EU procurement thresholds 2026–2027 and contract value

Procedures & timing · This guide was generated with the help of an AI system. Its legal references were checked against the official EU texts listed under Sources on 9 October 2026. Next review due by 9 October 2027, or sooner if the law changes. EU rules only. Not legal advice.

Short answer. From 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2027, the EU rules for public contracts apply from €140,000 (supplies and services bought by central government), €216,000 (supplies and services bought by other public authorities) and €5,404,000 (works). The value that counts is the buyer’s estimate of the total amount payable, net of VAT, including options and renewals. So a contract that looks small per year can still fall under the EU rules.

EU law · The thresholds

All amounts are net of VAT. The new figures apply from 1 January 2026, under three Commission Delegated Regulations adopted on 22 October 2025.

“Central government authorities” are the bodies listed in Annex I to Directive 2014/24/EU. Most other public buyers, such as regions, municipalities and many public bodies, fall under the sub-central threshold. For supplies bought by defence authorities, the central-government threshold applies only to the products listed in Annex III (Article 4(b) and (c)). Defence and security contracts under Directive 2009/81/EC have their own thresholds, which this page doesn’t cover.

Why the figures went down. The thresholds follow the World Trade Organization’s Government Procurement Agreement, which sets them in special drawing rights. Every two years the Commission converts them into euros using the average exchange rate over the previous 24 months, rounded down to the nearest thousand euros (Article 6(1)). The euro’s movement against special drawing rights lowered them this time.

Outside the euro area. For Member States that don’t use the euro, the Commission sets the equivalent values in national currency every two years and publishes them in the Official Journal (Article 6(3) and (4)). Use those official figures, not your own conversion.

EU law · How the estimated value is calculated

The threshold is compared with the buyer’s estimated value, calculated under Article 5. The rules that matter most in practice:

• Total amount payable, net of VAT, “including any form of option and any renewals of the contracts as explicitly set out in the procurement documents”. Prizes or payments to candidates count too (Article 5(1)).
• No splitting to escape the rules. The method can’t be chosen with the intention of excluding the contract from the Directive, and a purchase can’t be subdivided to keep it under the threshold unless there are objective reasons (Article 5(3)).
• Timing. The estimate is valid at the moment the call for competition is sent (Article 5(4)).
• Framework agreements and dynamic purchasing systems: the maximum estimated value of all contracts envisaged over the whole term (Article 5(5)).
• Lots: the value of all lots is added up. If the total reaches the threshold, the Directive applies to each lot (Article 5(8) and (9)). Small lots can be taken out: individual lots under €80,000 for supplies or services, or under €1 million for works, may be awarded outside the Directive’s procedures. Those lots together can’t exceed 20% of the total value of all lots (Article 5(10)). How lots work for bidders, beyond their value, is covered in lots.
• Recurring supplies or services: based either on the actual value of similar contracts in the previous 12 months or financial year, adjusted where possible, or on the estimated value over the 12 months after the first delivery (Article 5(11)).
• Services without a total price: the full term if it’s 48 months or less. Otherwise, or with no fixed term, the monthly value × 48 (Article 5(14)).
• Leasing and hire of products: the total for the term if it’s 12 months or less, the total including residual value if longer, or the monthly value × 48 if there’s no fixed term (Article 5(12)).

Our analysis · Two examples

These examples are made up. They show how the rules combine.

A cleaning contract that looks small. A municipality (a sub-central buyer) tenders office cleaning for €45,000 a year: three years, plus two optional one-year extensions written into the documents. The estimated value is 5 × €45,000 = €225,000, because options and renewals count. That’s above the €216,000 threshold, so the EU rules apply, even though no single year comes close.

A works project in lots. A road scheme is split into six lots worth €5.6 million in total, which is above the €5,404,000 works threshold. Every lot is therefore covered, including the smallest. The buyer may still award lots under €1 million each outside the Directive’s procedures, up to 20% of €5.6 million, that is €1.12 million in total. A €700,000 lot and a €400,000 lot could both be taken out. A third €300,000 lot could not, because together they’d exceed the 20%.

Practice · Why bidders should care

Whether a contract is above or below the threshold changes what you can expect: the minimum time limits for submitting a tender, the European Single Procurement Document, publication on TED, the information duties after the decision and the standstill period described in after the decision. Below the threshold, national rules apply. If the published estimate looks low compared with what’s described, read the documents for options and renewals. If the documents really undervalue the contract, that’s something to raise early.

What this page doesn’t cover

Defence and security thresholds (Directive 2009/81/EC). National-currency values. National rules below the thresholds. The UK, which no longer applies these thresholds.