# Lot

- Title: What is a lot in a public tender? — Sinal
- URL: https://sinal-pme.babete.pt/glossary/lot
- Language: en
- Updated: 2026-10-26
- Alternate (pt-PT): https://sinal-pme.babete.pt/pt/glossario/lote (markdown: https://sinal-pme.babete.pt/pt/glossario/lote.md)
- Alternate (es-ES): https://sinal-pme.babete.pt/es/glosario/lote (markdown: https://sinal-pme.babete.pt/es/glosario/lote.md)

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

Reviewed 26 October 2026 · Sinal team

## What it does not mean

A lot count is not a bidder count, and a lot is not always a separate notice or contract; check the procedure documents and national law.

## In practice in Portugal

A buyer may award by lots if the procedure documents say so. For goods and services estimated above €250,000, and works above €500,000, a decision not to use lots has to be justified in the decision to contract (CCP, Article 46-A(1) and (2)).

The buyer may cap how many lots one bidder can win, but must state the cap and the objective rules for choosing among lots in the invitation or the procedure programme (Article 46-A(4)).

## In practice in Spain

Whenever the nature or the object allows it, the LCSP expects a contract to be divided into lots; not dividing needs reasons recorded in the file (Article 99(3)).

The buyer may limit the lots a bidder can bid for or win, and must say so in the anuncio de licitación and in the pliego (Article 99(4)). Splitting a contract to stay under a threshold is forbidden (Article 99(2)).

## The EU rule behind both

The EU notice must say whether tenders can be submitted for one, several or all lots (Directive 2014/24/EU, Article 46(2)).

## What you see on the notice

- TED: a section “5. Lot” repeats for every lot (“Lot: LOT-0001”), each with its own CPV, selection criteria and “Deadline for receipt of tenders”.
- TED: the procedure section can state “Maximum number of lots for which one tenderer can submit tenders”.

## How Sinal shows it

The notice drawer lists the lots when the source published them; the full terms of each lot stay in the original notice.

- When the source published them, the notice drawer lists the lots as “Lots (n)”, each with its name and budget.

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## Example in a real notice

[TED notice divided into lots ↗](https://ted.europa.eu/en/notice/251994-2026/pdf)

## Related terms

- [Contract notice](https://sinal-pme.babete.pt/glossary/contract-notice)
- [CPV code](https://sinal-pme.babete.pt/glossary/cpv-code)
- [Framework agreement and call-off](https://sinal-pme.babete.pt/glossary/framework-agreement-call-off)

## Answers that use this term

- [What are CPV codes, and why use them together with keywords?](https://sinal-pme.babete.pt/answers/cpv-codes)
- [How do you qualify a tender notice before you commit to a bid?](https://sinal-pme.babete.pt/answers/how-to-qualify-a-tender-notice)

## In the evidence

- [From public record to supplier signal](https://sinal-pme.babete.pt/evidence/police-system-maintenance-award)

## In the field notes

- [How many PLACSP result rows report exactly one received tender?](https://sinal-pme.babete.pt/field-notes/placsp-reported-received-tenders)

## Primary sources

- European Union — [Directive 2014/24/EU, Article 46 ↗](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32014L0024)
- Portugal — [CCP, Article 46-A ↗](https://diariodarepublica.pt/dr/legislacao-consolidada/decreto-lei/2008-34455475)
- Spain — [LCSP, Article 99(3)–(7) ↗](https://www.boe.es/buscar/act.php?id=BOE-A-2017-12902)

Sources checked 26 October 2026

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