Finding public tenders in the Netherlands: where buyers publish their contracts

Where do you find Dutch public tenders?

On TenderNed, the Dutch government’s tender platform. When a public body publishes a notice, it must do so on “the electronic procurement system” (article 1.18 of the Aanbestedingswet 2012, the Dutch Public Procurement Act), and that system is TenderNed. According to PIANOo, the Dutch public procurement expertise centre, this applies to European tenders and to national contracts that a buyer chooses to advertise publicly. TenderNed is part of the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO).

A European tender from a Dutch buyer is passed from TenderNed to TED, the EU platform, automatically. For Dutch contracts, you do not need to follow TED separately. How to search TenderNed, register and set up alerts is covered in what is TenderNed.

Where a contract appears depends on who is buying and how.

Is publishing on TenderNed mandatory?

Yes, for every public notice by a Dutch public body, and therefore always for a European tender. Not for invited contracts: PIANOo states that the obligation does not apply to procedures in which the buyer invites one or several companies directly (in Dutch: enkelvoudig and meervoudig onderhands). The Dutch government also states that publishing below the EU threshold is not mandatory.

There is a grey area. Business.gov.nl, the government’s information site for entrepreneurs, says that below the threshold, buyers may publish on TenderNed or on a commercial platform, and may also invite companies by email. If you mainly look for smaller contracts from municipalities, TenderNed alone is not enough. The rules below the threshold are covered in public contracts below the threshold.

What is not on TenderNed still exists. It is just not visible to everyone.

Why do you sometimes have to bid on another platform?

Because not every public body uses TenderNed to run the tender. The Dutch government notes that some buyers use commercial e-procurement systems. The notice is then on TenderNed, but the documents, the questions and the bid go through that other system. A buyer may also publish a notice in other media, but only after it has first appeared on TenderNed (PIANOo).

Business.gov.nl names Aanbestedingskalender.nl, Mercell Source-to-Contract, Nétive VMS, Proactis and The Solutions Factory as examples. Municipalities in the Noord-Holland Noord region mention Negometrix and CTM in their guidance for businesses. You create a separate account on each platform. Do it straight away: the documents, the clarifications and the buyer’s messages arrive there.

Where do you find tenders in other EU countries?

On TED (Tenders Electronic Daily), the online version of the Supplement to the Official Journal of the European Union. Public buyers in the EU must publish contracts above the EU thresholds there. TED is free, and on weekdays more than 3,000 notices are published every day, from the EU, the European Economic Area and beyond.

You can use TED in the 24 official EU languages. After registering, you can save up to 25 searches and get alerts for new notices. Contracts below the threshold in other countries usually appear only on that country’s national portal. If you look there too, follow those portals separately.

How do you see a tender coming before it is published?

By looking where buyers share their plans in advance. If you first see a tender on the day it is published, you often have a few weeks. If you see it coming months earlier, you have time to arrange references, certificates and a partnership.

• TenderNedThe TenderKalenderA public overview of planned tenders on TenderNed, run by TenderNed itself. Buyers and utilities registered on TenderNed can publish their planned tenders there, even if they do not use TenderNed as their main platform. The association of Dutch municipalities (VNG) reported this in July 2026.
• WebsiteThe procurement calendarSome public bodies publish a procurement calendar on their own website, listing when they plan to put contracts on TenderNed (Ondernemersplein, the Dutch government’s site for entrepreneurs). Check where the buyers in your region publish theirs.
• NoticeThe prior information noticeA buyer can announce in advance that a contract is coming. This is optional. The tender has not started yet, but you can already ask for more information.
• DialogueThe market consultationThe buyer tests its plans with the market before the tender starts. Open consultations are published on TenderNed. How to make the most of one is covered in market consultation.

There is one more, less known source: current contracts. When a European tender has been awarded, the buyer publishes the result. The original notice and documents usually state the term and the number of extensions. That tells you roughly when a contract in your field will come back to the market.

How do you get noticed for invited contracts?

By making sure the buyer knows you before it sends out invitations. For an invited contract, the buyer chooses which companies may submit a quote. When it does so, and up to which amounts, is set out in its procurement policy.

Some Dutch municipalities make that choice using a standing list, often called a groslijst. An example: six municipalities in the Achterhoek region use such lists for civil engineering and landscaping works and related services. You can register all year round through an e-procurement platform, with a completed European Single Procurement Document, reference projects and, among other things, a quality management system and a VCA safety certificate or equivalent. For an invited procedure, they normally invite three to five companies from the list. Other municipalities work differently, or have no list. Ask the purchasing department.

1. 1Read the procurement policyOf the public bodies you want to work for. You then know up to which amounts they invite companies directly and how they decide whom to invite.
2. 2Register where you canOn a standing list or in a supplier database. Read the conditions: references and certificates are often required in advance.
3. 3Take part in consultations and eventsThat is where you meet the buyers, and they meet you. A buyer is more likely to invite someone they have spoken to.
4. 4Show what you have doneA short description of your company with references from the region makes it easy for a buyer to think of you.

For an invited contract, you do not look for the tender. You make sure the tender finds you.

Where do you find private tenders?

Not on a public platform. Dutch procurement rules apply to central government, municipalities, provinces, water authorities, bodies governed by public law and utilities, such as drinking water companies, energy companies and transport operators (Dutch government). An ordinary company decides for itself how it buys, and does not have to publish anything.

You therefore find private tenders through people and relationships. A few routes that work in practice:

• Your own networkExisting clients, partners and former colleagues who work at a potential client. Most invitations come from someone who already knows you.
• The purchasing departmentLarger companies have a purchasing department and sometimes a supplier registration. Ask how they select new suppliers, and make sure they know you.
• The request for informationA company often explores the market first with an RFI. Those who stand out are invited to the request for proposal. See RFI, RFP and RFQ.
• Your visibilityA website that says exactly what you do and for whom, and references a buyer can call. That way, a company searching on its own finds you too.

How do you set up a search profile?

On TenderNed you create an interest profile. Matching contracts arrive in your TenderNed message box every day, and you can have them forwarded to your email (Business.gov.nl and Ondernemersplein). You register with eHerkenning, the Dutch business login. A profile is only as good as the choices you make in it.

1. 1Decide what you are looking forWhich services or products, in which region, and from and up to which size.
2. 2Choose your CPV codesBuyers classify every contract with the Common Procurement Vocabulary, a set of European codes. Choose the codes for your services and the codes above and next to them. How that works is covered in CPV codes.
3. 3Add keywordsA buyer sometimes picks a different code than you would expect. Keywords catch those contracts. Think of synonyms and of the words buyers use, not only your own jargon.
4. 4Follow the other sourcesThe TenderKalender, the procurement calendars of buyers in your region and, if you work across the border, a saved search on TED.
5. 5Adjust after a monthIf you get many alerts that do not fit, narrow the profile. If you hear afterwards about contracts you missed, check which code or word was missing.

When you find a contract that fits, decide quickly whether to bid. Read the knock-out requirements and the timeline first, and make a deliberate bid/no-bid decision. Every day you gain at the start is a day you have for writing at the end.