Change Notice (eForms)

The Change Notice is the eForms category that encompasses all amendments made to notices already published on TED during an active procurement procedure. It formalises and extends what was previously handled by Corrigendum Notices under the legacy standard form system, providing a structured and machine-readable way to record changes to procurement information.

What is a Change Notice (eForms)?

Under the eForms taxonomy, a Change Notice is published whenever a contracting authority needs to amend or correct information in a notice it has already published. This applies during the competition phase: if the authority discovers an error in the Contract Notice, needs to extend the tender deadline, amends the technical specifications, or updates contact details, it publishes a Change Notice referencing the original publication via the Notice Publication ID.

The eForms Change Notice is structured using the eForms SDK, which defines specific notice subtypes and mandatory business term fields for change publications. A significant improvement over the legacy Corrigendum system is that eForms Change Notices can explicitly record both the old and new values for amended fields, making it clear exactly what changed and from what prior state.

This structured diff approach benefits both buyers and suppliers. Buyers can publish precise, auditable amendments. Suppliers can quickly identify what changed without reading the entire notice again. Data platforms can automatically highlight changed fields in market intelligence tools.

The Change Notice covers amendments during the competition phase. It is conceptually separate from the Contract Modification Notice, which covers changes to an already-signed contract during performance.

Material changes (to scope, award criteria, or deadlines) require a reset of the tender period, as under the pre-eForms Corrigendum regime. Non-material corrections (typographical errors, minor clarifications) do not reset the clock. The boundary between material and non-material remains a question of judgment informed by national case law and procurement authority guidance.

Why Change Notices matter for bidders

Change Notices are operationally critical for active bidders. A Change Notice that extends a deadline by two weeks gives you more preparation time. A Change Notice that amends the technical specification may require you to revise your entire technical submission. A Change Notice that corrects the contract value estimate upwards may change your bid/no-bid decision entirely.

The risk of missing a Change Notice is significant: a bidder who submits a response based on the original specification without noticing an amendment may find their bid declared non-compliant. Monitoring Change Notices for live bids you are actively working on is as important as the initial opportunity assessment.

Example

A Hungarian railway authority publishes a Contract Notice for signalling equipment installation. Two weeks after publication, it receives supplier questions revealing an error in the environmental testing standard specified (a superseded standard was referenced). The authority publishes a Change Notice on TED amending the relevant specification clause to reference the correct current standard and extending the tender deadline by 10 days. Suppliers monitoring the original notice receive the Change Notice and update their technical submissions accordingly.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I know when a Change Notice has been published for a tender I am tracking?

TED provides notice-linked alerts: if you are subscribed to alerts for a specific procedure identifier or original notice, you should receive notification when a Change Notice referencing it is published. Procurement platforms with monitoring features aggregate these alerts automatically.

What is the difference between a Change Notice and a Contract Modification Notice?

A Change Notice amends a notice published during the procurement procedure (before contract signature). A Contract Modification Notice records changes to a contract already signed and in performance. They serve different purposes at different stages of the procurement lifecycle.

Can a Change Notice cancel a procurement procedure?

In some implementations, yes. A Change Notice can include a cancellation or withdrawal of the competition. The applicable notice subtype and field requirements differ from a standard amendment.