TED (Tenders Electronic Daily)

TED (Tenders Electronic Daily) is the authoritative source for above-threshold public procurement notices across the European Union, the European Economic Area, and beyond. Published by the Publications Office of the European Union, it serves as the online supplement to the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) and is where buyers are legally required to advertise contracts that exceed EU threshold values. Suppliers monitoring TED have access to thousands of new contract opportunities every working day.

What is TED (Tenders Electronic Daily)?

TED is the digital publication channel mandated by EU public procurement directives. Under Directive 2014/24/EU (public sector), Directive 2014/25/EU (utilities), Directive 2014/23/EU (concessions), and Directive 2009/81/EC (defence), contracting authorities must publish contract notices, prior information notices, contract award notices, and other prescribed notices in TED when the estimated contract value exceeds the relevant threshold.

The platform is operated by the TED Publication Office and notices are submitted by contracting authorities either directly or through accredited eSender services. Each notice is assigned a unique TED reference number and is published in all official EU languages, though the full text is typically provided in the language of the issuing country.

TED covers notices from:

• All 27 EU member states.
• EEA countries including Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein.
• The United Kingdom (which continues to use TED for certain international notices, though UK domestic above-threshold procurement is now published on Find a Tender Service following the Procurement Act 2023).
• Countries that have signed the WTO Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) and publish notices via TED by bilateral arrangement.

Notice types published on TED include prior information notices (PIN), contract notices, contract award notices, corrigenda, and voluntary ex ante transparency (VEAT) notices.

Why it matters for bidders

TED is the essential starting point for any supplier competing in the European public procurement market. Missing a notice on TED means missing the opportunity to compete: once the deadline in the contract notice has passed, late expressions of interest or tenders are not accepted.

Beyond live opportunities, TED's archive of contract award notices reveals which suppliers are winning contracts in your sector, at what prices, and with which buyers. This competitive intelligence is available through TED Search and can be downloaded in bulk via TED Data Download or accessed programmatically through the TED API.

Example

A Norwegian road authority publishing a bridge construction contract worth EUR 15 million is required to advertise the opportunity on TED because the value exceeds the works threshold under Directive 2014/24/EU. The authority submits the notice through the eSender Portal, the notice is validated and published within the statutory five-day period, and suppliers across Europe receive it in their TED search alerts.

Frequently Asked Questions

How quickly are notices published after submission?

The Publications Office publishes notices within five calendar days of receipt under normal procedures. An expedited two-day publication is available for urgent notices where the contracting authority can demonstrate genuine urgency.

Does TED cover UK procurement after Brexit?

UK contracting authorities are no longer required to publish domestic above-threshold notices on TED. Since January 2021, UK notices have been published on Find a Tender Service (FTS). However, UK entities participating in international frameworks or EU-funded projects may still publish on TED, and historical UK notices remain in the TED archive.

Is TED free to access?

Yes. Searching, browsing, and downloading notices from TED is free of charge. The TED API and TED Data Download services are also free for users who register.