Do I need a limited company for public tenders? No.
The most common reason small firms never bid is not a law — it is a rumour. Here is what the law actually says, what gets checked instead, and how to compete without a corporation.
What the law says
Art. 19 of Directive 2014/24/EU: economic operators may not be rejected solely because they are a natural rather than a legal person. This applies in every EU member state (in Germany as § 43 VgV, and equivalents elsewhere). Sole traders, freelancers, partnerships — all may bid. A buyer demanding 'corporations only' is violating procurement law.
What gets checked instead: suitability
Competence, capacity, reliability — proven by the evidence listed in the tender documents. Typically:
- References for comparable work — your own list, no authority involved.
- A register extract — only if your trade requires registration at all; sole traders submit their business registration, freelancers often nothing of the kind.
- Liability insurance — your insurer confirms it at short notice; a commitment to take out cover upon award is often accepted.
- Turnover figures — capped by EU law at twice the contract value (Art. 58).
Too small for the requirements? Two legal levers
Bid as a consortium (a specific legal form may only be required AFTER award, never for the offer), or rely on another entity's capacity (Art. 63): a partner's references and turnover count as yours — explicitly including cross-border partners.
Where sole traders realistically start
Below the EU thresholds (currently €221,000 for supplies/services, €5.538m for works) procedures run under lighter national rules, often with self-declarations instead of certificate stacks — and measurably fewer bidders. We track over 1.9 million of these sub-threshold procedures that TED never shows. → Browse
In short
General information on procurement law, not individual legal advice — the wording of each procedure is binding.