Since 24 February 2025, new public procurements in England, Wales and Northern Ireland use the Procurement Act 2023 and its notices, published on Find a Tender. There are 17 notice types, numbered UK1 to UK17. Find a Tender’s list shows 16 of them, because buyers send the UK8 payment information as data rather than as a notice. For bidders, the ones to watch are the early notices (UK1 to UK3), the tender notice (UK4), and the award and contract notices (UK6 and UK7).
Terms are explained in our glossary.
What changed on 24 February 2025
- New law for new procurements. The Act applies to procurements that start on or after that date. Procurements, frameworks and dynamic purchasing systems started under the old rules carry on under them until they end (gov.uk transitional guidance).
- One platform. An enhanced Find a Tender became the Central Digital Platform. Buyers publish notices there, and suppliers register and store their core details (gov.uk factsheet).
- Below-threshold notices moved. In England, advertised low-value contracts used to go only on Contracts Finder. Now the below-threshold tender notice must go on Find a Tender first. Welsh public bodies must also publish below-threshold notices there, from £30,000 (gov.uk below-threshold guidance).
- New procedures and tools. The Act adds a new “competitive flexible” procedure, open frameworks, and dynamic markets in place of dynamic purchasing systems (gov.uk short guide for suppliers).
- New words. Contracts go to the “most advantageous tender” (MAT) instead of the “most economically advantageous tender” (MEAT). The guidance says this is not a change in policy (gov.uk assessing tenders guidance).
- Standstill. Where standstill applies, the pause between the award notice and signing is now at least 8 working days, not 10 calendar days (gov.uk standstill guidance).
Scotland keeps its own procurement laws. The Act’s below-threshold rules do not apply to Northern Irish public bodies, so Northern Irish rules cover their contracts (Procurement Act 2023, section 84). UK-wide bodies buying in Northern Ireland still follow the Act’s rules.
The notices, from a supplier’s side
From Find a Tender’s notice types page, with UK8 from the Government Commercial Agency (GCA) and gov.uk:
| Code | Notice | When it appears | Why it matters to you |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK1 | Pipeline | By 26 May each year; only buyers expecting to spend over £100 million in the year must publish one, listing contracts over £2 million | Plans for the next 18 months |
| UK2 | Preliminary market engagement | Before the tender, if the buyer engages the market | A chance to shape the requirement |
| UK3 | Planned procurement | Before the tender | Early detail; bidding time may be cut to 10 days |
| UK4 | Tender notice | When bids are invited | The opportunity itself |
| UK5 | Transparency | Before a direct award | Shows a contract going without competition |
| UK6 | Contract award | After the award decision, before signing | Who won; starts the standstill period |
| UK7 | Contract details | After signing (within 30 days above threshold) | The final contract; also used below threshold |
| UK8 | Contract payment | Each quarter, for payments over £30,000 | What a buyer paid under a contract |
| UK9 | Contract performance | Against key performance indicators | How suppliers are performing |
| UK10 | Contract change | Before a change to value or term | Contracts growing or extending |
| UK11 | Contract termination | Within 30 days of a contract ending | Work that may be tendered again |
| UK12 | Procurement termination | When a procurement is cancelled | A tender you bid for has stopped |
| UK13 | Dynamic market intention | Before a dynamic market starts | You can apply to join |
| UK14 | Dynamic market establishment | When it starts | Who is on it; others can still apply |
| UK15 | Dynamic market modification | When suppliers are added or removed | Changes to membership |
| UK16 | Dynamic market cessation | When it closes | No more competitions under it |
| UK17 | Payments compliance | Every six months | How promptly a buyer pays suppliers |
GCA calls UK8 the contract payment notice (GCA guide to the notices). Since 1 April 2026, buyers must publish each payment over £30,000 under contracts procured under the Act from that date. They upload these payments each quarter as a spreadsheet, rather than as a notice (gov.uk payment information guidance). That is why UK8 is missing from Find a Tender’s notice list. You can search the payments on Find a Tender’s Payments Transparency Register. The gov.uk guide to the platform counts 17 notices (gov.uk CDP guide).
Linked notices share one procurement identifier, so you can follow a contract from pipeline to termination. Under older rules you will still see “F” notices, such as F01 (prior information), F02 (contract notice) and F03 (contract award).
For more on UK1 to UK3, see our guide to early tender notices.
Thresholds
Most of the Act applies only to contracts at or above these values, including VAT (gov.uk thresholds guidance):
| Type of contract | Threshold |
|---|---|
| Goods or services for central government | £135,018 |
| Goods or services for other public bodies (councils, for example) | £207,720 |
| Light-touch contracts (a set list of services; see the guidance) | £663,540 |
| Works | £5,193,000 |
The goods, services and works thresholds apply from 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2027. They follow international trade agreements and are updated every two years, from 1 January of each even year. The light-touch threshold is not tied to that cycle.
Below-threshold notices
Below those values, two other amounts matter in England and Wales (Procurement Act 2023, section 87):
- £12,000 for UK central government authorities;
- £30,000 for other bodies, and for Welsh devolved central government bodies such as the Welsh Government.
Section 87 applies to devolved Welsh authorities directly. The Procurement (Wales) Regulations 2024 only send Welsh notices to Find a Tender through Sell2Wales (Wales regulations). Welsh tenders under £30,000 need no Find a Tender notice; when advertised, they are usually on Sell2Wales. Northern Irish public bodies’ below-threshold tenders are outside these rules (section 84).
At or above these amounts, a buyer that advertises must first publish a below-threshold tender notice (a UK4) on Find a Tender. It must publish a contract details notice (UK7) after signing, even if it only asked one supplier for a quote. It does not need a tender notice if it only invites chosen suppliers. In England, when it tenders, it cannot use a separate suitability stage to cut the field (gov.uk below-threshold guidance).
The Central Digital Platform and registering as a supplier
Find a Tender is free to use, and you only need to register when you want to bid (gov.uk factsheet). Registration has three steps (gov.uk registration guide):
- Create a GOV.UK One Login with your work email.
- Complete your Central Digital Platform account.
- Register your organisation as a supplier, with your Companies House number or equivalent. The platform then shows your unique identifier.
You then add your core supplier information: basic details, recent accounts, connected persons and any exclusion grounds. When you bid, you share it with the buyer through a share code or a downloaded file, as the tender documents say. If you registered on the old Find a Tender, you must register again. If you use the same email, your saved searches come across.
Questions people ask
What notices are there under the Procurement Act 2023?
There are 17, from UK1 to UK17. They cover planning, tendering, award, contract management, payments and dynamic markets. Find a Tender’s notice list shows 16, because UK8 payment information is published as data on its Payments Transparency Register.
What are the Procurement Act thresholds for 2026?
£135,018 for central government goods and services, £207,720 for other public bodies, £663,540 for light-touch contracts and £5,193,000 for works, all including VAT.
What is a Central Digital Platform share code?
It is how you share your stored supplier information with a buyer when you bid. You give the code as the tender documents tell you.
Do I need to register before I can see tenders?
No. Anyone can search Find a Tender free of charge. You need to register when you bid, and buyers need your unique identifier before awarding you a contract.
How Tenderhooks helps
Tenderhooks reads the Act’s notices on Find a Tender, plus Contracts Finder and Public Contracts Scotland, and picks out research and consulting tenders for your firm. Your bid plan arrives every Monday at 7:00 UK time. When a new tender fits, you get a same-day email, at most two a day.
Sources
All checked on 2 November 2026.
- Find a Tender: notice types and sequences, home page, Payments Transparency Register
- Government Commercial Agency: Procurement Act 2023 notices
- Gov.uk short guides: guide for suppliers, Central Digital Platform factsheet, how to use the platform, how to register
- Gov.uk guidance: thresholds, below-threshold contracts, award notices and standstill, transitional arrangements, assessing competitive tenders, contract payment information
- Legislation: Procurement Act 2023, section 84, section 87, Procurement (Wales) Regulations 2024
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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