A supplier's guide to Find a Tender, the UK's central procurement platform

A supplier's guide to Find a Tender, the UK's central procurement platform

Find a Tender has around 14,800 searches per month. Most of those searches are for live tender notices. That is the smallest commercially useful fraction of what the platform actually contains.

Find a Tender has around 14,800 searches per month. Most of those searches are for live tender notices. That is the smallest commercially useful fraction of what the platform actually contains.

Since 24 February 2025, Find a Tender has been the central digital platform for all regulated UK public procurement under the Procurement Act 2023. It carries not just tender notices but the full sequence of procurement notices from planning through to contract award and payment, including pipeline notices published up to 18 months before a tender exists, preliminary market engagement notices inviting suppliers to shape specifications, and contract award notices that tell you who won, at what value, and for how long.

Since 24 February 2025, Find a Tender has been the central digital platform for all regulated UK public procurement under the Procurement Act 2023. It carries not just tender notices but the full sequence of procurement notices from planning through to contract award and payment, including pipeline notices published up to 18 months before a tender exists, preliminary market engagement notices inviting suppliers to shape specifications, and contract award notices that tell you who won, at what value, and for how long.

A supplier using Find a Tender only to search for live tenders is using around 20% of the platform's commercial value.

A supplier using Find a Tender only to search for live tenders is using around 20% of the platform's commercial value.

What Find a Tender is and what it replaced

Find a Tender (sometimes called FTS, the Find a Tender Service) is the UK government's central digital platform for public sector procurement notices. It is available at: find-tender.service.gov.uk and is free to search without registration.

Find a Tender (sometimes called FTS, the Find a Tender Service) is the UK government's central digital platform for public sector procurement notices. It is available at: find-tender.service.gov.uk and is free to search without registration.

It replaced the requirement to publish procurement notices in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) after Brexit, initially operating under the previous Public Contracts Regulations 2015. Since 24 February 2025, it has been the publication point for all notices under the Procurement Act 2023.

It replaced the requirement to publish procurement notices in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) after Brexit, initially operating under the previous Public Contracts Regulations 2015. Since 24 February 2025, it has been the publication point for all notices under the Procurement Act 2023.

From that date, Find a Tender carries both above-threshold and, for English buyers, below-threshold opportunities in a single place. Contracts Finder continues to carry legacy records from before February 2025 and remains relevant for historical award data. For new procurements starting from February 2025, Find a Tender is the primary source.

From that date, Find a Tender carries both above-threshold and, for English buyers, below-threshold opportunities in a single place. Contracts Finder continues to carry legacy records from before February 2025 and remains relevant for historical award data. For new procurements starting from February 2025, Find a Tender is the primary source.

The 17 notice types on Find a Tender and what they mean for suppliers

Under the Procurement Act 2023, Find a Tender uses 17 standardised UK notice types covering the full procurement lifecycle, from pipeline planning through to contract termination and dynamic market management.

Under the Procurement Act 2023, Find a Tender uses 17 standardised UK notice types covering the full procurement lifecycle, from pipeline planning through to contract termination and dynamic market management.

Alongside these sit legacy F-series notices for older EU-era procurements and T-series notices for healthcare services procured under the Provider Selection Regime. Most suppliers only monitor for the tender notice (UK4). Here is what all the notice types mean commercially.

Alongside these sit legacy F-series notices for older EU-era procurements and T-series notices for healthcare services procured under the Provider Selection Regime. Most suppliers only monitor for the tender notice (UK4). Here is what all the notice types mean commercially.

1. UK1: Pipeline notice Published annually by contracting authorities that expect to spend more than £100 million on contracts in the coming financial year. Lists planned procurements above £2 million, covering the next 18 months. The most valuable early signal for forward-looking commercial planning. (GCA)
2. UK2: Preliminary market engagement notice Published when a buyer is conducting or has conducted market engagement before writing a specification. A prospective UK2 is an invitation to influence a requirement before it is formally defined. See our full guide to how to respond to a preliminary market engagement notice.
3. UK3: Planned procurement notice Signals that a specific procurement is imminent, giving suppliers advance notice to prepare. Published after the pipeline notice but before the formal tender. Can reduce the minimum tendering period to 10 days if published between 40 days and 12 months before the UK4.
4. UK4: Tender notice The live opportunity with a submission deadline. By the time this appears, the specification is written and the evaluation criteria are set. Responding at this stage without prior engagement means competing against suppliers who engaged earlier.
5. UK5: Transparency notice Published when a buyer intends to award a contract directly without a competitive process, including direct awards and some framework call-offs. For suppliers, a UK5 in your category tells you a buyer is about to make a direct award. It is the notice that makes non-competitive procurement visible.
6. UK6: Contract award notice Published before a contract is entered into, recording the buyer's intention to award. Contains the winning supplier, contract value, term, and start and end dates. Commercially this is expiry date data — a UK6 with a three-year term and an award date in 2024 tells you the contract expires in 2027 and the buyer will be in the market again before then.
7. UK7: Contract details notice Published within 30 days of contract signature, both above and below threshold. Covers contracts awarded without prior publication including framework call-offs and direct awards. These are the contracts that never appeared as a tender notice. The UK7 tells you what was awarded without competition and to whom.
8. UK8: Contract payment notice Published quarterly for contracts above £30,000 commenced after 1 April 2026, under Section 70 of the Procurement Act. Records actual payments made under public contracts on the central digital platform. For suppliers, this is structured spend transparency data — more consistent than the monthly spend returns published individually by NHS organisations and councils.
9. UK9: Contract performance notice Published during contract delivery, recording performance against the KPIs set at award. A UK9 showing an incumbent performing poorly against published criteria is a signal that the re-procurement, when it comes, may be genuinely open to challenge.
10. UK10: Contract change notice Published when a buyer makes a material change to an existing contract — an extension, a rescoping, or a repricing. A UK10 in your category tells you an incumbent relationship is evolving, and sometimes signals a contract that will be re-tendered earlier than the original end date suggested.
11. UK11: Contract termination notice Published within 30 days of a contract ending, including where it ends successfully on completion. For suppliers tracking renewals, a UK11 confirms a contract has concluded and the buyer will be in the market. It is the confirmation that an expiry date on a renewal calendar has arrived.
12. UK12: Procurement termination notice Published when a buyer cancels a procurement after a UK4 tender notice or UK5 transparency notice, where a contract has not yet been signed. A UK12 in your category tells you a planned opportunity has been withdrawn — occasionally a signal that the requirement is being re-scoped before re-procurement.
13. UK13: Dynamic market intention notice Published when a buyer intends to establish a dynamic market. The first signal that a new open-entry procurement route is being created in a specific category.
14. UK14: Dynamic market establishment notice Published when a dynamic market is open and accepting supplier applications. The equivalent of a framework re-let notice — the window is open, and suppliers can apply to join.
15. UK15: Dynamic market modification notice Published when the rules, scope, or terms of an existing dynamic market change. Suppliers already admitted should check whether changes affect their position or require updated evidence.
16. UK16: Dynamic market cessation notice Published when a dynamic market closes permanently. Tells the market that call-offs through this route are ending and buyers will need to move to an alternative procurement route.
17. UK17: Payments compliance notice Related to payment reporting and compliance obligations under the Act. Published by contracting authorities in connection with their payment performance data and obligations.
18. T01/T02: Prior information and information notices Legacy notice types for procurements under the Provider Selection Regime for healthcare services. These appear alongside the Procurement Act notice types and follow different rules. For healthcare service suppliers, filtering for T01 and T02 notices is as important as filtering for UK notices. See our guide to what is the Provider Selection Regime.

How to search Find a Tender effectively

Search by CPV code, not just keyword

Search by CPV code, not just keyword

Keywords are inconsistent. Buyers describe the same type of service in dozens of different ways. CPV codes are standardised. A search filtered to your relevant CPV codes returns all notices in that category regardless of the language the buyer used in the title or description. Start with CPV code searches and supplement with keywords, not the reverse. For a guide to finding the right codes, see our article on what CPV codes are and how suppliers use them.

Keywords are inconsistent. Buyers describe the same type of service in dozens of different ways. CPV codes are standardised. A search filtered to your relevant CPV codes returns all notices in that category regardless of the language the buyer used in the title or description. Start with CPV code searches and supplement with keywords, not the reverse. For a guide to finding the right codes, see our article on what CPV codes are and how suppliers use them.

Filter by notice type

Filter by notice type

The default search returns all notice types. For pipeline monitoring, filter to UK1 and UK2 to see early-stage signals. For competitive intelligence, filter to UK6 and UK7 to see award data. For live opportunities, filter to UK4. Running separate filtered searches is more efficient than reading all notice types in a single results list.

The default search returns all notice types. For pipeline monitoring, filter to UK1 and UK2 to see early-stage signals. For competitive intelligence, filter to UK6 and UK7 to see award data. For live opportunities, filter to UK4. Running separate filtered searches is more efficient than reading all notice types in a single results list.

Search by buyer organisation

Search by buyer organisation

For target accounts, search by buyer name to return all notice types published by that specific organisation. This tells you everything they have published: pipeline notices, market engagement, live tenders, and past awards, in one view. Combining a buyer-name search with a CPV code filter returns all notices from that buyer in your specific category.

For target accounts, search by buyer name to return all notice types published by that specific organisation. This tells you everything they have published: pipeline notices, market engagement, live tenders, and past awards, in one view. Combining a buyer-name search with a CPV code filter returns all notices from that buyer in your specific category.

Save searches and set up alerts

Save searches and set up alerts

Find a Tender allows registered users to save searches and receive email alerts when new notices match their criteria. Registration is via GOV.UK One Login and is free. Setting up saved searches for your CPV codes and target buyers means relevant notices arrive by email rather than requiring manual monitoring.

Find a Tender allows registered users to save searches and receive email alerts when new notices match their criteria. Registration is via GOV.UK One Login and is free. Setting up saved searches for your CPV codes and target buyers means relevant notices arrive by email rather than requiring manual monitoring.

What Find a Tender does not tell you

Find a Tender is the most comprehensive single source of regulated UK procurement notices. It is not a complete picture of the market.

Find a Tender is the most comprehensive single source of regulated UK procurement notices. It is not a complete picture of the market.

Framework call-offs below the threshold that generates a UK7 notice often produce no visible record on Find a Tender. NHS spend transparency data, published monthly by NHS organisations, captures invoice-level payments that do not generate any procurement notice. Board papers and strategy documents describe procurement intentions that predate any notice by months. Contract expiry dates are in the award data but require extraction and calculation.

Framework call-offs below the threshold that generates a UK7 notice often produce no visible record on Find a Tender. NHS spend transparency data, published monthly by NHS organisations, captures invoice-level payments that do not generate any procurement notice. Board papers and strategy documents describe procurement intentions that predate any notice by months. Contract expiry dates are in the award data but require extraction and calculation.

The commercial picture a supplier needs, which buyers are actively spending in their category, who holds the contracts, when those contracts expire, and what is being planned before any notice is published, requires combining Find a Tender data with spend transparency data, framework documentation, and board-level signals. See our guides to what NHS spend data tells you about where to sell next and what is pre-tender intelligence for how to build that combined picture.

The commercial picture a supplier needs, which buyers are actively spending in their category, who holds the contracts, when those contracts expire, and what is being planned before any notice is published, requires combining Find a Tender data with spend transparency data, framework documentation, and board-level signals. See our guides to what NHS spend data tells you about where to sell next and what is pre-tender intelligence for how to build that combined picture.

How to register on Find a Tender as a supplier

Registration isn’t required to search or set up alerts. To register:

Registration isn’t required to search or set up alerts. To register:

Go to find-tender.service.gov.uk and select Create Account, using GOV.UK One Login. Create an organisation account and add your company's details. Once registered, you can save searches and set up alerts.

Go to find-tender.service.gov.uk and select Create Account, using GOV.UK One Login. Create an organisation account and add your company's details. Once registered, you can save searches and set up alerts.

For tender responses, note that Find a Tender is where opportunities are published, not where bids are submitted. Each procurement is run through the buyer’s own e-tendering portal (for example Atamis, Jaggaer, Delta eSourcing or In-Tend), and the notice will direct you to the correct submission platform. Under the Procurement Act 2023, suppliers also need to register on Find a Tender’s Central Digital Platform, separately from any buyer portal.

For tender responses, note that Find a Tender is where opportunities are published, not where bids are submitted. Each procurement is run through the buyer’s own e-tendering portal (for example Atamis, Jaggaer, Delta eSourcing or In-Tend), and the notice will direct you to the correct submission platform. Under the Procurement Act 2023, suppliers also need to register on Find a Tender’s Central Digital Platform, separately from any buyer portal.

Using Find a Tender as part of a systematic commercial process

Find a Tender is a tool, not a strategy. A supplier who uses it only to monitor for live tenders is building a pipeline that starts at the competition stage. A supplier who uses it to monitor pipeline notices, preliminary market engagement, and award data, combined with spend data and board paper signals, is building a pipeline that starts 12 to 18 months earlier.

Find a Tender is a tool, not a strategy. A supplier who uses it only to monitor for live tenders is building a pipeline that starts at the competition stage. A supplier who uses it to monitor pipeline notices, preliminary market engagement, and award data, combined with spend data and board paper signals, is building a pipeline that starts 12 to 18 months earlier.

The discipline for doing that systematically is covered in our article on what is pre-tender intelligence and our guide to how to build an NHS pipeline that doesn't depend on tender alerts.

The discipline for doing that systematically is covered in our article on what is pre-tender intelligence and our guide to how to build an NHS pipeline that doesn't depend on tender alerts.

Find a Tender tells you what has been published. Arcamus tells you what is coming — which buyers are planning to spend in your category, which contracts are approaching expiry, and where procurement decisions are being shaped before any notice exists. See what's coming before it reaches Find a Tender.

Find a Tender tells you what has been published. Arcamus tells you what is coming — which buyers are planning to spend in your category, which contracts are approaching expiry, and where procurement decisions are being shaped before any notice exists. See what's coming before it reaches Find a Tender.