Before a tender opens, a buyer can publish early notices: a UK1 pipeline notice, a UK2 preliminary market engagement notice or a UK3 planned procurement notice. Under the older rules, and in Scotland, you will also see prior information notices (PINs). Early notices can come up to 18 months ahead, but they are not promises. In our check of Find a Tender notices from 2024 to 2026, about 4 in 10 became a tender within 6 months.
Terms are explained in our glossary.
The early notices at a glance
| Notice | Who must publish it | How far ahead | What it is for |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK1 pipeline | Buyers expecting to pay over £100 million in the year, for contracts over £2 million | Covers the next 18 months | A list of planned procurements |
| UK2 preliminary market engagement | Buyers that talk to the market before an above-threshold tender (or they explain why not) | No set time | Inviting suppliers to engage, or reporting engagement already done |
| UK3 planned procurement | Optional | Usually 40 days to 12 months before the tender | Early detail, and a shorter bidding period |
| Prior information notice (PIN) | Older rules and Scottish rules | Often up to a year | Early warning of a contract notice |
Sources: Find a Tender notice types and the gov.uk guidance linked below. For all 17 notice types, see our guide to Procurement Act notices.
UK1 pipeline notice
A pipeline notice lists contracts worth more than £2 million that a buyer plans to advertise, or award directly, in the next 18 months. A buyer must publish one if it expects to pay more than £100 million under its contracts in the coming financial year (Procurement Act 2023, section 93). The deadline is 26 May each year, 56 days after the financial year starts on 1 April (gov.uk pipeline guidance).
What this means for you:
- Most research work is smaller than £2 million, so many research contracts will never appear in a pipeline. Buyers are encouraged, but not required, to include smaller contracts.
- Plans change. Buyers are not bound by the pipeline and do not have to go ahead.
- Large buyers only. Smaller buyers, private utilities and bodies under Northern Irish rules do not have to publish one.
UK2 preliminary market engagement notice
Preliminary market engagement is any contact with suppliers before a tender. Buyers use it to shape the requirement, design the procedure or find suppliers. It can be a webinar, workshop, questionnaire, site visit or one-to-one meeting (gov.uk market engagement guidance).
Engagement is optional. But if a buyer engages the market about an above-threshold contract, it must do one of two things. It publishes a UK2 notice before the tender notice, or it explains in the tender notice why it did not. A UK2 can invite suppliers to take part, or report engagement that has already happened. These rules do not apply below the thresholds, though buyers may still publish a UK2 there.
UK3 planned procurement notice
A planned procurement notice says a buyer intends to publish a tender notice, with as much detail as it has. It is optional (Procurement Act 2023, section 15).
If it is published at least 40 days and no more than 12 months before the tender notice, it “qualifies”. The buyer may then cut the minimum bidding time for an above-threshold tender to 10 days (gov.uk planned procurement guidance). So treat a UK3 as a signal to start preparing. The tender may give you less time than usual.
Under the Act, the planned procurement notice replaced the prior information notice for new procurements. Some old PINs could be the call for bids itself. A planned procurement notice cannot.
Prior information notices and other early signals
You will still see PINs (notice type F01 on Find a Tender) for procurements that began under the old rules before 24 February 2025. You will also see them in Scotland, which has its own procurement laws (Find a Tender notice types).
Each portal has its own early stages too:
- Contracts Finder has an “Early engagement” stage, for an idea in early development where the buyer is judging interest. Its “Future opportunity” stage gives advance notice, but bids are not yet invited (Contracts Finder).
- Public Contracts Scotland publishes a Forward Plan of collaborative opportunities that may be advertised in the next 12 to 18 months (PCS).
- Sell2Wales has “Future Opportunity” and “Pipeline Opportunity” notice types (Sell2Wales search). It also has a Speculative Notice, its below-threshold version of a PIN (Sell2Wales).
How to respond to market engagement
The guidance asks buyers to keep engagement fair. Engagement must not give any supplier an unfair advantage. Buyers should keep a record of what they share and learn, and they often put it in the tender documents. In practice:
- Read what the buyer wants. The notice sets out the format and, often, the purpose. Answer that, and leave the sales pitch out.
- Point out barriers for small firms. Buyers must consider the barriers that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) face. Say so if the lot size, timescale or insurance levels would stop you bidding.
- Be careful with confidential ideas. What you share may be passed to other suppliers to keep the field level. Mark anything confidential and ask how it will be handled.
- Note the dates. If a qualifying UK3 follows, the bidding window may be as short as 10 days.
How to see early notices before a tender opens
- Find a Tender notice search: choose “UK1 Pipeline notice”, “UK2” or “UK3” under Notice type, and untick “Other notice types”. You can add Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV) codes or the SME filter. The UK1 guide suggests a date range from 1 April 2025 (gov.uk UK1 guide). Save the search to get emails.
- Find a Tender Summarised Search: the “Opportunities” view shows each procurement’s latest stage, such as Pipeline, Preliminary market engagement, Planned procurement or Active tender. It covers procurements from 24 February 2025. It is not the official record (Find a Tender help).
- Contracts Finder, PCS and Sell2Wales: filter or set alerts by the early stages listed above.
Questions people ask
Is a planned procurement notice mandatory?
No. It is optional. A buyer that publishes one 40 days to 12 months before the tender notice may shorten the minimum bidding period to 10 days.
What is the pipeline notice threshold?
Buyers that expect to pay over £100 million in a financial year must list each planned contract worth over £2 million.
What is a UK2 notice?
A preliminary market engagement notice. It invites suppliers to engage before a tender, or reports engagement that has already happened.
Does an early notice mean a tender will follow?
No. Buyers are not bound by early notices. In our 2024–26 check of Find a Tender notices, about 4 in 10 became a tender within 6 months (Tenderhooks report example).
How Tenderhooks helps
Tenderhooks reads early notices on Find a Tender, Contracts Finder and Public Contracts Scotland. It shows the research and consulting ones as “Coming up” for your firm, with the buyer’s record from award data where there is one. That helps you judge which are worth preparing for.
Sources
All checked on 2 November 2026.
- Find a Tender: notice types and sequences and Summarised Search help
- Gov.uk guidance: pipeline notice, preliminary market engagement, planned procurement notice, UK1 short guide
- Procurement Act 2023 on legislation.gov.uk: section 15, section 93
- Contracts Finder search, Public Contracts Scotland information and support, How to use Sell2Wales, Sell2Wales search
- Our figure: Tenderhooks report pages
This page explains official rules and guidance in plain English, checked on the date above. It is not legal advice. The official sources it links to are what apply.
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