Public procurement glossary

• 01

  Contracting authority

  A public buyer or other body that falls within the legal definition and runs a procurement procedure.

• 02

  CPV code

  A code from the Common Procurement Vocabulary used to describe the subject of a public contract in a standard way.

• 03

  Lot

  A separately identified part of a procurement that may have its own scope, bid rules, and award outcome.

• 04

  Contract notice

  A published notice that calls for competition and tells suppliers how to take part in a procurement.

• 05

  Prior information notice

  A notice that gives advance information about planned procurement. Where national law allows it, a sub-central authority can use it as the call for competition in restricted procedures or competitive procedures with negotiation.

• 06

  Open procedure

  A procedure in which any interested supplier may submit a tender in response to the published call.

• 07

  Restricted procedure

  A two-stage procedure: interested suppliers first request to participate, and only selected candidates are invited to submit tenders.

• 08

  Framework agreement and call-off

  A framework agreement sets terms for later contracts; a call-off is a contract awarded under that framework.

• 09

  Selection criteria

  Requirements used to assess whether a supplier has the suitability, economic standing, or technical ability to perform the contract.

• 10

  Award criteria and MEAT

  Award criteria compare admissible tenders to identify the most economically advantageous tender under the method stated in the procurement documents.

• 11

  ESPD / DEUCP

  The European Single Procurement Document (ESPD) is a self-declaration that a supplier meets the participation conditions and has no exclusion ground. It serves as preliminary evidence only.

• 12

  Iberian low-value procedures

  Portugal's ajuste direto and consulta prévia are often used for smaller purchases but can also be chosen on other legal grounds; Spain's contrato menor is defined by contract value under its national law.

General information, not legal advice. The notice and the applicable national law decide.

The questions suppliers ask most are answered in Answers, in plain words and with their sources.

Reviewed 26 October 2026 · Sinal team