The Procurement Act 2023: what suppliers need to know
7 min read · last reviewed 29 Sept 2026
On 24 February 2025 the Procurement Act 2023 replaced the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 and the other EU-derived rules for most public bodies in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Procurements that started before that date finish under the old rules, so you will see both for a while. Here is what actually changed for the people bidding.
Register once on the Central Digital Platform
Above-threshold opportunities are published on Find a Tender, which now hosts the government's Central Digital Platform. Suppliers register there, receive a unique identifier, and store their core information once — company details, financial standing, connected persons and answers to the exclusion questions — instead of retyping it into every questionnaire.
Do this before you need it. Registration and keeping core information current is now a normal part of being ready to bid, and buyers can ask you to confirm it is up to date.
More notices, earlier — and more visibility of the pipeline
The Act adds notices across the whole life of a contract, which is good news for anyone planning ahead.
- Pipeline notices — larger buyers publish upcoming procurements over £2 million for the next 18 months.
- Preliminary market engagement notices — a buyer is talking to the market before it writes the specification. This is the moment to get involved.
- Tender notices — the live opportunity.
- Contract award, contract details and contract change notices — who won, on what terms, and what was later changed.
- Contract termination notices — a contract has ended early, which can mean an unplanned re-tender.
Two main procedures
The open procedure — anyone can bid, in a single stage — continues. Most of the older multi-stage procedures are replaced by a single competitive flexible procedure, which lets the buyer design its own stages: shortlisting, negotiation, demonstrations, dialogue. Read the tender notice carefully, because the process is now described there rather than fixed by the regulations.
Contracts go to the 'most advantageous tender'
Award is based on the most advantageous tender against the published criteria, replacing 'most economically advantageous'. In practice the buyer still scores quality, price and often social value against a published weighting — but it has more room to weigh what matters to it, so the evaluation criteria deserve even closer reading.
Exclusions and the debarment list
The mandatory and discretionary exclusion grounds were rewritten and now cover associated persons and subcontractors you rely on. Central government keeps a debarment list of suppliers excluded following an investigation. Make sure your answers on the platform are accurate and complete — they carry across every bid.
Faster payment
Public contracts covered by the Act carry a 30-day payment term for valid, undisputed invoices, and it flows down the supply chain. If you subcontract to a prime, the same term applies to you.
Below-threshold work
Smaller contracts are still advertised publicly, and Contracts Finder remains the main place to find English below-threshold opportunities. Scotland has its own rules and portal (Public Contracts Scotland), and Wales uses Sell2Wales alongside the UK-wide services.
Frequently asked questions
- When did the Procurement Act 2023 come into force?
- 24 February 2025. Procurements started before then continue under the old regulations until they finish.
- Do I need to register on the Central Digital Platform?
- To bid for above-threshold contracts under the Act, yes — you register, receive a unique identifier and keep your core supplier information up to date there.
- Does the Act apply in Scotland?
- Mostly not. Scottish devolved bodies follow their own procurement rules; some UK-wide and reserved bodies operating in Scotland use the Act.