Below-threshold procurement: what it is and where smaller tenders are published
Below-threshold procurement covers public contracts under the EU thresholds; national law governs them and they appear on national portals, not always on TED.
Tomasz Kowal · Data and public procurement
Updated 8 November 2026 · 3 min read
Below-threshold (or sub-threshold) procurement is public purchasing worth less than the EU procurement thresholds, run under national law and published on national portals rather than necessarily on TED. For supplies in 2026 and 2027, the line sits at EUR 140,000 for central government authorities and EUR 216,000 for other contracting authorities.
Putting it simply: TED shows the large contracts. Underneath sits a second record: hospitals, schools and municipalities buying smaller lots under their own country's rules. To see that record you have to read each country's portal.
Where it comes from
The thresholds are set in Directive 2014/24/EU and revised every two years. Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/2152 replaced EUR 143,000 with EUR 140,000 (Article 4(b), central government) and EUR 221,000 with EUR 216,000 (Article 4(c), other authorities), applying from 1 January 2026. See EU public procurement thresholds for 2026 and 2027.
Below those values the directives do not apply, but EU law still does. The Commission's interpretative communication 2006/C 179/02 says buyers remain bound by the Treaty's fundamental rules where a contract might interest companies in other Member States. That means "a degree of advertising sufficient to enable the market to be opened up to competition": a buyer's website, a national portal or an official journal. TED is optional.
Each country then sets its own floor. In Poland, the Public Procurement Law applies from PLN 170,000 net of VAT since 1 January 2026, up from PLN 130,000 (amending act, art. 1(1) and art. 11). In Germany, the rules below the EU thresholds and the limits for direct awards differ between the federal level and each Land and have changed several times; as of 8 November 2026 we have not compiled them, so check the rules of the Land concerned.
Where the notices are published
| Country | Where to look |
|---|---|
| Poland | BZP, a module of e-Zamówienia |
| France | BOAMP for notices; DECP open data for awarded contracts |
| Spain | Plataforma de Contratación del Sector Público |
| Italy | ANAC open data; MEPA marketplace |
| Germany | service.bund.de for federal tenders, plus each Land's own portals |
| Netherlands | TenderNed |
| Czechia | NEN and the Věstník veřejných zakázek |
Formats, languages and what an award notice contains differ by country.
Why it matters for a manufacturer
- Contracts are small. In our analysis of 12 months of Polish BZP supply awards, the median contract was PLN 54,289 gross, so half were worth less (the full analysis).
- Different winners. Of 6,871 companies winning those Polish contracts, 48% also had a TED supply award in our data since November 2023. The other half did not. A partner list built from TED alone misses them.
- Little competition. 46.6% of the Polish contracts with a reported number of offers drew a single offer.
- Values need care. Polish BZP values are gross, while thresholds are net, and some values are ceilings (framework agreements).
Example
A district hospital needs disposable surgical gowns for a year, estimated below the EU threshold but above its national floor. It runs a national procedure, publishes the notice on the national portal in the local language and, weeks later, a result notice naming the winning company, the number of offers and the contract value. The winner is a regional distributor with no TED award. A manufacturer searching only TED would never see the hospital, the contract or the distributor.
Related terms
- CPV codes explained
- How to read a TED contract award notice
- EU public procurement thresholds for 2026 and 2027
- Contract end dates as timing
For Poland, Cresques reads the BZP supply result notices from the last 12 months, companies only; every plan shows how many there are, and Growth (one market) and Scale (three) show the full detail (pricing). Other countries are not covered yet. Disclosure: Cresques is our own product.
Questions
- What is below-threshold procurement?
- It is public purchasing worth less than the EU thresholds set under Directive 2014/24/EU. For supplies in 2026 and 2027 those are EUR 140,000 for central government authorities and EUR 216,000 for other contracting authorities. National law sets the procedure, and the notices go to national portals.
- Are below-threshold tenders published on TED?
- Not as a rule. The directives do not require it. Buyers publish on their national portal or other national media, and some also send notices to TED voluntarily. A search of TED alone misses most of these contracts.
- Can a foreign company bid for a below-threshold contract?
- Usually yes. Where a contract has a cross-border interest, the European Commission says the Treaty principles of non-discrimination and transparency apply, including adequate advertising. In practice, procedures run in the national language and a local partner helps.
- What is the national threshold in Poland?
- Since 1 January 2026 the Polish Public Procurement Law applies from an estimated value of PLN 170,000 net of VAT. It was PLN 130,000 before. Contracts between that level and the EU thresholds are published in the national bulletin, the BZP.
- Does Cresques show below-threshold contracts?
- For Poland, yes: Cresques reads the BZP result notices for supplies from the last 12 months, companies only. Every plan shows how many there are in a Polish market; the full detail comes with Growth for one market and Scale for three. Below-threshold data for other countries is not available today.
