This guide is the checklist behind an Austrian bid: each document and step in the order a tender asks for it, and who is allowed to handle it. For how Austrian procurement works overall (thresholds, procedures, evaluation, challenges and payment), see How to bid for public tenders in Austria.
Before you bid
1. Register on the platform hosting the tender. Each Austrian tender is run on an e-Vergabe platform, which the notice names: the ANKÖ Vergabeportal, auftrag.at, ProVia (used by ASFINAG and ÖBB) or a Land platform. The registration is what lets you download the documents, put questions to the buyer (Bieteranfragen) and upload a signed bid.
- Cost and time: taking part is free, and registration is done the same day. Open a test account where you can, to rehearse signing and uploading before a real deadline.
- Who does it: the company registers itself and approves its users. Where a platform supports several users, advisers work under their own accounts.
- From abroad: the same; your home-register entry shows who may act for the company.
2. Get your qualified electronic signature or seal ready. An electronic bid must carry a qualified electronic signature or a qualified electronic seal, and above the EU thresholds bids must be electronic. Signatures come from ID Austria (the state’s digital identity), A-Trust or any other eIDAS qualified trust service provider.
- Time: plan ahead and test it on the platform before the deadline week.
- Valid: as long as the certificate.
- Who does it: your authorised signatory; or a person holding your Vollmacht who signs with their own qualified signature; or your company’s qualified seal. Nobody else ever uses your ID Austria.
- From abroad: eIDAS-qualified certificates should work, but check that the hosting platform accepts yours.
3. Austrian companies: set up Mein USP users. The Unternehmensserviceportal is the government’s business portal, used for the EEE service and many e-government procedures. Your USP administrator issues user credentials, and each user personalises their access with ID Austria or an EU eID (EU-Login). It is free, and a new user can work up to 60 minutes after personalisation. An adviser gets their own user and personalises it with their own ID, never yours.
4. Consider an ANKÖ listing (optional). The Auftragnehmerkataster Österreich keeps the Liste geeigneter Unternehmen (LgU), the only generally accessible online database of suitability evidence recognised under BVergG § 80(5) and § 251(5). You quote your ANKÖ number, buyers fetch the evidence online, and they can’t demand documents they could get from it. Entries from Firmenbuch, GISA and ÖGK are fed in automatically.
- Cost: €78.50–€336.50 per year excl. 10% VAT, by company size.
- Valid: a yearly membership, with documents kept current.
- Who does it: you sign up and pay the annual contribution; the profile can then be kept up to date for you under your ANKÖ account access.
5. Have proof of your authorisation (Befugnis) ready. When a tender asks, you show that you’re entered in the trade or professional register that applies to you: for Austrian firms, the Firmenbuch and the GISA trade licence; for services, the authorisation or membership your profession requires. These are public registers, so the extracts can be retrieved for you, or the buyer finds them through ANKÖ.
6. Regulated professions from the EEA and Switzerland: start recognition early. If your profession is regulated in Austria, the Austrian recognition procedure has to be under way before the bid deadline. You apply to the competent Austrian authority for that profession.
With your bid
7. The self-declaration. In the Eigenerklärung you declare that you meet the suitability criteria and can supply the evidence when asked. Above the thresholds this is the EEE (the European Single Procurement Document), which the USP’s EEE service helps you complete; below them a simple self-declaration is always enough. It is free, ready the same day and valid for the one procedure. It is prepared for you; you confirm it and it is signed with the bid.
8. German and euro. Unless the tender documents expressly say otherwise, the bid and every attachment must be in German and priced in euro. For a foreign bidder that means German translations of certificates, financial evidence and references, made by a sworn and court-certified translator.
9. The Vadium, where the tender asks for one. If a bid security is required, proof that it was lodged must go in with the bid. You choose the form: bank guarantee, surety insurance, cash or a cash deposit. No statutory cap applies to it, and it runs for the bid validity period. A bank or surety insurer issues it; you sign the facility. Banks and insurers from the EU are generally acceptable, subject to the tender’s terms.
10. Consortium and subcontractors. A joint bid by an Arbeitsgemeinschaft (ARGE) must name an authorised person, and every bid must disclose the parts you plan to subcontract. If you rely on another company’s capacity, name it with your request to participate and show that its resources will be available to you. A Rechtsanwalt typically drafts the ARGE agreement and any Vollmacht; you sign.
11. Sign and upload. The signed, encrypted files go up inside or outside the portal, depending on the platform. The server time-stamps them and checks the signature, and the buyer can open nothing until the deadline has passed. Send one electronic bid or one paper bid, never both, and keep the time-stamped receipt.
- Who does it: the bid can be prepared and uploaded for you, in German and euro, with the EEE, your ANKÖ number, the subcontractor list and the Vadium proof. Your signatory applies the qualified signature or seal, on the platform or before upload.
- Time: don’t leave the upload to the last minute.
If you’re in line for award
The buyer now asks for proof of reliability, unless it can already see it through your ANKÖ listing.
| Evidence | Issued by | Who can get it for you | Valid for | What only you do |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rückstandsbescheinigung (confirms no tax arrears) | Your Finanzamt, through FinanzOnline | A Steuerberater, as your authorised representative | The latest one; the buyer sets how recent | Grant the Vollmacht and keep taxes paid |
| Social-insurance account statement (Kontoauszug) or ÖGK certificate | ÖGK or your competent social insurer | Your payroll or tax adviser, under a mandate | The latest one | Authorise the request and keep contributions paid |
| Criminal-record extract (managers) and Verbandsregister information (the company) | Landespolizeidirektion / Strafregisteramt | Nobody: they are tied to the person or company concerned | Recency set by the buyer | Request the extracts yourself |
The buyer also checks you and your subcontractors in the ÖGK’s wage-and-social-dumping penalty register and the AuslBG penalty register, using queries no more than 6 months old. You don’t file anything for these.
When the tender asks for them:
- Financial capacity: a bank credit-rating letter (Bonitätsauskunft), balance sheets where your home country makes publication mandatory, and turnover for up to the last 3 years. A Steuerberater or Wirtschaftsprüfer compiles them; you ask your bank for the letter.
- Professional liability insurance (Berufshaftpflichtversicherung): proof of adequate cover is one of the listed ways to show financial capacity. Your insurer issues the certificate for the policy period.
- References and technical capacity: lists or certificates of work performed, plus your staff and equipment. Reference sheets can be drafted for you; you get the signed confirmations from your customers.
- ISO and quality certificates: from a body accredited by Akkreditierung Austria; certificates from bodies accredited by another EA member are accepted.
Before the contract and the first posting
- Kaution and Haftrücklass. Performance and warranty securities follow the same rule as the Vadium: bank guarantee, surety insurance, cash or cash deposit, at your choice. They run for the contract or the warranty period.
- BUAK (construction). The Bauarbeiter-Urlaubs- und Abfertigungskasse is the construction sector’s statutory holiday and severance fund. Construction employers, including those posting workers to Austrian sites, deal with BUAK obligations and the BauID system. Your payroll provider handles the reporting; you register as an employer where required.
- Posting notification to the ZKO (foreign employers). Before the posting starts, an employer sending or hiring out workers to Austria notifies the Zentrale Koordinationsstelle of the Amt für Betrugsbekämpfung under the LSD-BG, and under the AuslBG for staff from third countries. It is filed online for each posting; a payroll provider can prepare it. You file it and obtain A1 certificates for the workers.
- Service notification (Dienstleistungsanzeige). EU and EEA firms providing temporary cross-border services in a trade regulated in Austria notify the federal economy ministry (BMWET) every year. It can be prepared for you; you file and sign it. A permanent order or customer office in Austria needs an Austrian trade licence.
Who does what
| Step | Who can do it | What only you do |
|---|---|---|
| Platform registration | You; advisers join as users where the platform allows it | Register the company and approve users |
| Qualified signature or seal | Your signatory, or someone holding your Vollmacht with their own qualified signature | Sign or apply the company seal |
| Mein USP users | Your USP administrator creates them; each adviser personalises their own | Issue the user credentials |
| ANKÖ listing | Profile and uploads kept current for you | Sign up and pay the annual contribution |
| Befugnis proof | Register extracts retrieved for you | — |
| Eigenerklärung or EEE | Prepared for you | Confirm and sign |
| Bid preparation and upload | Prepared and uploaded for you | Apply the qualified signature or seal |
| Vadium, Kaution, Haftrücklass | A bank or surety insurer | Sign the facility |
| ARGE agreement, Vollmacht | A Rechtsanwalt drafts | Sign |
| Rückstandsbescheinigung, social-insurance statement | A Steuerberater under your Vollmacht or payroll mandate | Grant the Vollmacht; keep taxes and contributions paid |
| Criminal-record and Verbandsregister extracts | Nobody else | Request them |
| Financial evidence | A Steuerberater or Wirtschaftsprüfer compiles it | Ask your bank for the Bonitätsauskunft |
| References | Reference sheets drafted for you | Obtain signed customer confirmations |
| German translations | A sworn court translator | — |
| ZKO notification and A1 | A payroll provider can prepare | File the notification; obtain the A1 forms |
| Recognition, Dienstleistungsanzeige | The service notification can be prepared for you | Apply for recognition; file and sign the notification |
The professionals involved
| Professional | Licensed or regulated by | What they do for a bidder |
|---|---|---|
| Steuerberater or Wirtschaftsprüfer | Kammer der Steuerberater:innen und Wirtschaftsprüfer:innen (KSW) | Obtain the Rückstandsbescheinigung through FinanzOnline and the social-insurance statement under your Vollmacht; prepare balance sheets, turnover declarations and bank-rating evidence |
| Rechtsanwalt | Rechtsanwaltskammern; Österreichischer Rechtsanwaltskammertag (ÖRAK) | Review the tender documents; challenge them, up to 7 days before the deadline when the bid period is longer than 17 days; file review and interim-injunction applications with the BVwG or the Land review bodies; draft Vollmachten and ARGE agreements |
| Ziviltechniker (architect or chartered engineer) | Kammer der Ziviltechniker:innen | Prepare technical offers, ÖNORM bills of quantities and design inputs |
| ANKÖ and certification bodies | ANKÖ, named in BVergG § 80(5) and § 251(5); Akkreditierung Austria | Keep the Liste geeigneter Unternehmen that buyers query online; ISO certification |
| Sworn court translator (allgemein beeideter und gerichtlich zertifizierter Dolmetscher) | The courts (Gerichtsdolmetscherliste) | German translations of foreign certificates |
| Bank or surety insurer | FMA | Vadium, Kaution and Haftrücklass guarantees; professional liability insurance certificates |
| Unternehmensberater or Ausschreibungsbüro | Wirtschaftskammer (trade licence for Unternehmensberatung) | Search tenders, register as a user on the hosting platform, prepare the Eigenerklärung or EEE and ÖNORM price files, and upload |
If your company is from abroad
You don’t need an Austrian company or licence to bid; who may bid from abroad, and on what terms, is in How to bid for public tenders in Austria. For the paperwork:
Your home-country documents stand in for the Austrian ones. Prove your Befugnis with your home register entry, or a certificate or sworn statement. Instead of the Rückstandsbescheinigung, give the equivalent document from your home tax authority; instead of the social-insurance statement and criminal-record extracts, the home-country equivalents. Workers you post stay in your home system with an A1 certificate. Financial evidence and references go in German translation. On top of that come the steps only foreign firms face: recognition for regulated professions before the bid deadline, the yearly Dienstleistungsanzeige for regulated trades, and the ZKO notification before any posting.
Pitfalls
- Never hand over your ID Austria or signature card. The qualified signature or seal is applied only by your own signatory, or by a Vollmacht holder with their own qualified signature.
- Check the language rule before you translate anything. German and euro apply unless the documents expressly allow otherwise.
- Recognition can’t wait for the award. For a profession regulated in Austria, the procedure must have started before the bid deadline.
- Act early on flawed tender documents. They can be challenged up to 7 days before the deadline when the bid period is longer than 17 days; ask for an interim injunction as well.
- Choose your engineer carefully. A Ziviltechniker who worked for the buyer on the tender must not help any bidder in that procedure.
- One bid, one channel. Submit electronically or on paper, not both, and not at the last minute.
- Only a Rechtsanwalt can represent you in a review. Legal representation in review proceedings is reserved to Rechtsanwälte, so your tax adviser or bid writer can’t act for you there.
Doing it with askTender
In Austria, your askTender Partner is added as a named user on your company’s account on the e-Vergabe platforms (ANKÖ, auftrag.at) and works under their own login (we confirm this with the portal before your first bid). You keep your own login, and sign what only you can sign: registering the company, confirming the self-declaration, the qualified signature or seal on the bid, and the Vollmachten. The askTender Desk prepares the self-declarations, the bid files and the evidence list; askTender Partners, such as a Steuerberater, a Rechtsanwalt or a sworn court translator, do the steps their licence covers.
Questions
Which documents go in with an Austrian bid?
The bid itself in German and euro, a self-declaration (the Eigenerklärung, or the EEE above the EU thresholds), your ANKÖ number if you are listed, a list of subcontracted parts, proof of the Vadium where the tender asks for one, and a qualified electronic signature or seal. Certificates usually come later, from the bidder in line for award.
Can an adviser sign my bid in Austria?
Only in a narrow way. The qualified signature is applied by your authorised signatory, by someone holding your Vollmacht with their own qualified signature, or as your company’s qualified seal. An adviser can prepare and upload the files, but nobody should ever use your ID Austria or signature card.
Do I need an ANKÖ listing?
No, it is optional. A listing in the ANKÖ Liste geeigneter Unternehmen costs €78.50–€336.50 per year excl. 10% VAT, depending on company size. Buyers query your evidence online with your ANKÖ number and can’t demand documents they can get from it, and data from Firmenbuch, GISA and ÖGK is fed in automatically.
What does the winning bidder have to prove?
Usually the latest Rückstandsbescheinigung from the tax office, the latest social-insurance account statement, criminal-record extracts for managers and Verbandsregister information for the company, or foreign equivalents. Buyers check the wage-and-social-dumping and AuslBG penalty registers themselves.
What extra steps does a foreign company face?
EEA and Swiss firms in professions regulated in Austria start the recognition procedure before the bid deadline; EU and EEA firms in regulated trades file a yearly Dienstleistungsanzeige; employers posting staff notify the ZKO before the posting starts and hold A1 certificates. Foreign certificates need German translations unless the documents allow otherwise.
Sources
- USP: electronic procurement (E-Vergabe)
- USP: preparing and submitting the bid
- USP: evidence of suitability (Nachweise)
- USP: first log-in and user administration
- BVergG 2018 (RIS): qualified signature or seal on electronic bids
- BVergG 2018 (RIS): securities (Vadium, Kaution, Haftrücklass)
- BVergG 2018 (RIS): language of the bid
- BVergG 2018 (RIS): recognition of professional qualifications
- WKO: Auftragnehmerkataster Österreich (ANKÖ)
- WKO Wien: trade activity in Austria by non-Austrians (leaflet)
- Federal Ministry of Finance: Zentrale Koordinationsstelle (ZKO)
- BUAK: construction workers’ holiday and severance fund
This guide explains the rules in plain English; it isn’t legal advice. Procurement rules change, and each tender document sets its own conditions — it always prevails.