What is TED?
TED (Tenders Electronic Daily) is the official online publication platform of the European Union for public procurement notices. It serves as the central portal through which all EU member states publish procurement notices for contracts above the EU thresholds, making it the primary source for cross-border procurement opportunities in Europe. TED publishes hundreds of thousands of procurement notices annually, covering contract notices, prior information notices, contract award notices, and correction notices from all 27 EU member states, as well as from EEA countries and certain other nations covered by international agreements.
TED is operated by the Publications Office of the European Union and is freely accessible to all users without registration. The platform provides search functionality allowing users to filter notices by country, region (NUTS codes), sector (CPV codes), procedure type, contract type, and many other criteria. Notices are published in their original language and may include machine translations into other EU languages, though only the original language version is legally authoritative.
Since the introduction of eForms in 2023, TED has been modernized to receive and display structured electronic notices in the new standardized format. The platform provides both human-readable notice displays and machine-readable data access through APIs, supporting automated monitoring and analysis of procurement data. TED also serves as the official record for calculating legal deadlines, as the date of dispatch to TED triggers the minimum time limits for bid submission and participation deadlines.
Why It Matters for Bidders
TED is an indispensable tool for any company seeking to participate in public procurement across Europe. Monitoring TED is the primary method for identifying above-threshold procurement opportunities, and companies should establish systematic monitoring processes, whether through direct use of TED's search and notification features or through specialized procurement intelligence services that aggregate and enrich TED data.
Bidders should be aware that TED publication triggers important legal deadlines. The bid submission and participation deadlines stated in the notice are calculated from the date of dispatch to TED, not from the date the bidder becomes aware of the notice. Early detection of relevant notices therefore provides a competitive advantage in terms of preparation time.
Legal Framework
TED's role as the official publication platform is established by EU Directive 2014/24/EU Article 51 and Directive 2014/25/EU Article 71. The publication requirements are further specified in EU Implementing Regulation 2019/1780 (eForms). In Germany, Section 40 VgV mandates publication on TED for above-threshold procurement. The Publications Office of the European Union operates TED under the legal framework of the EU Treaties.