eForms explained: the EU's structured format for public procurement notices
eForms is the EU standard for procurement notices on TED since 25 October 2023: every field is a coded business term, so buyers, winners and values become data.
Tomasz Kowal · Data and public procurement
Updated 8 November 2026 · 3 min read
eForms is the European Union's standard format for public procurement notices published on TED (Tenders Electronic Daily), in which every piece of information, from the buyer's name to the winning company and the contract value, sits in a numbered, defined field called a business term. It became the only accepted format on 25 October 2023.
Putting it simply: before eForms, a notice was closer to a filled-in form that a person reads. Since eForms, a notice is a structured record that a computer can read. That change is why it is now possible to list, for a whole country and category, which companies won public contracts and from whom.
Where it comes from
eForms was established by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/1780, which applied from 14 November 2022 and defines six standard forms: planning, competition, direct award prenotification, result, contract modification and change. Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/2303 amended it and set a transition: "From 14 November 2022 to 24 October 2023, both the forms established by this Regulation and those established by Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/1986 may be used." From 25 October 2023, only eForms remained. Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/2884 later added fields and six voluntary notices (E1 to E6), applying from 1 June 2024, with parts applying from 1 November 2024.
The annex lists each notice by purpose and legal basis. TED's developer documentation calls each one a "notice subtype", which "corresponds to a specific column in table 2 of the annex". For a manufacturer the relevant ones are the result notices: subtype 29 is the contract award notice under the general directive (Directive 2014/24/EU), 30 under the utilities directive, 31 under the defence directive, and E4 the voluntary award notice.
Some business terms you will meet, with the regulation's own descriptions:
| Term | Name | What it holds |
|---|---|---|
| BT-04 | Procedure Identifier | "a unique identifier of a procurement procedure" across TED and national portals |
| BT-161 | Notice Value | "The value of all contracts awarded in this notice, including options and renewals" |
| BT-720 | Tender Value | "The value of the tender or another result, including options and renewals" |
| BT-633 | Organisation Natural Person | "The organisation is a natural person" |
Why it matters for a manufacturer
- Winners are machine-readable. Each winning tender links to an organisation with a name, address and, often, a registration number, so the same company can be followed across hundreds of notices and countries.
- Values need reading with care. BT-161 and BT-720 include options and renewals, and in a framework agreement the figure is usually a ceiling. See why the headline value of a framework is not sales.
- Personal data can be separated. BT-633 flags winners that are natural persons, such as sole traders, so a data product can hide their details. Cresques removes personal details before storing a notice.
- Coverage starts at the switch. Data products built on eForms fields begin where the format began. Cresques data runs from November 2023. For a few countries the first eForms award notices for supplies in our data come later: Iceland 5 January 2024, Luxembourg 11 January 2024, Slovenia 24 January 2024, Croatia 31 January 2024, Bulgaria 2 February 2024, Czechia 5 February 2024, Portugal 7 February 2024 and Liechtenstein 23 April 2024. For those countries we write "since the start of 2024". We have not confirmed why each country's first notices came after the deadline. Details are on our methodology page.
Example
A regional hospital publishes a subtype 29 award notice for laboratory consumables in four lots. Under BT-04 sits the procedure identifier that also appears on the national portal. Lots 1 and 3 each link to a winning tender from the same distributor, with a BT-720 value for each. Lot 2 links to a manufacturer's local subsidiary. Lot 4 was not awarded. BT-161 gives the total for the notice, including a one-year renewal option. Reading the fields, a manufacturer of laboratory consumables learns which two companies already supply this buyer, for which lots, and that the total includes an option that may never be used. For a field-by-field walk-through, see how to read a TED contract award notice.
Related terms
- CPV codes: the product vocabulary every lot is coded with; search it on our CPV page.
- Framework agreements: why a ceiling is not a price.
- Contract end dates: when to approach the winners.
Questions
- What are eForms?
- eForms are the standard forms public buyers in the EU and EEA use to publish procurement notices on TED. They were established by Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/1780 and became the only accepted format on 25 October 2023, when the transition from the older standard forms ended.
- What is a business term such as BT-161 or BT-720?
- A business term is one numbered field defined in the annex to Regulation 2019/1780. BT-04 is the procedure identifier, BT-161 the value of all contracts awarded in the notice, BT-720 the value of a tender, and BT-633 says whether an organisation is a natural person.
- Why does TED data in many tools start in late 2023?
- Before 25 October 2023, notices could still use the older forms, with less consistent structure. Tools that read eForms fields start at the switch. Cresques data runs from November 2023, and for a few countries from early 2024, when their first eForms award notices appear.
- Is the value in an eForms award notice the amount the winner invoiced?
- Not necessarily. BT-161 and BT-720 include options and renewals, and in framework agreements the value is often a ceiling. Read the value as the size of the opportunity, then check the notice.
