Procurement below the thresholds

The greater part of public contracts lies below the EU thresholds, and it is here that the market takes place, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises. The rules are simpler than above the thresholds but harder to keep track of, because the federal government, the federal states and local authorities apply different requirements.

Which rules apply

Below the thresholds, there is no procurement law that applies uniformly across Germany. What matters is who is awarding the contract and what is being procured.

• Construction works: Construction Contract Procedures (VOB/A), Division 1, widely applied by the federal government, the federal states and local authorities.
• Supplies and services of the federal government: Sub-threshold Procurement Regulation (UVgO) in conjunction with the Federal Budget Code (BHO).
• Supplies and services of the federal states and local authorities: depending on the state, the UVgO, still the Contract Procedures for Supplies and Services (VOL/A) or the state's own regulations. The extent to which the UVgO has been introduced differs across the sixteen federal states.

In addition, there are state procurement laws with their own requirements, for example on collective agreement compliance, minimum pay or sustainability, and municipal procurement rules with their own value limits.

The types of procedure

New value limits in construction since January 2026

For construction works under VOB/A Division 1, significantly raised value limits have applied since 1 January 2026. The basis is the notice issued by the Federal Ministry for Housing, Urban Development and Building on 24 November 2025.

All values are net. For bidding companies, this cuts both ways. On the positive side: if you are among the companies approached, you can win contracts without an elaborate procedure. At the same time, a larger share of contracts is no longer publicly announced. Those on the procurement office's list hear about them directly.

Legal protection: asking early pays off

Below the thresholds, there are no review proceedings before the public procurement tribunal (Vergabekammer). You cannot challenge an award decision with an application for review, and there is no automatic prohibition on awarding the contract that buys you time.

That leaves the route to the ordinary courts. Since 1 January 2026, the regional courts (Landgerichte) have had jurisdiction for this regardless of the amount in dispute (Section 71(2) No. 8 of the Courts Constitution Act (GVG)). In practice, this route usually comes too late, because the contract has already been concluded by the time you learn of the decision. Realistically, all that remains is damages, and that requires you to prove that you would otherwise have won the contract.

What you can do: ask before the bid deadline expires if anything in the documents seems unclear or inadmissible to you. After the decision, there is little room for action.

How to find these contracts in the first place

There is no central place where all below-threshold contracts are published. The federal government's notice platform covers some of them, and there are also state portals and the portals of individual local authorities and procurement offices. Anyone who monitors only one source sees just a fraction.

For restricted tenders without a call for competition and for direct awards, there is no notice at all. The only thing that helps here is being known to the procurement offices in your region. Many keep lists of companies they approach for such contracts. Asking whether and how you can be added costs little and, with the raised value limits, is worth more than it used to be.