The open procedure

The open procedure is the standard procedure above the EU thresholds. Any interested company may submit a bid, and there is no preselection. For you, it is the procedure with the easiest access and, at the same time, the most competition.

The process

1. Contract notice. The contracting authority publishes the contract EU-wide in the EU's Official Journal (TED). From this point on, the tender documents are available in full, electronically and free of charge.
2. Bid deadline. At least 35 days, or 30 days for electronic submission. With a prior information notice or in cases of urgency, 15 days are possible.
3. Bidder questions. You clarify any ambiguities via the procurement portal. The answers go to all bidders and become part of the documents.
4. Opening of bids. This takes place after the deadline has expired. Late bids must be excluded.
5. Review and evaluation. Formal review, suitability assessment, review of the appropriateness of the price, evaluation against the published award criteria.
6. Notification and contract award. The unsuccessful bidders are notified under Section 134 of the Act against Restraints of Competition (GWB). The contract may only be awarded after the standstill period has expired: ten calendar days for electronic transmission, fifteen for transmission by post.

New since July 2026: bid review before suitability assessment

Section 42 of the Public Procurement Regulation (VgV) now provides that, in the open procedure, the bids are reviewed before suitability. This sounds technical but has a practical consequence: the contracting authority first sees which bids are actually in contention and then assesses suitability only for those. Together with the priority given to self-declarations under Section 122(3) GWB, this reduces the effort for all bidders whose bid would not make the shortlist anyway.

Also new in Section 42 VgV: young companies as well as small and medium-sized enterprises are to be given appropriate consideration, without the contracting authority having to justify this separately.

There are no negotiations

The most important difference from the negotiated procedure: the content of the bids may not be negotiated. Your bid is what you compete with. There is no second round in which you can make improvements, and no price negotiation.

Only clarification discussions about the content of a bid are permitted, for example if an item is unclear. These discussions must not lead to the bid being changed.

Abnormally low bids

If your price is significantly below the others, the contracting authority must request an explanation before it rejects the bid. You are given the opportunity to explain your pricing, for example through favourable procurement channels, a special manufacturing process or state aid.

A tightening since July 2026: Section 60(3) VgV has been changed from a "may" provision into a "should" provision. If the bidder cannot satisfactorily explain the low price, the bid should be rejected. The contracting authority's discretion has therefore become narrower.

Where your opportunities lie

In the open procedure, you are potentially competing with everyone. As soon as quality criteria count alongside the price, this is exactly where your opportunity lies: the care taken in preparing the bid then makes the difference, and a thoroughly prepared bid helps you stand out.

So check the award criteria and their weighting first. If they include a quality share of forty or fifty per cent, the effort for a well thought-out concept is worthwhile. If the price is the sole criterion, your cost structure decides, and you should then honestly assess whether you can keep up before you invest time.