Searching for tenders by CPV code: how the classification works

What CPV codes are

The Common Procurement Vocabulary is the EU's classification system for public contracts. Every contract notice carries at least one nine-digit code that describes the service. The first two digits denote the division, for example 45 for construction work, and each further digit refines it: 45210000 is building construction, 45233120 is road construction. The legal basis is Regulation (EC) No 213/2008.

The largest areas in figures

This is how the EU-wide calls for competition with Germany as the place of performance are distributed across the largest CPV divisions over twelve months:

Source: the EU's Official Journal (TED), own analysis, as of October 2026. A contract notice can be assigned to several divisions.

How to search with CPV codes

Never search for a single nine-digit code alone, but for the matching branch: anyone offering road construction searches for 45233 with all sub-codes, not just 45233120. In TED and most portals this works with the wildcard, for example 45233*.

Note the codes from procedures that you have won or would have liked to win. This list of five to fifteen branches is the core of every good search profile.

Two points that complete your search

Misclassified procedures: contracting authorities assign the codes themselves and regularly assign them incorrectly. A window cleaning contract may be hidden under building cleaning, facility management or even caretaker services. That is why every CPV search should be paired with a keyword search as a second net.

Codes that are too narrow: anyone who subscribes only to their own specialist code will not see the lots contained in larger procedures. An electrical lot in a building construction procedure often carries only the building construction code.