Tender documents

The tender documents, called associated tender documents in the Procurement Act 2023 and often issued as an invitation to tender pack, are everything a public buyer makes available so that firms can prepare a bid. They describe the requirement, the rules of the tender exercise, the contract conditions and the way prices must be presented.

How it works

The pack is published at the same time as the tender notice, or issued on request for the lightest exercises. It is downloaded free of charge from the e-tendering portal linked from the notice: Find a Tender and Contracts Finder carry the notice and point to the portal, as do Public Contracts Scotland, Sell2Wales, eTendersNI and Ireland's eTenders. UK buyers must make the documents available electronically and without charge from the moment the notice is published, with limited exceptions.

A typical pack contains:

• the instructions to tenderers, which set the closing date, the documents required and the award criteria;
• the form of tender, by which the bidder commits to its offer;
• the contract conditions, whether a standard form such as NEC, JCT or the Irish public works contracts, or the buyer's own terms, plus any special conditions;
• the specification or output-based requirement;
• the pricing documents: schedule of rates, priced schedule with notional quantities or pricing breakdown depending on how the price is built;
• often drawings, surveys, TUPE information, and a response template for the quality submission.

For a small purchase the pack runs to a few pages. For a major works contract it is dozens of files.

What it means for a bidder

The pack is the only reliable basis for a bid. Download it while logged in to the portal rather than anonymously: that is how you receive corrigenda and the answers given to other bidders' questions.

Read the instructions to tenderers first, then the specification. Identify the mandatory documents, the word limits on quality answers and the award criteria. Note the tender deadline and the clarification deadline, which is usually several days earlier. An incomplete bid can be rejected unread.

If a document is missing or contradicts another, ask in writing through the portal. The answer is issued to all bidders and becomes part of the pack.

Example

Val Ansel Council publishes a below-threshold tender for grounds maintenance, estimated at £150,000 including VAT over three years. The pack has eight files: instructions to tenderers, form of tender, contract conditions, specification, schedule of rates, priced schedule, a site plan and a quality response template. A landscaping firm downloads it, spots that the plan omits two sites named in the specification and asks the question. The council issues a corrigendum with a corrected plan and pushes the deadline back five days.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to pay for the tender documents?

No. Access is free and direct through the portal. Only very large files, such as full drawing sets, are occasionally supplied another way.

Can I amend the documents in my bid?

No. The pack binds bidders. You may only offer a variant where the instructions to tenderers allow it.

What if the pack changes during the exercise?

The buyer issues a corrigendum and, where the change is material, extends the deadline. Always check you are working from the latest version.

Related terms

• Instructions to tenderers
• Specification
• Special contract conditions
• E-tendering portal
• Written quality response

Scoutee can alert you as soon as a notice matching your activity is published with its tender pack.