Documents and notices
Prior information notice(PIN)
Written by Justin Cesman, CEO of Skim. Last reviewed:
- Definition
- 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.
Key takeaways
- A prior information notice (PIN) signals a buyer's intention to procure within roughly the next 12 months; it is an early warning, not a live tender.
- A PIN is not a call for competition — you cannot submit a full bid from a PIN alone, because specification, criteria, pricing, and deadlines come later in the contract notice.
- Under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 a compliant PIN, published 35 days to 12 months ahead, can cut the open-procedure tender period from 35 days to a minimum of 15 days.
- The Procurement Act 2023 (in force 24 February 2025) replaces the PIN with the planned procurement notice for advance signalling, and adds the pipeline notice and the preliminary market engagement notice.
- Acting on a PIN gives proactive bidders months of preparation lead over competitors who only react when the contract notice appears.
How it works
A prior information notice tells the market that a buyer plans to procure in the coming months. It typically sets out the likely scope, value band, expected timing, and route to market, but stops short of a full specification, evaluation criteria, pricing model, or submission deadline. Because of that, a PIN is not an invitation to tender and does not, on its own, open a competition.
PINs serve two purposes. For buyers, a compliant PIN can reduce the minimum tender period for the subsequent procurement, on the basis that the market was given advance warning. Under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (PCR 2015), where a valid PIN was published between 35 days and 12 months before the contract notice and carried the required information, the tender period under the open procedure could fall from 35 days to a minimum of 15 days. For suppliers, a PIN provides months of lead time to research the buyer, assess fit, line up consortium partners, and start drafting before the formal procurement begins.
Not every procurement is preceded by a PIN, and not every PIN leads to a procurement — it commits the buyer to nothing. In the UK, PINs and contract notices are published on Find a Tender, so the early signal and the live opportunity sit on the same platform; the skill is connecting the two so you start preparing on the PIN, not the deadline.
Under the Procurement Act 2023, in force from 24 February 2025, the single PIN concept is split across distinct notices. The planned procurement notice is the direct successor for advance signalling and is the route to reduced timescales; the pipeline notice gives large buyers' forward look at upcoming contracts; and the preliminary market engagement notice covers pre-procurement dialogue with the market. The comparison below sets out how the three differ.
PIN vs planned procurement notice vs pipeline notice vs preliminary market engagement notice
| Feature | Prior information notice (PCR 2015) | Planned procurement notice (PA 2023) | Pipeline notice (PA 2023) | Preliminary market engagement notice (PA 2023) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Advance signal of an upcoming procurement | Advance signal of a specific upcoming procurement | Forward look at a buyer's upcoming contracts | Invite or record pre-procurement dialogue with the market |
| Mandatory? | Optional | Optional | Mandatory for large buyers spending over £100m a year | Conditional — publish, or justify omission in the tender notice |
| Triggers reduced tender timescales? | Yes — open procedure tender period to a minimum of 15 days | Yes — tendering period to a minimum of 10 days | No | No |
| Timing relative to tender | 35 days to 12 months before the contract notice | 40 days to 12 months before the tender notice | Covers the next 18 months; updated at least annually | Early in the notice sequence, before the tender notice |
| A call for competition? | No | No | No | No |
Under the Procurement Act 2023
Reviewed
The prior information notice belongs to the pre-reform regime. The Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (PCR 2015) govern procurements that started before 24 February 2025, and under PCR 2015 a compliant PIN — published 35 days to 12 months before the contract notice — could reduce the open-procedure tender period from 35 days to a minimum of 15 days. For procurements that start on or after 24 February 2025 the Procurement Act 2023 applies, and the PIN no longer exists by that name. Its advance-signalling role passes to the planned procurement notice, which replaces both the PIN and the periodic indicative notice and, when published 40 days to 12 months before the tender notice, allows the tendering period to be cut to a minimum of 10 days. Two further notices share the early-stage ground: the pipeline notice, which large contracting authorities spending over £100m a year must publish to give an 18-month forward look at contracts worth more than £2m, and the preliminary market engagement notice, which signals pre-procurement dialogue with the market. None of these is a call for competition.
Sources: GOV.UK — Guidance: Planned Procurement Notice · GOV.UK — UK1: the new Pipeline Notice · GOV.UK — Guidance: Preliminary Market Engagement
Why it matters for bidders
A prior information notice gives you a head start. While competitors are reacting to the contract notice, you have already researched the buyer, assessed your fit, and started shaping a response. In competitive procurement, preparation time is a strategic advantage. The deeper signal is in the pattern: a buyer that publishes a PIN or planned procurement notice is telling you when its spend is coming, and reading that against its past award notices shows you who currently holds the work, at what value, and whether the timing favours an incumbent or an outsider. That award-data discipline, drawn from teams who have won over £3bn in UK and EU public contracts, turns an early signal into a considered bid-no-bid decision rather than a last-minute scramble.
How Skim helps
Skim's Opportunity Discovery agent tracks prior information notices, planned procurement notices, and pipeline notices alongside contract notices across every UK and EU portal, linking the early signal to the live procurement when it appears — so you see the full timeline from first signal to deadline. Its Buyer Intelligence agent profiles the publishing authority from its notice and award history, so you can judge fit and start bid preparation before the competition knows the opportunity exists.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a prior information notice (PIN)?
- A prior information notice is an advance notice in which a public sector buyer signals an intention to procure goods, works, or services, usually within the next 12 months. It is an early warning to the market, not an invitation to tender, and it commits the buyer to nothing.
- What is the difference between a PIN and a contract notice?
- A prior information notice signals that a procurement may be coming and gives early scope and timing clues; a contract notice formally opens the live competition with the specification, evaluation criteria, and deadline. You cannot submit a full bid from a PIN alone — the binding tender starts with the contract notice.
- Does a PIN reduce tender timescales?
- It can. Under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, a compliant PIN published 35 days to 12 months before the contract notice could cut the open-procedure tender period from 35 days to a minimum of 15 days. Under the Procurement Act 2023, that role passes to the planned procurement notice, which allows a minimum of 10 days.
- Is the prior information notice still used under the Procurement Act 2023?
- No. For procurements starting on or after 24 February 2025, the Procurement Act 2023 replaces the prior information notice with the planned procurement notice for advance signalling. The pipeline notice and the preliminary market engagement notice cover the buyer's forward look and pre-procurement market dialogue.
- What is the difference between a planned procurement notice and a pipeline notice?
- A planned procurement notice gives advance detail on one specific upcoming procurement and can trigger reduced tender timescales. A pipeline notice is a forward look that large buyers spending over £100m a year must publish, covering contracts worth more than £2m over the next 18 months. The pipeline does not reduce timescales.
- Where are prior information notices published in the UK?
- Prior information notices, planned procurement notices, contract notices, and award notices for UK public procurement are published on Find a Tender, the service that replaced the EU's OJEU after Brexit. Monitoring Find a Tender lets bidders catch the early signal and the live opportunity in one place.