TED Search

TED Search is the web-based discovery interface provided by the Publications Office of the European Union at ted.europa.eu. It gives any user free access to the full archive of TED (Tenders Electronic Daily) notices, from live contract opportunities to historical award data spanning decades of European public procurement.

What is TED Search?

TED Search is the primary portal through which suppliers and buyers interact with TED notice data without needing technical integration. Users can search across all notice types, including contract notices, prior information notices, contract award notices, and corrigenda, using a combination of filters:

• Keyword search. Full-text search across notice titles and descriptions in the original language and machine-translated versions.
• CPV codes. The Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV) is a standardised classification system for procurement subject matter. Filtering by CPV code narrows results to a specific product or service category.
• Country and buyer. Filter by issuing country or search for notices from a specific contracting authority by name or national identifier.
• Date ranges. Search within publication date, deadline date, or award date windows.
• Notice type. Distinguish between open competitions, restricted competitions, negotiated procedures, and award notices.
• Value and currency. Filter by estimated or awarded contract value where this is disclosed in the notice.

Search results can be saved as persistent alerts, so suppliers receive email notifications when new notices matching their criteria are published. This is the most straightforward way to monitor TED for new business opportunities without manual daily checking.

Why it matters for bidders

TED Search is the front door to European public procurement intelligence. A well-configured set of TED alerts, combining relevant CPV codes and target countries, provides systematic coverage of new above-threshold opportunities in your sector.

Beyond live notices, TED Search's access to award notices is strategically valuable. Searching for award notices in your sector reveals who is winning contracts, the awarded values versus estimates, and which contracting authorities are active buyers. This data informs competitive positioning and helps suppliers identify buyers worth approaching at market engagement stages.

For users who need structured data at scale, TED API and TED Data Download offer programmatic and bulk access to the same underlying dataset. For reading individual notices in detail, TED Viewer provides a structured notice display.

Example

A Portuguese IT services firm wants to monitor cloud computing opportunities across the EU. They set up a TED Search alert using CPV code 72000000 (IT services) filtered to all EU member states and set the notice type to contract notices only. Each morning they receive an email digest of new notices matching those criteria, allowing the business development team to triage opportunities without visiting TED daily.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need an account to use TED Search?

Basic searching and browsing is available without registration. Creating a free account enables saved searches, persistent alerts, and a personalised dashboard of tracked notices.

Can TED Search find notices in my language?

TED notices are published in the official language of the issuing country. The Publications Office provides machine translation for all notices, so TED Search can return results in any EU official language, though the quality of machine translation varies. The legally binding text is always the original language version.

How current is TED Search?

New notices are indexed in TED Search within hours of publication on TED (Tenders Electronic Daily). Alerts are typically delivered within a few hours of a matching notice going live.