Documents and notices
Contract notice
Written by Justin Cesman, CEO of Skim. Last reviewed:
- Definition
- A contract notice is the formal advertisement a public sector buyer publishes to start a competitive procurement and invite tenders or requests to participate. It names the requirement, the procedure, the response deadline, and where to access the tender documents. Under the Procurement Act 2023 it is renamed the tender notice.
Key takeaways
- A contract notice is the live signal that a competition has opened and tenders are invited — it is the advertisement, not the tender itself.
- Above-threshold UK procurements must publish a contract notice on Find a Tender, which replaced the OJEU/TED for UK notices on 1 January 2021.
- Under the Procurement Act 2023 (in force 24 February 2025) the contract notice is renamed the tender notice (notice type UK4); the standard above-threshold tendering period is at least 25 days.
- It sits between the prior information notice (a future signal) and the contract award notice (the result), so the three notices map the full life cycle of an opportunity.
- Every contract you have ever won started as a contract notice on a portal — coverage across portals is the SME's hardest problem, because notices scatter across Find a Tender, Contracts Finder and devolved systems.
How it works
A contract notice is how public sector buyers announce that a procurement is open and bids are wanted. For contracts above the procurement thresholds, publishing one is a legal requirement: it must appear on Find a Tender for UK procurements, and may also appear on Contracts Finder and a buyer's own portal. Find a Tender replaced the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) and its TED database as the UK's central notice service on 1 January 2021, after the UK left the EU.
The notice carries the load-bearing detail a bidder needs to qualify the opportunity: what the buyer wants, the relevant CPV codes that classify the requirement, the procedure being run, the deadline for responses, and a link to the full tender documents. It is not the tender itself — it is the advertisement that tells you a tender exists and points you to where to bid. A compliant prior information notice published 35 days to 12 months ahead can let a buyer shorten the later response window.
Monitoring contract notices is the foundation of any bid pipeline, and coverage is where SMEs lose ground. Notices appear across Find a Tender, Contracts Finder and the devolved portals (such as Public Contracts Scotland and Sell2Wales), in varying formats and under different classification systems. Miss the notice and you miss the opportunity entirely — there is rarely a second route in once the deadline passes.
Under the Procurement Act 2023, in force from 24 February 2025, the contract notice is renamed the tender notice. It remains the mandatory step that commences an above-threshold competitive procedure and invites tenders or requests to participate, with a standard minimum tendering period of at least 25 days above threshold. It now sits within a wider notice regime that adds the pipeline notice and the preliminary market engagement notice ahead of it.
Prior information notice vs contract notice / tender notice vs contract award notice
| Feature | Prior information notice (PIN) | Contract notice / tender notice (UK4) | Contract award notice (UK6) |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it signals | A procurement may be coming | A competition is live now | A winner has been chosen |
| When in the cycle | Pre-procurement | Start of the competition | After the award decision, before signing |
| Can you bid from it? | No — detail and deadlines usually missing | Yes — it points to the tender documents | No — the contract is already awarded |
| Status | Optional | Mandatory above threshold | Mandatory above threshold |
| Procurement Act 2023 name | Planned procurement notice (UK3) | Tender notice (UK4) | Contract award notice (UK6) |
| Effect on timing | Compliant PIN 35 days–12 months ahead can shorten the later window | Sets the response deadline (min. 25 days above threshold) | Starts the 8-working-day standstill period |
Under the Procurement Act 2023
Reviewed
The rules now depend on when the procurement started. The Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (PCR 2015) govern procurements begun before 24 February 2025, where the relevant advertisement is the contract notice published on Find a Tender — usually for contracts valued over £135,018 (central government) or £207,720 (other bodies) including VAT. The Procurement Act 2023, in force from 24 February 2025, governs procurements begun on or after that date and renames the contract notice the tender notice (notice type UK4). The tender notice keeps the same purpose — commencing an above-threshold competition and inviting tenders — but sits within an expanded notice regime: a pipeline notice and a preliminary market engagement notice can precede it, the prior information notice is replaced by the planned procurement notice, and a contract award notice triggers a standstill period of at least 8 working days before signing.
Sources: Find a Tender — Notice types and sequences (GOV.UK) · Procurement Act 2023, section 21 — Tender notices (legislation.gov.uk) · GOV.UK — Guidance: Planned Procurement Notice
Why it matters for bidders
Missing a contract notice means missing the opportunity entirely — there is no back door once the deadline closes. With thousands of notices published across Find a Tender, Contracts Finder and the devolved portals every week, systematic monitoring is the difference between a reactive pipeline and a strategic one. The deeper signal sits next to the notice, not in it: the procedure named, the prior information notice that preceded it, and the related contract award notices reveal who the incumbent is, how often this buyer goes to market, and whether the timeline is realistic for a serious bid. Reading a notice against that surrounding award data — the discipline of teams who have won over £3bn in UK and EU public contracts — is how experienced bidders decide which opportunities to chase before a competitor even sees them.
How Skim helps
Skim's Opportunity Discovery agent monitors contract notices and tender notices across every major UK and EU procurement portal continuously, filtering and scoring them against your sector, capabilities and win history so you see the opportunities that fit — not the noise. Its Buyer Intelligence agent reads the surrounding signals — the buyer's notice history and the award notices on related contracts — so each notice arrives with the context to make a fast, informed bid or no-bid decision.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a contract notice in public procurement?
- A contract notice is the formal advertisement a public sector buyer publishes to start a competitive procurement and invite tenders. It states what the buyer needs, the procedure, the response deadline, and where to find the tender documents. Above the thresholds, publishing one is a legal requirement.
- Where are contract notices published in the UK?
- Above-threshold UK contract notices must be published on Find a Tender, which replaced the OJEU and TED on 1 January 2021. Many also appear on Contracts Finder, and the devolved nations run their own portals, including Public Contracts Scotland and Sell2Wales. Notices scatter across these systems.
- Is a contract notice the same as a tender notice?
- Yes. Under the Procurement Act 2023, in force from 24 February 2025, the contract notice is renamed the tender notice (notice type UK4). Its purpose is unchanged: it commences an above-threshold competitive procurement and invites tenders or requests to participate. Procurements begun earlier still use the contract notice name.
- What is the difference between a contract notice and a prior information notice?
- A prior information notice signals that a procurement may be coming and helps suppliers plan; you usually cannot bid from it. A contract notice means the competition is live and points you to the tender documents. Under the Procurement Act 2023 the prior information notice becomes the planned procurement notice.
- What information does a contract notice contain?
- A contract notice names the buyer, describes the requirement and its CPV classification codes, states the procurement procedure being used, gives the deadline for responses, and links to the full tender documents. It is the advertisement that tells suppliers a tender exists, not the tender pack itself.
- How long do you have to respond to a contract notice?
- It depends on the procedure and rules in force. Under the Procurement Act 2023, the standard minimum tendering period for an above-threshold tender notice is at least 25 days. A compliant planned procurement notice published in advance can let the buyer shorten that window. Always check the deadline stated in the notice.
Sources
Related terms
Award notice
An award notice is a public notice confirming the outcome of a procurement — naming the winning supplier, the contract value, and the number of tenders received. Under the Procurement Act 2023 the term splits into two notices: a contract award notice published before the contract is signed, and a contract details notice published after.
Prior information notice(PIN)
A prior information notice (PIN) is an advance notice published by a public sector buyer signalling an intention to procure goods, works, or services in the coming months. A PIN is not an invitation to tender; it alerts the market early and, if compliant, can shorten the later tender timescale.
Contracts Finder
Contracts Finder is the UK government's free, Cabinet Office-run portal where public buyers publish lower-value contract opportunities and award notices. It covers contracts above £12,000 including VAT for central government and £30,000 including VAT for sub-central bodies such as councils, NHS trusts, and universities.
Find a Tender(FTS)
Find a Tender (FTS) is the UK government's central digital platform for publishing public procurement notices above the threshold, replacing the EU's Official Journal (OJEU/TED) after Brexit. Under the Procurement Act 2023, FTS carries all regulated above-threshold notices for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
CPV codes(CPV)
CPV codes — the Common Procurement Vocabulary — are a standardised set of nine-digit numbers that public sector buyers use to classify the subject of a contract notice. Maintained by the European Union and retained by the UK after Brexit, CPV codes let suppliers search and filter procurement portals consistently.