EU procurement thresholds explained (2026-2027 values)

Every public contract in the European Union lives on one side of an invisible line: the EU threshold. Above it, the buyer must follow the EU procurement directives - advertise Europe-wide on TED, respect minimum deadlines, and treat bidders from any member state equally. Below it, national rules apply, which are usually lighter and faster.

If you sell to the public sector, knowing these numbers tells you where your opportunities will be published and how formal the competition will be.

The current thresholds (1 January 2026 - 31 December 2027)

The European Commission revises the thresholds every two years to keep them aligned with the WTO Government Procurement Agreement. The values below entered into force on 1 January 2026 (Commission Delegated Regulations (EU) 2025/2150, 2025/2151 and 2025/2152) and apply until the end of 2027. All amounts are net of VAT.

Classical public sector (Directive 2014/24/EU)

• €140,000 - supplies and services bought by central government (ministries, national agencies)
• €216,000 - supplies and services bought by sub-central authorities (regions, cities, universities, hospitals)
• €5,404,000 - works contracts (construction, civil engineering), whoever the buyer is
• €750,000 - social and other specific services listed in Annex XIV (the "light-touch regime")

Utilities (Directive 2014/25/EU - water, energy, transport, postal)

• €432,000 - supplies and services
• €5,404,000 - works
• €1,000,000 - social and specific services

Concessions (Directive 2014/23/EU)

• €5,404,000 - works and services concessions

Compared with 2024-2025, the 2026-2027 values went slightly down - a reminder that the direction of the biennial revision is not always upward, and that a contract that was "below threshold" last year may be above it today.

What "above threshold" means in practice

When an estimated contract value reaches the threshold, the buyer must:

1. Publish EU-wide. The notice goes to TED, the EU's official tender journal - which is why above-threshold contracts are visible to bidders across all member states (and on Licitop).
2. Respect minimum time limits. For example, an open procedure normally allows at least 30-35 days for bids, so foreign bidders have a realistic chance to respond.
3. Use EU-regulated procedures. Open, restricted, negotiated and the other procedure types defined by the directives, with their transparency safeguards.
4. Accept the ESPD. The standard self-declaration form replaces most certificates at bidding stage.
5. Justify decisions. Unsuccessful bidders are entitled to feedback and a standstill period before the contract is signed, so they can challenge a flawed award.

How buyers calculate the estimated value

The threshold is compared against the total estimated value over the whole life of the contract, not the annual price tag:

• Options and renewals count. A €60,000-per-year cleaning contract with a 4-year term is a €240,000 contract - above the sub-central threshold.
• Framework agreements are valued at the maximum total that all call-offs could reach over the framework's life.
• Lots add up. When a project is split into lots, the combined value of all lots decides whether the EU rules apply to each of them (with narrow exceptions for small lots).

One thing buyers may not do is split a contract artificially to duck under the threshold. The directives prohibit it, and audit bodies look for it.

Below the threshold is not a free-for-all

Below-threshold contracts follow national law, which varies by country - simplified procedures, shorter deadlines, sometimes direct award below a national floor. Two things still apply almost everywhere:

• Cross-border interest. If a contract, despite its size, would plausibly interest firms in another member state, EU case law requires basic transparency and equal treatment anyway.
• National publication. Most member states run their own portals where below-threshold tenders are advertised. They are a huge market: by number of contracts, the majority of European public procurement happens below the EU thresholds.

What this means for your bidding strategy

• Small and mid-size contracts hide at national level. If you only watch TED, you see the big contracts. National portals carry the smaller, often less competitive ones.
• Above-threshold notices give you time. The minimum deadlines exist precisely so that a company from another country can prepare a serious bid. Use that time - the first-bid checklist walks through the steps.
• Watch contract values in notices. A buyer publishing a €130,000 services contract at central level chose to stay under the threshold; the same need may return as a larger, EU-wide tender later. Following a buyer's pattern of purchases is genuinely useful market intelligence.

Quick reference

Values effective 1 January 2026, net of VAT. The next revision is due for 2028-2029.