
Only those that appear on Find a Tender or Contracts Finder. Scottish councils buy under Scottish regulations, and for a regulated procurement a council must publicise its intention to seek offers on the Public Contracts website (Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014, section 23), which gov.uk names Public Contracts Scotland. We don't read it. Our Scotland region page lists notices delivered in Scotland from any buyer on the two sites we cover.
What is the smallest council contract that has to be advertised with a notice?
If a council advertises a below-threshold contract worth £30,000 or more including VAT, it must first publish a below-threshold tender notice. If it only invites quotes from chosen suppliers, no notice is needed. So £30,000 is the point at which advertising triggers a notice, not a minimum for every contract. Central government buyers use £12,000, transferred Northern Ireland authorities are outside the below-threshold rules, and Scottish councils follow Scottish regulations.
Do parish and town councils publish tenders here?
When they publish on Find a Tender or Contracts Finder, our filter counts names with Parish Council, Town Council or Community Council in them. Below £30,000 a notice isn't required, so smaller contracts may not appear.