Tender glossary

The language of tenders, explained

The terminology of public procurement is dense and precise. Here is an up-to-date overview of the key terms — from A to Z. Use the navigation below to jump to a letter.

A

Attachments: Documents that accompany the tender documents or the bid — requirement specifications, price templates, draft contracts, certificates, and similar.
Award criteria: The criteria the contracting authority uses to choose between qualified bids — typically price, quality, environmental impact, delivery time, or life cycle cost.
Award justification: Written explanation from the contracting authority of why a contract is being awarded to one supplier over the others. Must be available before the standstill period begins.

B

Bid: A binding offer submitted by a supplier in a competition for a contract. Often used interchangeably with "proposal," but the bid is the formal document submitted by the deadline.
Bid opening: The point at which submitted bids are opened by the contracting authority. Once opened, bids are binding and cannot, in principle, be amended.
Bid validity period: The period during which the bidder is bound by their bid. Until it expires, the contracting authority can accept the bid and enter into a contract.
Bidder: The supplier submitting a bid in a specific competition. Used alongside "supplier," but specifically refers to the participant in a given competition.

C

Cancellation: A contracting authority may cancel a competition if there is objective justification. Cancellation must be explained in writing to all bidders.
Competitive procedure with negotiation: A procedure where the contracting authority may negotiate with bidders after the bids are submitted. Can only be used when the conditions in the FOA are met.
Complaint: Losing bidders can challenge the award decision with the contracting authority, KOFA, or the courts. Complaints generally must be filed before the standstill period expires.
Conflict-of-interest assessment: The contracting authority's obligation to ensure that staff and decision-makers have no personal or financial interest in the outcome of the competition.
Contract award: The contracting authority's decision on which supplier will be awarded the contract. Must be communicated in writing with justification to all bidders.
Contracting authority: The public body running the procurement — central government, a municipality, a county, a health trust, or another body governed by public law.
CPV code: Common Procurement Vocabulary — the EU's standardized classification system for procurement. Used to describe what is being purchased and to alert relevant suppliers.

D

Deviation: Anything in the bid that does not match the requirements of the tender documents. Material deviations from absolute requirements lead to rejection.
Documentation requirements: Requirements specifying which documents a bidder must attach to the bid to prove compliance with qualification and award criteria.
Doffin: Database for offentlige innkjøp (Norwegian public procurement database). Norway's publication platform for procurement notices above the national threshold.

E

ESPD: European Single Procurement Document — a standardized self-declaration that replaces a range of certificates during the initial phase. Supporting documentation is only required from the winning bidder.
EU/EEA threshold: Value thresholds set by the EU above which a procurement must be advertised across the EEA via TED. For 2024–2025 the threshold for services is typically around NOK 1.4 million for central government and NOK 2.2 million for other contracting authorities — check current rates.

F

FOA: The Norwegian Public Procurement Regulation. Supplements the Public Procurement Act and contains the detailed procedural rules.
Framework agreement: An agreement with one or more suppliers setting out the terms for future call-offs. Maximum duration is normally four years.

K

KOFA: The Norwegian Complaints Board for Public Procurement. An independent body that handles complaints about breaches of the procurement rules and can impose fines.

L

LCC: Life Cycle Cost. Assessment of total costs across the full contract, not just the purchase price. A required consideration in many public procurements.

M

Mini-competition: A simplified competition between suppliers that are already party to a parallel framework agreement. Used to award specific call-offs.

O

Open procedure: The standard procedure where any interested supplier can submit a bid. Requires strict observance of the prohibition on negotiations.

P

Price and quality criteria: Award criteria that weight price against quality, environmental impact, assignment understanding, and other factors. Must be objective, verifiable, and stated in the tender documents.
Procurement plan: The contracting authority's overview of planned procurements for the coming period. Many organizations publish this openly — useful for suppliers who want to position themselves early.
Prohibition on negotiations: In open and restricted procedures, negotiating on the bid is prohibited. Only clarifications and correction of obvious errors are permitted.
Proposal: The supplier's binding response to a competition — price, solution, documentation, and confirmations consolidated into a single submission.
Public Procurement Act: Norway's law on public procurement. Governs how the state, municipalities, and other public contracting authorities purchase goods, services, and construction works.

R

Rejection: The contracting authority's decision to discard a bid because the bidder or the bid fails to meet the requirements. The rejection must be justified.
Reservation: A bidder's attempt to alter contract terms or requirements set out in the tender documents. Material reservations against absolute requirements lead to rejection.
Restricted procedure: A procedure where the contracting authority first pre-qualifies suppliers and then invites the qualified ones to submit bids.

S

Self-declaration: A bidder's own confirmation that the company meets the qualification requirements. The ESPD is the standardized self-declaration for EU/EEA procurement.
SSA templates: The Norwegian state's standard contract templates for IT, consulting, and operational services. Maintained by the Norwegian Digitalisation Agency and widely used across the public sector.
Standstill period: A statutory waiting period between the award decision and contract signing, typically 10 or 15 days. Gives losing bidders the opportunity to complain before the contract is signed.
Subcontractor: A supplier that performs parts of the contract on behalf of the main supplier. As a rule, must be disclosed in the bid.
Supplier: A company that delivers, or offers to deliver, goods, services, or construction works to the contracting authority.

T

TED: Tenders Electronic Daily — the EU's official publication channel for public procurements above the EEA thresholds.
Tender documents: The main document set in a procurement. Describes what is being procured, the qualification requirements, award criteria, contract terms, and practical framework.
Threshold value: A value threshold that determines which rules apply. National thresholds determine the Doffin publishing duty; EEA thresholds determine the duty to publish on TED.

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