Selection stage and conditions of participation
In a multi-stage UK tender, suppliers are first judged on capability against conditions of participation. What is asked, how shortlists work, and how to pass.
Updated on September 5, 2026
The selection stage is the first round of a public procurement run in more than one phase: interested suppliers submit evidence of their capability, and the buyer decides which of them go through to tender. No price is asked for at this point.
How it works
Under the Procurement Act 2023 there is no separate "restricted procedure". Instead, a buyer designs its own multi-stage competitive flexible procedure and may include as many selection or refinement rounds as it needs, including rounds involving negotiation, a dialogue or a demonstration. The tender notice must describe the procedure, the rounds, and any limit on the number of suppliers carried forward from each one.
What the buyer may ask is constrained. Conditions of participation must relate to legal and financial capacity or technical ability, and must be a proportionate means of checking that a supplier can perform the contract. The Act specifically restricts requirements for audited accounts from suppliers not legally obliged to produce them, and restricts insurance being required before award rather than as a condition of performance. Exclusion grounds, ownership and connected-person information are declared once through the supplier information service on the central digital platform rather than retyped in each bid.
Suppliers that fail to meet a stated condition are excluded. The rest are ranked against the published selection criteria to produce the shortlist, and only those shortlisted receive the invitation to tender and the full tender documents. Ireland and Scotland still use the classic restricted procedure, where a shortlist must normally contain at least five candidates.
What it means for a bidder
At this stage you are judged on what you have done, not on what you propose. Choose references that are close in subject matter and in size, describe them precisely, and back them with evidence: client references, completion certificates, named contacts.
If your own capacity falls short, rely on a consortium partner or a subcontractor, and show that you will genuinely have their resources at your disposal. The commonest reason for elimination remains an incomplete submission: read the list of required evidence line by line before you press submit.
Example
An NHS trust runs a multi-stage procedure for maintenance of its imaging equipment, worth around £1.1 million including VAT over four years. The selection stage requires three comparable medical imaging contracts in the past five years and evidence of insurance cover. Eleven suppliers apply, two fail on references, and five are invited to tender.
Frequently asked questions
Do I quote a price at the selection stage?
No. Pricing and the quality response come at the next stage, after the shortlist is settled.
Can the buyer ask for something it did not announce?
No. The requirements are set out in the tender notice and associated documents and cannot be widened once the procurement is under way.
How many suppliers are shortlisted?
Whatever number the tender notice states. Under the Act there is no fixed statutory minimum, so read the notice; in Ireland the minimum of five still applies.