Public procurement thresholds 2026: the full table explained
Every UK procurement threshold in 2026: the new figures from 1 January, below-threshold notification levels, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and Ireland.
Updated on September 5, 2026
Verified on 5 September 2026.
Procurement thresholds decide, according to the estimated value of a requirement, which rules a public buyer must follow and where it must publish its tender notice. In 2026 two sets of figures moved: the UK thresholds under the Procurement Act 2023, replaced on 1 January by the Procurement Act 2023 (Threshold Amounts) (Amendment) Regulations 2025, and the EU thresholds that apply in Ireland, revised for the two years 2026 and 2027. The UK figures include VAT; the EU figures exclude it.
UK thresholds from 1 January 2026
These amounts sit in Schedule 1 of the Procurement Act 2023 and are reviewed every two years so that they track the World Trade Organisation's Agreement on Government Procurement. Above them the full regime applies: a tender notice on the central digital platform, a minimum tendering period, an assessment summary and a standstill period before signature (verified 2026-09-05).
| Contract | 2024-2025 | From 1 January 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Goods and services, central government authorities | £139,688 | £135,018 |
| Goods and services, other contracting authorities | £214,904 | £207,720 |
| Works, all contracting authorities | £5,372,609 | £5,193,000 |
| Light touch contracts (health, social, education and similar services) | £663,540 | £663,540 |
| Light touch concessions | £5,372,609 | £5,372,609 |
| Concession contracts | £5,372,609 | £5,193,000 |
| Utilities, goods and services | £429,809 | £415,440 |
| Utilities, works | £5,372,609 | £5,193,000 |
| Utilities, light touch | £884,720 | £884,720 |
| Defence and security, goods and services | £429,809 | £415,440 |
| Defence and security, works and concessions | £5,372,609 | £5,193,000 |
All figures are inclusive of VAT. Nearly every threshold fell by roughly 3 per cent, purely because of the exchange rate between sterling and the special drawing rights in which the GPA expresses its values. The light touch thresholds did not move. Contracts regulated by the Welsh Ministers are set separately by Welsh regulations.
Below the threshold
Part 6 of the Act imposes a light regime on notifiable below-threshold contracts. The trigger points are £12,000 including VAT for central government authorities, including NHS bodies, and £30,000 for other contracting authorities.
| Estimated value, including VAT | What the buyer must do | Where to look |
|---|---|---|
| Under £12,000 or £30,000 | Nothing. It asks for quotations | Buyer websites, supplier registers, direct approach |
| From those figures to the threshold | If it advertises at all, it must first publish a below-threshold tender notice on the central digital platform, then a contract details notice after award | Contracts Finder, buyer e-sourcing portals |
| Above the threshold | Tender notice, minimum tendering periods, standstill | Find a Tender, buyer e-sourcing portals |
Between those two lines sits the below-threshold work that most small firms live on: light documents, short deadlines and, above the notification levels, a notice you can actually monitor.
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
Scotland did not adopt the Procurement Act 2023. Its buyers still work under the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015 and the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014, with the EU-derived thresholds for the full regime and a national threshold for regulated procurements: £50,000 excluding VAT for goods and services and £2,000,000 for works, advertised on Public Contracts Scotland.
Wales applies the Act, but the Welsh Ministers set the threshold amounts for the contracts they regulate and publish them separately; Sell2Wales remains the place Welsh notices appear. Northern Ireland follows the Act, with notices on eTendersNI, where the deadline is often stated only inside the attached documents.
Ireland and the EU thresholds
Ireland still applies the EU directives. The thresholds below run from 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2027 and are exclusive of VAT. Above them, publication in the Official Journal, through TED, is mandatory.
| Subject | Buyer | Threshold |
|---|---|---|
| Supplies and services | Central government authorities | €140,000 |
| Supplies and services | Local and other contracting authorities | €216,000 |
| Supplies and services | Contracting entities (water, energy, transport, postal) | €432,000 |
| Works | All buyers | €5,404,000 |
| Concessions, works and services | All buyers | €5,404,000 |
| Social and other specific services | Contracting authorities | €750,000 |
| Social and other specific services | Contracting entities | €1,000,000 |
| Defence and security, supplies and services | €432,000 | |
| Defence and security, works | €5,404,000 |
These are about 2 to 2.5 per cent lower than the 2024-2025 figures of €143,000, €221,000, €443,000 and €5,538,000. Below them, Irish buyers advertise on eTenders from €50,000 excluding VAT for supplies and services and €200,000 for works.
How the estimated value is calculated
The amount compared with the threshold is not the price of a single order. Three rules matter:
- the estimate is the total value of the requirement over the whole life of the contract, extensions and options included; for a framework it is the maximum value of everything that can be called off under it;
- splitting a requirement to get under a threshold is prohibited; a buyer that carves a single homogeneous need into small contracts to avoid advertising risks having the process set aside;
- where a requirement is divided into lots, it is the combined value of all lots that counts, not each lot on its own.
For UK contracts, remember that the estimate is made including VAT, which is unusual internationally and means a requirement priced at £120,000 net is already above the central government threshold.
What changed compared with 2024-2025
| Change | Before | In 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Goods and services, central government | £139,688 | £135,018 |
| Goods and services, other authorities | £214,904 | £207,720 |
| Works and concessions | £5,372,609 | £5,193,000 |
| Utilities and defence, goods and services | £429,809 | £415,440 |
| Light touch | £663,540 | Unchanged |
| Below-threshold notification | £12,000 and £30,000 | Unchanged |
The new figures apply to procurements started on or after 1 January 2026. A competition launched in December 2025 keeps the old thresholds for its whole life, which is why notices published early in the year can look inconsistent.
What it means for a smaller supplier
Lower thresholds push a little more work into the full regime, which is good news for a bidder: above the threshold you get a published notice, a minimum tendering period, published award criteria, an assessment summary explaining your score and a standstill period before the contract is signed. A requirement estimated at £210,000 by a council, which could have been run as a light below-threshold exercise in 2025, is a full procedure in 2026.
The flip side is unchanged: everything under £12,000 or £30,000 is invisible, so being known to the procurement team of your local buyers is still worth as much as any watch tool. Between the notification level and the threshold, notices exist but are scattered across Contracts Finder, the devolved portals and dozens of buyer platforms.
Practical reading for a watch profile:
- under the notification levels, prospect directly and get onto supplier lists;
- from £12,000 or £30,000 to the threshold, watch Contracts Finder and the e-sourcing portals of your target buyers;
- above the threshold, Find a Tender carries everything, and TED carries the Irish notices.
The permanent thresholds page carries the same table and is updated at each revision. The next one is due on 1 January 2028. Scoutee uses these thresholds to classify notices by the regime that applies to them.
Sources
- The Procurement Act 2023 (Threshold Amounts) (Amendment) Regulations 2025, SI 2025/1200
- Procurement Act 2023, Schedule 1
- New public procurement thresholds from 1 January 2026, Blake Morgan
- New UK public procurement thresholds from 1 January 2026, Bird & Bird
- European Commission, Thresholds
- Find a Tender
- Public Contracts Scotland
- eTenders, Ireland