Step by step: the free official route
Search Find a Tender for open opportunities
On Find a Tender, the Opportunities search shows upcoming pipelines and active tenders for procurements under the Procurement Act 2023; the Notice Search covers individual notices, including older regimes. Search for cleaning, filter by location, and open each notice for the deadline and how to get the documents.
Search Contracts Finder for lower-value work in England
On Contracts Finder, type a keyword (for example
cleaning, or"window cleaning"for an exact phrase), pick a region or a postcode radius from 5 to 50 miles, and choose the stage: Opportunity for live tenders, Future opportunity or Early engagement for what is coming.Save your searches and switch on email alerts
Both services are free. With an account you can save searches and get notification emails: Contracts Finder has its own account, and Find a Tender uses GOV.UK One Login. You can search either one without signing in.
Add the devolved portals if you work outside England
For Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, lower-value contracts appear on Public Contracts Scotland, Sell2Wales, and eSourcing NI or eTendersNI. GOV.UK's Contracts Finder page links to each.
Look ahead: contracts ending soon are the next tenders
Many cleaning tenders replace a contract that is about to end. Awarded notices on Contracts Finder show the contract end date, and council contract registers list start, end and review dates for contracts over £5,000. Our guide how to find out when a council contract ends shows how.
What the free tools do, and what they leave to you
The official portals are the source of truth and cost nothing. The work is in the searching: there are two UK-wide services plus the devolved portals, broad keywords such as cleaning also return unrelated notices, and alerts only cover new notices, not contracts approaching their end date.
Where Contracts Radar saves time
Contracts Radar sends one email that lists UK public-sector cleaning tenders open now, buyers preparing to tender, and every cleaning contract ending in the next 6 to 12 months, 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. Other trades have their own pages, for example building maintenance and grounds maintenance.
Questions people ask
Do I have to pay to see public sector tenders?
No. Find a Tender, Contracts Finder and the devolved portals are free to search, and saved-search email alerts are free with an account.
What is the difference between Contracts Finder and Find a Tender?
Since 24 February 2025, notices for new UK procurements, above and below threshold, are published on Find a Tender, except below-threshold procurements in Scotland. Contracts Finder holds lower-value contracts in England (over £12,000 including VAT with central government, or £30,000 for other public bodies) and notices for older procurements.
Can I search for cleaning tenders near me?
Yes. Contracts Finder lets you filter by region or by a postcode radius of 5 to 50 miles. Find a Tender lets you filter by location.
How can I find school cleaning contracts?
Search the portals for cleaning and the school or academy trust name or area, and check the local council's contract register, which lists contracts over £5,000 with their end dates.
Where can I see tenders before they are advertised?
Look for pipeline notices and early engagement or future opportunity notices, and for contracts approaching their end date, which are often re-tendered.
Official sources
- Find a Tender
- Contracts Finder (search)
- GOV.UK: Contracts Finder
- 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.