Place of Performance (NUTS Code)

The place of performance is a core structured data field in every EU public procurement notice published on TED. It answers a simple but commercially critical question: where will this contract actually be delivered? The answer is expressed as one or more NUTS codes, making it machine-readable and searchable across the entire TED database.

What is the place of performance NUTS code field?

Under the eForms notice framework (Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/1780, applied across TED from late 2023), the place of performance is a structured field in the notice XML that accepts one or more NUTS codes. Contracting authorities are required to populate this field for contract notices, periodic indicative notices, and contract award notices published above the Directive 2014/24/EU and related thresholds.

The field accepts codes at any level of the NUTS hierarchy: a two-character country code for a nationwide contract, a five-character Level 3 code for a locally scoped one, or anything in between. Authorities may list multiple NUTS codes in a single notice if the contract spans several discrete regions.

Before eForms, the same information was captured in legacy CN and CAN forms using the same NUTS classification, though the exact field label and XML structure varied between form versions. The transition to eForms standardised the data model across all member states.

The place-of-performance field is distinct from the country of origin of the contracting authority. A Belgian federal agency could procure services to be performed in Luxembourg under a joint procurement arrangement, in which case the buyer's country code is BE but the place-of-performance NUTS code is LU (Luxembourg).

Why the place of performance matters for bidders

The place-of-performance NUTS code is the primary geographic filter in procurement intelligence tools. Without it, bidders would have to read every notice in their sector to determine whether the contract is geographically accessible. With it, a supplier can narrow tens of thousands of active TED notices to the specific regions where they have the capacity and interest to deliver.

The field also signals operational requirements that affect bid decisions. A multi-region contract listing five NUTS Level 2 codes across three countries requires delivery infrastructure across that entire footprint. A single NUTS Level 3 code tells a bidder that a local presence is likely sufficient.

For below-threshold contracts not published on TED, national procurement portals use equivalent geographic fields. Germany's DTVP and e-Vergabe platforms, France's PLACE portal, and Spain's PLACE portal all include place-of-performance fields using NUTS codes or equivalent national geographic identifiers derived from the same hierarchy. Understanding the NUTS framework therefore transfers across most European procurement portals.

Example

A road maintenance company based in Krakow monitors TED for civil engineering contracts in southern Poland. It filters TED by place-of-performance NUTS codes PL21 (Malopolskie), PL22 (Slaskie), and PL81 (Lubelskie), capturing all notices in that broad geographic area. When a regional roads authority in Malopolskie publishes a tender, the NUTS code PL214 (Krakowski sub-region) appears in the notice, confirming that the work is on roads close to the company's operational base. The company proceeds to read the full tender documents and assess the contract scope.

Frequently Asked Questions

What if a contracting authority lists the wrong NUTS code?

Errors in the NUTS code field do occur, typically when an authority uses an outdated code from a previous NUTS revision or selects an approximate region rather than the most precise match. If you find a notice where the stated NUTS code does not match the actual delivery location described in the body of the notice, rely on the text description for bid-planning purposes. You may also contact the contracting authority for clarification before the deadline for questions.

Can a notice have no NUTS code at all?

For notices above the directive thresholds, a NUTS code is a mandatory field. However, for contracts where the place of performance is genuinely indeterminate (for example, a consultancy contract that may require travel anywhere in the EU), authorities sometimes use the NUTS Level 0 code for the contracting authority's country as a practical default rather than indicating all possible locations. For cross-border contract performance across multiple countries, all relevant country-level NUTS codes should be listed.

How does the place-of-performance field interact with CPV codes for opportunity filtering?

The two fields serve complementary functions: CPV codes identify what is being procured (the subject matter), while the place-of-performance NUTS code identifies where it will be performed. Effective opportunity discovery filters on both simultaneously. A caterer looking for contract opportunities in northern Germany would filter for CPV 55000000 (restaurant and catering services) combined with place-of-performance NUTS codes for the relevant German Level 1 or Level 2 regions.