Find a Tender Service (FTS) is the official UK government platform for publishing and searching public sector contract notices. It replaced the EU's TED (Tenders Electronic Daily) as the mandatory publication channel for UK above-threshold contracts following Brexit. It launched in January 2021 and is operated by Cabinet Office.
All UK contracting authorities are legally required to publish contract notices on FTS for contracts above the relevant procurement thresholds. This includes central government departments, local councils, NHS trusts, universities, housing associations, and other public bodies.
FTS publishes several types of procurement notices:
FTS covers contracts from England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland that are above the procurement thresholds. Scotland has its own portal (Public Contracts Scotland) but above-threshold notices must also appear on FTS. Wales (Sell2Wales) and Northern Ireland (eTendersNI) similarly cross-publish above-threshold notices.
FTS does not cover below-threshold contracts, which appear instead on Contracts Finder or buyer-specific procurement portals.
FTS is searchable at find-tender.service.gov.uk. You can filter by keyword, CPV code, buyer name, location, contract value, and notice type. Free registration allows you to save searches and receive email alerts, though the alert functionality is basic compared to specialist monitoring tools.
| Find a Tender Service | Contracts Finder |
|---|---|
| Above-threshold contracts only | All contracts over £12,000 (central govt) / £30,000 (other bodies) |
| Mandatory publication | Mandatory for award notices, voluntary for opportunities in many cases |
| Live tender invitations and awards | Mainly award notices; fewer live opportunities |
| All UK public bodies | Primarily central government and arm's-length bodies |
FTS only shows above-threshold contracts. A large proportion of public sector spending falls below the threshold and never appears on FTS. This below-threshold work is advertised across dozens of sector-specific and regional procurement portals. Monitoring all of them manually is time-consuming and impractical.
TenderSignal aggregates FTS alongside Contracts Finder, Public Contracts Scotland, Sell2Wales, EU TED, and a growing number of sector-specific portals. You get a single stream of relevant opportunities across all sources, delivered by email alert when they are published. Set up your first saved search to see what is available in your sector right now.
Yes. Following Brexit, UK above-threshold contracts that were previously published on EU TED are now published on Find a Tender Service. UK contracts no longer appear on TED.
Yes. Above-threshold contracts from Scotland and Wales must be published on Find a Tender. Scotland also has its own portal (Public Contracts Scotland) and Wales has Sell2Wales, but above-threshold notices cross-publish to FTS.
A contract notice is published at the start of a procurement, inviting suppliers to bid. A contract award notice is published after the contract has been awarded, showing who won, the value, and the contract duration.
No. Below-threshold contracts do not need to be published on FTS. They are typically advertised on Contracts Finder, buyer-specific portals, or not advertised at all. TenderSignal aggregates below-threshold opportunities from multiple sources.
Notices typically appear on FTS within minutes of submission by the buyer. TenderSignal picks up new FTS notices within a few hours and includes them in your next alert.
You can register for free at find-tender.service.gov.uk to save searches and receive email alerts. For more precise matching across multiple sources, TenderSignal provides sector-specific alerts with keyword and CPV code filtering.