# How to read a tender notice > The parts of a tender notice explained: buyer, CPV and NUTS codes, lots, procedure, deadlines and time zones, value, award criteria, documents and changes. *Guide · 6 min read. Published 23 October 2026. Last reviewed 23 October 2026. Bandpey GmbH.* EU-wide tender notices share one structure, the eForms standard. Once you know what each part means, you can check the essentials quickly and know which documents to open next. ## One structure: eForms Since 25 October 2023, notices for EU-wide procurement procedures have had to use eForms ([Federal Procurement Office](https://www.bescha.bund.de/e-Vergabe/DE/4%20Vergabestellen/Informationen-zu-eForms/artikel_eForms.html)). The standard forms are set by [Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/1780](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32019R1780): planning, competition, direct award prenotification, result, contract modification and change. Each form is a set of defined fields, called business terms, with a short code such as BT-131 for the time limit for receipt of tenders. Germany uses a national version, [eForms-DE](https://xeinkauf.de/eforms-de/), and its central notice service takes in notices in that format both above and below the EU thresholds ([Datenservice Öffentlicher Einkauf](https://www.bescha.bund.de/DE/E-Beschaffung/Datenservice/Oeffentlicher-Einkauf_node.html)). Portals show the fields in their own layout and wording, but the content underneath is the same. ## Who is buying what - **Buyer**: The official name of the organisation (BT-500) and its contact details. - **Title and description**: The name of the procedure or lot (BT-21) and a description of what is bought or which needs must be met (BT-24). The description is a summary; the detail is in the technical specifications. - **Main nature**: Works, supplies or services (BT-23). For mixed procurement, the main nature may be, for example, the part with the highest estimated value. - **CPV codes**: The Common Procurement Vocabulary classifies the subject ([Regulation (EC) No 213/2008](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32008R0213)). A code has eight digits and a check digit: the first two digits give the division, three the group, four the class and five the category. 72000000-5 is “IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support”, and 72220000-3, “Systems and technical consultancy services”, sits below it. A notice has one main code (BT-262) and may add others (BT-263). - **NUTS codes**: The place of performance uses the EU’s [NUTS classification](https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/nuts) of regions, and eForms asks for the NUTS 3 code (BT-5071). In NUTS 2024, DE2 is Bayern, DE21 Oberbayern and DE212 the city of München. The place of performance can differ from the buyer’s address. Two buyers may classify similar work under different CPV codes, so a search on one code can miss relevant notices. Search at the group or class level too, and read the description. ## Lots, procedure and value A buyer may divide a contract into **lots** and must say whether you can bid for one, several or all of them ([Directive 2014/24/EU, Article 46](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32014L0024)). Titles, descriptions, codes and submission terms can differ from lot to lot, so read the lot you are interested in, not only the summary at the top. The procedure type (BT-105) tells you how the competition runs. EU law provides the open procedure, the restricted procedure, the competitive procedure with negotiation, the competitive dialogue and the innovation partnership (Article 26). In an open procedure any interested company may submit a tender. In a restricted procedure you first request to participate, and only the candidates the buyer selects are invited to tender, so the first time limit is for requests, not for tenders. The estimated value (BT-27) is optional. Where it is given, it is the estimated maximum value at the time of the call; for a framework agreement it covers all contracts over its whole duration, including options and renewals. It is the buyer’s estimate, not a promise of the amount the buyer orders. ## Deadlines and time zones - Time limit for receipt of requests to participate (BT-1311), in procedures with a first selection stage. - Time limit for receipt of tenders (BT-131). - Time limit for requesting additional information (BT-13): the last point for questions to the buyer. - Tender validity (BT-98): how long your tender must remain valid after the submission deadline. In eForms, dates and times carry their offset from UTC: 13:38:54+01:00 means 13:38 Central European Time ([eForms schema documentation](https://docs.ted.europa.eu/eforms/latest/schema/all-in-one.html)). Germany is on UTC+1 in winter and UTC+2 in summer. If a page shows a deadline without a time zone, check the original notice before you plan around it. Deadlines can move. The buyer must extend the time limit for tenders if significant changes are made to the procurement documents, or if additional information requested in good time is not supplied at least six days before the deadline ([Article 47(3)](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32014L0024)). Tenders that arrive late are not accepted ([Your Europe](https://europa.eu/youreurope/business/selling-in-eu/public-contracts/search-bid-public-tender/index_en.htm)). ## Award criteria and documents Contracts go to the most economically advantageous tender, assessed on price or cost alone or on the best price-quality ratio. Each award criterion in the notice has a name and is marked as price, cost or quality (BT-539). The relative weighting of the criteria must be stated in the procurement documents, unless price alone decides ([Article 67](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32014L0024)). The notice must give the internet address of the procurement documents, and the buyer must offer free, unrestricted, full and direct electronic access to them from the day the notice is published ([Article 53](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32014L0024)). In eForms this is the documents URL (BT-15): for most notices it should lead to the exact page with the documents, without registration. If access to some documents is restricted, the notice says so (BT-14) and points to information on how to get them. Language matters too. The notice is published in full in the language or languages the buyer chose, and only those versions are authentic; the other official EU languages get a summary (Article 51(3)). ## Changes, corrections and results A published notice is corrected with a **change notice**. It reproduces the whole notice with the changes applied and adds a change section: which sections changed, the main reason (BT-140), an optional description (BT-141), and whether and when the procurement documents changed (BT-718, BT-719). The change notice has its own notice identifier ([TED developer documentation](https://docs.ted.europa.eu/eforms/latest/schema/change-notice.html)). The procedure identifier (BT-04) is meant to appear in every published version of a notice, on TED and on national or regional portals. Use it to connect a notice with its changes and later results, and always read the latest version. A change with the reason “notice cancelled” makes a notice void, but does not cancel the procedure itself ([eForms FAQ](https://docs.ted.europa.eu/eforms-common/FAQ/index.html)). Once the contract is concluded, the buyer sends a contract award notice for publication no later than 30 days afterwards ([Article 50](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32014L0024)). > This guide describes the standard fields and is not legal advice. The rules for a procedure are in its notice, its documents and the legal basis the notice names. Inteliwert reads these fields and shows them on one page per opportunity, each linked to the official notice with the time it was last checked. [Search the notices](https://inteliwert.com/search). The official notice remains the version that counts. ## Sources - [Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/1780 (eForms)](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32019R1780): the standard forms and their fields. - [Federal Procurement Office: eForms](https://www.bescha.bund.de/e-Vergabe/DE/4%20Vergabestellen/Informationen-zu-eForms/artikel_eForms.html): eForms mandatory for EU-wide procedures since 25 October 2023. - [Datenservice Öffentlicher Einkauf](https://www.bescha.bund.de/DE/E-Beschaffung/Datenservice/Oeffentlicher-Einkauf_node.html) and [eForms-DE](https://xeinkauf.de/eforms-de/): the German notice service and format. - [Regulation (EC) No 213/2008 (CPV)](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32008R0213): the structure of CPV codes and the code list. - [Eurostat: NUTS](https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/nuts): the classification of territorial units for statistics. - [Directive 2014/24/EU on public procurement](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32014L0024): procedures, lots, time limits, documents, award criteria, notices. - [TED developer documentation: eForms schema](https://docs.ted.europa.eu/eforms/latest/schema/all-in-one.html): dates, times and UTC offsets. - [TED developer documentation: change notice](https://docs.ted.europa.eu/eforms/latest/schema/change-notice.html) and [eForms FAQ](https://docs.ted.europa.eu/eforms-common/FAQ/index.html): changes and cancellations. - [Your Europe: search and bid for a public contract](https://europa.eu/youreurope/business/selling-in-eu/public-contracts/search-bid-public-tender/index_en.htm): taking part and submission deadlines. --- Page: https://inteliwert.com/guides/reading-a-tender-notice Inteliwert is a product of Bandpey GmbH, an international data and AI software company in Munich, Germany, founded and led by Roozbeh Bandpey. Bandpey's products: Facthory, Emolysis, Copolly and Inteliwert. Inteliwert on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/intelliwert, GitHub: https://github.com/inteliwertai.