Planned procurement notice
A planned procurement notice announces a UK contract months before it is tendered, and can shorten the tendering period. Why it matters for advance preparation.
Updated on September 5, 2026
A planned procurement notice is a notice by which a contracting authority announces, well before it advertises, a contract it intends to award. It opens no competition and calls for no response. It informs the market and, in exchange, allows the authority to shorten the tendering period of the procurement that follows.
How it works
Under the Procurement Act 2023 the planned procurement notice is notice type UK3, published on the central digital platform. It describes the intended contract: subject matter, CPV codes, estimated value, expected timing, likely division into lots, and the authority's contact point.
It is voluntary. Its practical value to the authority is that a qualifying planned procurement notice, published far enough ahead of the tender notice and not more than a year before it, lets the authority run a materially shorter tendering period afterwards. The notice must state that it is a qualifying notice for that to apply.
Alongside it sits the pipeline notice, type UK1, which larger contracting authorities must publish to set out the significant contracts they expect to advertise in the period ahead. A pipeline notice is broader and less committed than a planned procurement notice, but for a supplier it serves the same purpose: months of warning. In Ireland the equivalent is the prior information notice published on eTenders and, above the EU thresholds, on TED; a periodic indicative notice plays the same role for utilities and can itself be a call for competition.
What it means for a bidder
These notices are the anticipation tool. They tell you months ahead that a contract relevant to you is coming, which is time you can spend assembling references, lining up a consortium partner, obtaining an accreditation or adding capacity. It is also the window in which market sounding is still possible, before the competition formally starts and the shutters come down on contact with the buyer.
The flip side is that the procurement itself may then move fast. When the tendering period is shortened on the strength of a qualifying notice, a supplier who first hears about the contract when the tender notice appears has very little time. Monitoring that includes planned procurement and pipeline notices avoids exactly that situation.
Example
In February a county council publishes a planned procurement notice for the autumn renewal of its home-to-school transport contract for pupils with additional needs, valued at about £2.4 million including VAT over four years and split into lots by area. A twelve-vehicle accessible transport operator sees it and uses the spring to buy a further vehicle and find a partner for a second lot. When the tender notice appears in September with a shortened tendering period, its bid is already drafted.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to respond?
No. It calls for no expression of interest and no tender. It informs, and it earns the authority a shorter timetable later.
Is the authority committed to running the procurement?
No. It reflects an intention. The project can be delayed, redesigned or dropped with no consequence.
Where do I find these notices?
On Find a Tender for the UK, on eTenders and TED for Ireland, and on the devolved portals. Scoutee can alert you as soon as a planned procurement notice matching your business is published.