In this guide 8 sections
Between the publication of a notice and the submission deadline there is a phase that experienced bidders treat as the most valuable part of the procedure and inexperienced ones ignore: the clarification phase. You may ask the buyer questions in writing; the buyer must answer; and the answers, published to everyone, become part of the tender. Used well, this phase removes ambiguity from your price, corrects specifications that would have excluded you, and sometimes moves the deadline.
The rules
Directive 2014/24/EU sets the frame in two articles.
Article 53(2): the buyer must supply any additional information relating to the specifications or the procurement documents no later than six days before the deadline for receipt of tenders, provided the request was made in good time. In an accelerated Open procedure Anyone may submit a bid, in one step, with no pre-selection. Full entry the six days become four.
Article 47(3): the buyer must extend the deadline when additional information that was requested in good time is not supplied at least six days before the deadline, or when significant changes are made to the procurement documents. The extension must be proportionate to the importance of the information or change.
Two consequences follow. A question asked on the last day may lawfully go unanswered. And a late or substantial answer entitles every bidder to more time, whether or not they asked.
Buyers translate "in good time" into a questions cut-off date in the procurement documents, usually eight to twelve days before submission. It is the second most important date in the tender. Put it in your calendar next to the deadline.
Tool
Deadline calculator
The minimum time limits EU law sets for a contract above the thresholds, counted from the day the notice was sent for publication.
Open procedure
- Tenders
- 35 days at least
- Tenders, submitted electronically
- 30 days at least
- Tenders, after a prior information notice
- 15 days at least
- Tenders, in duly substantiated urgency
- 15 days at least
- The buyer's answers to questions
- 6 days before the deadline
- Standstill before the contract is signed
- 10 calendar days at least
These are the minimums of Directive 2014/24/EU and Directive 89/665/EEC for contracts above the EU thresholds. National law and the notice itself may give more time; below the thresholds national rules apply. Public holidays differ by country and are not counted here. The deadline printed in the notice is the one that binds. Checked against the acts on October 1, 2026.
Equal treatment: why every answer is public
The buyer may not give one bidder information the others do not have. Every question is answered to all bidders, normally through the procurement platform, with the questioner anonymised. This shapes what you should ask:
- Anything that reveals your solution, your partner or your price strategy will be read by your competitors. Ask about the buyer's requirement, not about your answer to it.
- Anything that helps you helps the whole field too. That is fine: you are not trying to be the only informed bidder, you are trying to bid on the right assumptions.
What to ask
Four families of questions earn their place.
Ambiguities that change your price
"Does the monthly fee include consumables?" "Is the 24-hour response time measured in calendar hours or working hours?" "Are the 300 devices to be delivered to one site or to the 40 listed?" Each of these is worth thousands of euros of pricing error. If two readings of the documents give two different costs, ask.
Specifications that only one supplier can meet
A specification that names a brand, a proprietary standard or a combination of features only one product has is, unless justified, contrary to Article 42, which requires specifications to allow equal access and not create unjustified obstacles to competition. A question phrased as "Would the contracting authority accept a product meeting standard X as equivalent to the named product?" forces a written answer. Buyers frequently concede, because the alternative is a challenge.
Selection criteria that are disproportionate
Turnover requirements above twice the contract value need a justification under Article 58. A reference requirement for "five contracts of identical scope in the last two years" may exclude everyone but the incumbent. Ask whether the criterion can be met by comparable, rather than identical, work, or by a consortium.
Missing documents and broken links
A price schedule that does not open, a drawing referenced but not attached, a draft contract the platform will not download. Report it immediately and in writing. If the buyer fixes it late, the deadline extension in Article 47(3) is yours to claim.
How to phrase a question
- One question, one topic. Buyers answer in lists; a compound question gets a partial answer.
- Quote the document. "Section 4.2 of the specification states X. Please confirm whether Y." A question tied to a reference cannot be brushed off.
- Offer the answer you need. "Please confirm that equivalent products will be accepted" gets a yes or a no. "What products are acceptable?" gets a paragraph you cannot rely on.
- Stay neutral. The buyer's procurement officer will read fifty questions. The polite, precise ones get precise answers.
- Send them early, in batches. Ask the pricing questions in the first week, the specification questions once your technical team has read the documents, and keep the last days for follow-ups.
Ten questions worth asking in almost every tender
Not every tender needs fifty questions. Most need a version of these:
- Is the Estimated value The buyer's own estimate of what the contract will cost, before tax; a ceiling more than a price. Full entry inclusive of options and renewals, and of VAT?
- Will equivalent products, standards or certifications be accepted where a specific one is named?
- Can the reference requirement be met by comparable rather than identical contracts, and by a consortium member or a relied-upon entity?
- Which price scoring formula will be used, and what is the ceiling above which a price scores zero?
- Are the quantities stated minimums, maximums or estimates, and is the buyer committed to any of them?
- Which service levels carry penalties, how are they measured, and is there a cap on penalties?
- Is there a price revision clause, and what index does it follow?
- Will staff currently delivering the service transfer to the new contractor, and under which terms?
- Is a site visit required or offered, and when?
- Can the submission be made in a language other than the one of the documents, in whole or in part?
Each answer either changes your price or confirms it. None reveals anything about your bid to a competitor.
What to do with the answers
Read every answer, including those to questions you did not ask. Buyers sometimes revise a requirement in an answer without issuing a formal Corrigendum An official correction to a published notice: a moved deadline, a changed lot, a new document. Full entry . On Aperlena the tender page records corrections to the notice and the deadline as the source publishes them; the answers to questions live on the buyer's platform, so download the full set the day before you submit and check nothing has moved.
If an answer changes the scope, the price or the risk, two things follow. Adjust your bid, and check whether the change is significant enough to require a deadline extension. If the buyer has not granted one, a short written request citing Article 47(3) usually works, and a refusal creates a record you may need later.
After submission: the buyer's questions to you
The clarification phase has a mirror image. Under Article 56(3), where the information you submitted is incomplete or erroneous, the buyer may ask you to submit, supplement, clarify or complete it within an appropriate time limit, as long as this respects equal treatment. In practice: a missing certificate can usually be provided; a missing signature usually; a price cannot be changed and a technical offer cannot be improved. Answer such requests within the deadline, exactly as asked, and keep a copy.
The habit
Bidders who win regularly have a checklist for the first week after a notice appears: read the documents, list the ambiguities, send the questions. It costs two hours. It is the difference between pricing what the buyer meant and pricing what you guessed.
Sources
- Directive 2014/24/EU, Articles 47(3) and 53(2) (time limits and additional information)
- Directive 2014/24/EU, Articles 42, 56 and 58 (technical specifications, clarification of tenders, selection criteria)
The figures and rules in this guide were checked against these sources on October 2, 2026.