Portals and systems
Contracts Finder
Definition
The UK government's free online portal where public sector buyers must advertise contract opportunities and publish award notices for contracts valued above £12,000 (central government) or £30,000 (sub-central authorities).
Contracts Finder is the most accessible entry point to UK public procurement. Launched in 2011 and operated by the Cabinet Office, it provides a free, searchable database of contract opportunities and awards from across the public sector. Any supplier can register and search without charge.
Buyers are legally required to publish on Contracts Finder for contracts above the advertising thresholds. For central government, that is £12,000. For other public bodies (local authorities, NHS trusts, universities), it is £30,000. Below these thresholds, publication is voluntary. Above the international procurement thresholds, the notice must also appear on Find a Tender.
While Contracts Finder is comprehensive for UK-domestic contracts, it has limitations. Search functionality is basic, notifications can be unreliable, and the data quality varies because buyers enter information manually. Many procurement professionals use it as one source among several rather than relying on it exclusively.
Why it matters for bidders
Contracts Finder is where most SMEs start their procurement journey. It is free, it is comprehensive for UK contracts, and every public buyer above the thresholds must use it. But its basic search and notification capabilities mean many relevant opportunities are missed by suppliers who rely on it alone.
How Skim helps
Skim ingests every Contracts Finder listing alongside data from Find a Tender, TED, and buyer-specific portals — deduplicating, classifying, and scoring opportunities against your profile so you get complete market coverage without manually checking multiple portals.
Related terms
Find a Tender(FTS)
The UK's e-notification service that replaced the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) for UK procurements after Brexit, used for publishing contract notices above the international procurement thresholds.
Tenders Electronic Daily(TED)
The European Union's online publication platform for public procurement notices, covering all EU member states and EEA countries. Since Brexit, UK procurements appear on Find a Tender instead, but TED remains relevant for UK suppliers bidding into EU markets.
Contract notice
A formal advertisement published on procurement portals announcing that a buyer intends to award a contract, inviting suppliers to express interest or submit tenders.
Procurement thresholds
The financial values that determine which procurement rules apply to a public sector contract — below-threshold contracts follow lighter rules, while above-threshold contracts must comply with full procurement regulations including mandatory advertising and specific procedure requirements.