Published 10 February 2026 by eSourcingData
UK government tenders are published on official portals: Find a Tender (FTS) for higher value contracts, Contracts Finder for lower value English opportunities, and the devolved portals Public Contracts Scotland, Sell2Wales and eTendersNI. To find relevant work, monitor the correct portal for your location and filter by CPV code and keyword.
Find a Tender is the UK-wide service for higher value public contracts, replacing the OJEU role after Brexit. Contracts Finder covers lower value and sub-threshold contracts for English public bodies and central government. Together these two portals carry the bulk of English public sector opportunities.
The devolved nations run their own portals: Public Contracts Scotland (PCS), Sell2Wales and eTendersNI. Higher value notices from all nations also appear on Find a Tender, but the lower value work stays on the national portal, so you cannot rely on Find a Tender alone if you serve Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.
The Procurement Act 2023 reformed how public bodies in England procure, introducing new notice types and a central digital platform intended to make opportunities and awards more transparent. Suppliers should expect more information published across the procurement lifecycle, from pipeline and planning notices through to award and contract performance.
For suppliers, the practical effect is that more of the buying journey is visible than under the old regime. Pipeline and planned procurement notices let you see requirements coming before the formal tender, which is valuable time to prepare a bid.
You can browse Find a Tender and Contracts Finder without an account, but registering lets you save searches and receive email alerts. Set up searches by CPV code, keyword and location so notices matching your business land in your inbox rather than requiring a daily visit.
Many tenders link out to a separate e-tendering system where the buyer runs the actual competition, so expect to register a second account with the platform hosting the documents. Keep a record of the portals you have joined so you can respond quickly when an opportunity appears.
CPV codes are the common language buyers use to classify contracts. Identifying the handful of codes that describe what you sell lets you filter every portal precisely. This is far more reliable than keyword search because it does not depend on how a particular buyer phrased their notice.
That said, buyers sometimes apply broad or slightly wrong CPV codes, so pair code filtering with a few strong keywords. Reviewing which codes appear on contracts you would have wanted to bid for is a good way to refine your list over time.
Crown Commercial Service (CCS) runs the biggest central government frameworks, covering technology, professional services, facilities and much more. A large share of central government spend flows through these vehicles, so watching CCS framework opportunities is essential if you want to sell to departments and agencies.
Once on a framework, you compete in call-offs and mini-competitions that are not advertised as open tenders. Missing the framework establishment window can lock you out of a category for the life of the agreement, so treat framework notices as high priority.
One search across every UK government portal
WinAContract is a free tool that aggregates Find a Tender, Contracts Finder and the devolved portals into a single searchable feed, so you can filter UK government tenders by CPV code, keyword and location and get alerts without visiting each site separately.
Search UK government tendersWhat is the main UK government tender portal?
Find a Tender carries higher value UK public contracts, while Contracts Finder covers lower value and sub-threshold English opportunities. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland each have their own portals as well.
Is it free to search government tenders?
Yes. Find a Tender and Contracts Finder are free to browse and to set up alerts on, and the devolved portals are free too. Aggregators can pull them together at no cost as well.
What did the Procurement Act 2023 change for suppliers?
It introduced new notice types and greater transparency across the procurement lifecycle, including pipeline and planning notices that let suppliers see requirements coming before the formal tender is published.
What are CCS frameworks?
Crown Commercial Service frameworks are the largest central government buying vehicles. Departments call off contracts from them, so being on the right framework is often necessary to sell to central government.
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