What are procurement thresholds? Procurement thresholds are the contract values above which UK public bodies are legally required to advertise contracts openly and run a competitive procurement process. Contracts below the threshold can be awarded without a full tender process, though many buyers choose to advertise smaller contracts anyway. Thresholds were previously set by EU directives. Since Brexit, they are maintained by the UK government and reviewed every two years in line with World Trade Organisation (WTO) Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) revisions. Current UK procurement thresholds (2024/25) The thresholds below apply from 1 January 2024 and are expressed excluding VAT. They were updated following the Procurement Act 2023. Contract type Central government Other public bodie
No. The procurement thresholds are applied to the estimated contract value excluding VAT.
If a contracting authority awards a contract above the threshold without following the correct procurement procedure, suppliers can challenge the award through the courts. The court can suspend the contract, require the procedure to be rerun, or award damages.
Buyers must estimate the total value of the contract over its full term, including any extension options. A 2-year contract with a 1-year extension option would be valued over 3 years.
Yes. Utilities covering water, energy, transport, and postal services are subject to a separate utilities procurement regime with slightly higher thresholds than those for central government.
The Procurement Act 2023 replaced four separate sets of regulations with a single unified framework. It introduced new transparency requirements, a new open framework mechanism, and simplified rules for below-threshold contracts.
Yes. The value of a framework agreement is estimated based on the maximum estimated spend across all call-offs over its lifetime. Above-threshold frameworks must be advertised on Find a Tender.