Bid for public contracts

The Scottish Government and other public sector organisations advertise public contracts for businesses to provide:

• goods such as stationery, computers, medical supplies
• works such as engineering, construction
• services such as cleaning, temporary staff

Find public contracts

You can find public contract opportunities on Public Contracts Scotland.

You can use this website to:

• search for contract opportunities in different sectors
• look up details of previous tenders and awards

You can also create an account to get emails about new opportunities and get requests for quotations. You do not need to create an account to search for contracts.

Bidding for a contract

To bid for most contracts you'll need to complete a form. The public body advertising the opportunity will provide this form.

On this form you'll need to explain how your business has the capacity, skills and qualifications to fulfil the contract. 'Capacity' means you have things like:

• the right number of staff
• relevant equipment
• a particular turnover

As part of this, you might also be asked to show that your business:

• has not been convicted of any relevant criminal activity
• can meet the needs of the contract, for example you've done similar things before

You'll also need to describe how you'll deliver the contract and what you'll charge.

Help to bid for public contracts

You can find more information and guidance on the Supplier Journey website.

You can also find training courses which help you bid for contracts on the Supplier Development Programme website.

These courses are for Scottish:

• small to medium-sized businesses
• third sector organisations