Procurement thresholds

Procurement thresholds are the contract values at which a public buyer has to move from a light, self-designed process to a fully regulated one. The higher the estimated value, the heavier the rules: no advertising at all at the bottom, a published notice next, then the full above-threshold regime with its notices on Find a Tender, fixed minimum periods and a standstill before signature.

How it works

In England, Wales and Northern Ireland the figures come from the Procurement Act 2023, updated every two years to track the World Trade Organisation Government Procurement Agreement. Unusually, and unlike everywhere in the European Union, the UK figures include VAT. The current set applies to procurements started on or after 1 January 2026 (verified 2026-09-05, the Procurement Act 2023 (Threshold Amounts) (Amendment) Regulations 2025).

UK thresholds, from 1 January 2026

Below those figures, Part 6 of the Act creates a lighter regime for what it calls notifiable below-threshold contracts: from £12,000 for central government authorities and £30,000 for everyone else, including devolved Welsh authorities, a buyer that advertises the opportunity must first publish a below-threshold tender notice, which reaches suppliers through Find a Tender, followed by a contract details notice after the contract is entered into. A contract details notice is also required for a notifiable contract awarded without prior advertisement. Under those levels it can simply seek quotes within its own standing orders.

Scotland runs a parallel system. Its full-regime thresholds, in regulation 5 of the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015, were amended on 1 January 2026 to the same VAT-inclusive amounts as above. Below them, section 3 of the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 makes a contract a regulated procurement from £50,000 for goods and services and £2,000,000 for works, calculated excluding VAT, and every regulated procurement must be advertised on Public Contracts Scotland.

EU thresholds for Ireland, 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2027

Ireland still applies the EU directives, so its thresholds are in euro and exclude VAT.

Above these, the notice goes to the Official Journal through TED as well as to eTenders. Below them, Irish public bodies apply national advertising thresholds set by the Office of Government Procurement, well under the EU figures, above which the opportunity must appear on eTenders; the current values are published there.

The value to compare with a threshold is the estimated total value of the requirement over its whole life, including extensions, options and repeats. Splitting a requirement into parts to stay under a threshold is prohibited; dividing it into lots to widen competition is not.

What it means for a bidder

Thresholds tell you where to look and how heavy the process will be. Under the notification levels, contracts are placed on quotes, so direct contact with buyers matters more than monitoring notices. Between those levels and the main thresholds, below-threshold procedures are advertised but short: a few weeks, a simple questionnaire, sometimes a negotiation. Above the thresholds the process is longer and more formal, but every notice is on Find a Tender or eTenders and easy to track.

For an SME the below-threshold band is usually the most accessible ground: shorter documents, local buyers, faster decisions.

Example

A district council wants to refurnish its library and estimates the requirement at £60,000 including VAT in May 2026. That is above the £30,000 notification level and far below £207,720, so it publishes a below-threshold tender notice, sets a three-week deadline and awards on price and quality. Had the requirement been £250,000, it would have had to publish a full tender notice on Find a Tender and observe the standstill period before signing.

Frequently asked questions

Do the thresholds include VAT?

In the United Kingdom, yes, and that catches out bidders used to the EU rules. In Ireland the EU thresholds exclude VAT, as does the Scottish valuation rule.

Can a buyer do more than the threshold requires?

Yes. A threshold is a floor, not a ceiling. Many councils advertise everything above a few thousand pounds and run full competitions well below the regulated level.

Which threshold applies to an NHS trust or a university?

NHS trusts and NHS foundation trusts are central government authorities under Schedule 1 of the Act and Schedule 2 of the Procurement Regulations 2024, so the £135,018 figure applies to them; a university is sub-central, at £207,720. NHS clinical services usually fall under the light touch threshold instead.

Related terms

• Below-threshold procurement
• Above-threshold procurement
• Find a Tender and the national portals
• Find a Tender, the OJEU and TED
• Public procurement (commande publique)

Scoutee monitors notices at every level, from council portals to Find a Tender and eTenders.

Part 6 has exceptions, including schools, utilities and concessions, and generally does not apply to transferred Northern Ireland authorities. Check the Cabinet Office guidance on below-threshold contracts for the applicable scope and notice duties (checked 9 September 2026).