Step by step: the free official route
Sign in to Find a Tender with a GOV.UK One Login
Find a Tender needs a GOV.UK One Login to sign in; you can create one if you do not have one. Signed in, you can register a supplier organisation, save search criteria and sign up for notifications via email.
Choose the right search before you save it
Find a Tender has several searches. Opportunities shows upcoming pipelines and active tenders; Contracts shows awarded contracts, active and expired; both cover procurements published from February 2025 under the Procurement Act 2023. For procurements under other legal regimes, use Notice Search. Summarised Search brings all the notices from one procurement together. Filter by keyword, contract location and CPV code, then save the criteria and turn on email notifications.
Set up Contracts Finder alerts for lower-value work in England
On Contracts Finder, create an account to get email updates and save your searches (you can still search and apply without one). Use a keyword (quotes for an exact phrase), a region or a postcode radius of 5 to 50 miles, and the procurement stage: Opportunity, Future opportunity or Early engagement.
Add the devolved portals if you work outside England
Public Contracts Scotland, Sell2Wales, and eSourcing NI or eTendersNI carry lower-value contracts in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, with their own accounts. GOV.UK's Contracts Finder page links to each.
Cover the gap: contracts that end soon
Alerts only tell you when a new notice is published. To see which existing contracts end in the next 6 to 12 months, read the end dates on awarded notices and council contract registers. See how to find out when a council contract ends.
What the free tools do, and what they leave to you
Both services' alerts are free and come straight from the source. The limits are that you run separate alerts per portal, broad keywords also bring in unrelated notices, and no alert lists contracts approaching their end date.
Where Contracts Radar saves time
Contracts Radar puts the tenders open now, buyers preparing to tender and the contracts ending in the next 6 to 12 months (or any window up to 24 months ahead) for your trade into one email, daily, weekly or monthly, with the buyer, the current contractor, the value and a link to the official notice. It costs £19 a month after a 14-day free trial, and there is a free weekly top-3 digest. Start with commercial cleaning or pick another trade, such as building maintenance.
Questions people ask
Are Find a Tender alerts free?
Yes. Signing in with a GOV.UK One Login, saving search criteria and getting email notifications cost nothing. Contracts Finder email updates are also free with an account.
What is the difference between Opportunities, Contracts and Notice Search on Find a Tender?
Opportunities shows upcoming pipelines and active tenders, and Contracts shows awarded contracts (active and expired); both cover procurements published from February 2025 under the Procurement Act 2023. Notice Search covers individual notices, including procurements under other legal regimes.
Did Find a Tender replace TED?
Yes. Find a Tender replaced Tenders Electronic Daily (TED) in the UK on 31 December 2020.
Can I see payments made under public contracts?
Find a Tender has a payments transparency register where you can search for payments linked to public contracts.
Do alerts tell me when a contract is about to be re-tendered?
Not directly. Alerts cover new notices such as tenders and pipeline notices. To spot re-tenders early, track the end dates of existing contracts.
Official sources
- Find a Tender
- GOV.UK: Contracts Finder
- Contracts Finder (search)
- Local Government Transparency Code 2015
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Information only: not legal, financial or professional advice. Always check the official source before you act.