Selection criteria in public tenders: all 36 EU criteria explained, with live numbers
Selection criteria are the evidence that a company can perform the contract: register entry, turnover, insurance, references, staff, certificates. The most frequently required right now is "Trade register enrolment" — in 18,722 of 15,810 open tenders with structured criteria.
Since the eForms standard forms (2023), buyers state their selection criteria as codes that mean the same thing in every EU language: "slc-stand-to-gen" is a minimum annual turnover whether the notice is written in Polish or Portuguese. For 15,810 of the 96,353 open tenders in our dataset these codes are available in structured form. This page explains all 31 criteria in use and counts how often each is currently required.
How selection criteria work
Selection asks whether a company CAN perform the contract, not whether its bid is the best. Directive 2014/24/EU (Article 58) allows criteria in three areas: suitability to pursue the professional activity, economic and financial standing, technical and professional ability. Everything a buyer requires must be linked to the contract and proportionate; a minimum yearly turnover may not exceed twice the estimated contract value (Article 58(3)). Bidders from other EU states prove their standing with documents from their home country; the European Single Procurement Document (ESPD) initially replaces all evidence.
Suitability to pursue the professional activity
Enrolment in the home country's trade or professional register, membership of a chamber, official authorisation. The most common requirement of all, and the easiest to meet.
| Criterion | eForms code | open tenders requiring it | countries |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trade register enrolment | slc-suit-reg-trade | 18,722 | 17 |
| Professional register enrolment | slc-suit-reg-prof | 9,795 | 12 |
| Special authorisation or membership required | slc-suit-auth-mbrshp | 5,691 | 13 |
Economic and financial standing
Minimum turnover (general or in the contract field), liability insurance, financial ratios. The threshold usually appears as a number in the documents; the code alone only says THAT a limit applies.
| Criterion | eForms code | open tenders requiring it | countries |
|---|---|---|---|
| Other economic requirement | slc-stand-other | 17,704 | 21 |
| Minimum annual turnover | slc-stand-to-gen | 7,211 | 16 |
| Professional liability insurance | slc-stand-ins | 5,291 | 13 |
| Minimum turnover in the contract field | slc-stand-to-spec | 4,150 | 13 |
| Average minimum annual turnover | slc-stand-to-avg | 2,656 | 15 |
| Average minimum turnover in the contract field | slc-stand-to-spec-avg | 1,436 | 11 |
| Financial ratio required | slc-stand-ratio | 923 | 12 |
Technical and professional ability
References for comparable contracts, qualified staff, technical equipment, quality and environmental management, share of subcontracting. This is where a newcomer's chances are decided.
| Criterion | eForms code | open tenders requiring it | countries |
|---|---|---|---|
| References: services | slc-abil-ref-services | 8,922 | 17 |
| References: supplies | slc-abil-ref-supply | 8,369 | 16 |
| Staff qualifications | slc-abil-staff-qual | 6,389 | 15 |
| Share of subcontractors | slc-abil-subc | 5,529 | 11 |
| Quality management | slc-abil-mgmt-qual | 5,179 | 16 |
| References: works | slc-abil-ref-work | 4,275 | 13 |
| Minimum annual headcount | slc-abil-staff-yrly-avg-mp | 4,183 | 11 |
| Quality control by institutes | slc-abil-qual-inst | 3,851 | 13 |
| Equipment, plant and technical facilities | slc-abil-facil-tools | 3,379 | 15 |
| Technical staff for quality control | slc-abil-staff-tech-ctrl | 3,064 | 12 |
| Technical staff for execution | slc-abil-staff-tech-work | 1,921 | 12 |
| Product samples | slc-abil-qual-smp-wo-autent | 1,765 | 8 |
| Product samples with authentication | slc-abil-qual-smp-w-autent | 1,726 | 9 |
| Environmental management | slc-abil-mgmt-env | 1,671 | 13 |
| Supply-chain management | slc-abil-mgmt-supply | 1,570 | 10 |
| Minimum number of managers | slc-abil-staff-yrly-no-mgmt | 1,565 | 10 |
| Study and research facilities | slc-abil-facil-res | 1,176 | 9 |
Certificates and quality assurance standards
Attestations by independent bodies, in practice ISO 9001 (quality) and ISO 14001 (environment). Equivalent evidence must be accepted (Article 62).
| Criterion | eForms code | open tenders requiring it | countries |
|---|---|---|---|
| Independent quality certificate (e.g. ISO 9001) | slc-sche-qu-cert-indep | 5,538 | 14 |
| Independent environmental certificate (ISO 14001 / EMAS) | slc-sche-env-cert-indep | 2,567 | 11 |
Security
Requirements on security of supply, information security and process security; rare, mostly in defence, energy and IT.
| Criterion | eForms code | open tenders requiring it | countries |
|---|---|---|---|
| Security of supply required | slc-sec-supply | 988 | 4 |
| Information security required | slc-sec-inf | 303 | 6 |
Where the criteria are — by country
The EU form allows three routes: criteria structured in the notice, a reference to the procurement documents, or proof through the European Single Procurement Document (ESPD). German buyers mostly fill in the block; almost everywhere else the notice says “see documents”. That is where our document analysis extracts the requirements — outside Germany it is the main route, not the fallback.
| Country | open TED procedures | structured in the notice | in the procurement documents | via the ESPD | not stated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Germany | 9,590 | 85 % | 13 % | 0 % | 1 % |
| France | 5,998 | 16 % | 81 % | 3 % | 0 % |
| Poland | 4,335 | 28 % | 71 % | 0 % | 1 % |
| Spain | 2,381 | 67 % | 31 % | 0 % | 1 % |
| Italy | 1,779 | 32 % | 37 % | 31 % | 0 % |
| Netherlands | 1,514 | 2 % | 42 % | 56 % | 0 % |
| Czechia | 1,331 | 0 % | 100 % | 0 % | 0 % |
| Romania | 1,164 | 100 % | 0 % | 0 % | 0 % |
| Belgium | 981 | 29 % | 69 % | 2 % | 0 % |
| Sweden | 955 | 2 % | 95 % | 3 % | 1 % |
| Bulgaria | 652 | 100 % | 0 % | 0 % | 0 % |
| Greece | 541 | 29 % | 48 % | 0 % | 24 % |
| Portugal | 528 | 0 % | 100 % | 0 % | 0 % |
| Lithuania | 517 | 4 % | 72 % | 24 % | 0 % |
| Finland | 450 | 5 % | 53 % | 42 % | 0 % |
| Croatia | 438 | 99 % | 1 % | 0 % | 0 % |
| Ireland | 423 | 8 % | 81 % | 11 % | 0 % |
| Latvia | 423 | 0 % | 98 % | 1 % | 1 % |
| Slovenia | 371 | 3 % | 94 % | 3 % | 0 % |
| Denmark | 328 | 64 % | 20 % | 14 % | 1 % |
| Austria | 309 | 2 % | 97 % | 1 % | 0 % |
| Hungary | 265 | 99 % | 1 % | 0 % | 0 % |
| Slovakia | 254 | 6 % | 94 % | 0 % | 0 % |
| Estonia | 207 | 0 % | 15 % | 85 % | 0 % |
| Luxembourg | 196 | 0 % | 17 % | 83 % | 0 % |
| Malta | 165 | 2 % | 13 % | 85 % | 0 % |
| Cyprus | 92 | 1 % | 99 % | 0 % | 0 % |
Why the code does not state the threshold
eForms structures the criterion, not the value: "minimum annual turnover" is readable as a code; whether that means €500,000 or €5 million sits in the buyer's free text. We therefore show code and original wording side by side and never claim a "met" we cannot verify. A criterion without an evaluable value stays "unknown".
Guarantees and securities
5,745 of the 15,810 procedures with structured criteria require a security (bid bond or performance guarantee). Not a selection criterion in the strict sense, but it acts like one: no bank guarantee, no bid.
Checking your own eligibility
Every procedure page on our site shows the criteria in plain language next to the original wording; with a company profile on file (turnover, references, certificates, insurance) each criterion shows met, unmet or unknown. Go to search →
Frequently asked questions
What are the requirements for tendering — which criterion is required most often?
Trade register enrolment — in 18,722 of the 15,810 open tenders with structured criteria.
What documents do I need to bid on a tender, and what is an eForms criterion code?
A language-independent identifier from the EU standard forms for procurement notices (Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/1780), e.g. slc-abil-ref-work for "References: works".
What is the minimum turnover requirement for a tender — can a buyer set it freely?
No. Article 58(3) of Directive 2014/24/EU caps it at twice the estimated contract value except in justified cases.
Do references and certificates from another EU country count?
Yes, in full. Equivalent evidence and certificates from other Member States must be recognised (Articles 60 and 62 of Directive 2014/24/EU).
How many open tenders have structured criteria?
15,810 of 96,353 — the rest come from national portals that carry criteria only as free text or in the documents.
What does "unknown" mean in the eligibility check?
That the criterion has a value in free text which we cannot compare automatically with the company profile. We do not guess.