This guide is the checklist behind a German bid: every document and step, in the order a tender asks for them, with who can lawfully do each one. For how German procurement works overall (thresholds, procedures, how bids are assessed, getting paid), see How to bid for public contracts in Germany.
Before you bid
1. Register on the platform named in the notice. German tenders run on e-Vergabe platforms: e-Vergabe des Bundes, DTVP, Vergabemarktplatz NRW, Subreport and others. Registration lets you download the documents, receive the buyer’s clarifications and submit electronically.
- Cost and time: free on e-Vergabe des Bundes; done the same day.
- Valid: until you deregister.
- Who does it: the company registers itself with correct data, which the operator may check. Advisers then get their own user accounts through the platform’s user management (Nutzerverwaltung), under their own credentials. Nobody needs your login.
- From abroad: the same; foreign companies can register.
2. Consider prequalification (optional). A prequalification listing is checked once, independently of any contract, and then counts as proof of suitability in every tender.
- Construction: PQ-VOB. The official register of prequalified construction firms (Amtliches Verzeichnis PQ-VOB, § 6a VOB/A), run through PQ-Stellen under the Verein für die Präqualifikation von Bauunternehmen. It is open to domestic and foreign construction firms, but not to supplies, services or freelance work. The PQ-Stelle checks your register entries, tax, social-security, accident-insurance and SOKA-BAU certificates, turnover and at least three references per work category. Documents are mostly updated every 13 months, and the PQ-Stelle reminds you 20 days before a document expires. Fees are set by each PQ-Stelle on a cost basis and aren’t published centrally.
- Supplies and services: AVPQ. The chambers of commerce (IHK) keep an official list of prequalified suppliers and service providers. A listing also counts as suitability evidence.
3. Have your register entries ready. Tenders ask for proof that your trade is registered and the company is entered in the commercial or professional register of its seat: a commercial-register extract (Handelsregisterauszug), your trade registration (Gewerbeanmeldung) and, for regulated crafts, an entry in the Handwerksrolle with the Handwerkskammer. Commercial-register extracts are public and can be retrieved for you; trade and craft registrations are applied for by the company itself.
With your bid
4. Self-declarations. Above the EU thresholds, buyers must accept the European Single Procurement Document (Einheitliche Europäische Eigenerklärung, EEE) as preliminary proof of your suitability and of the absence of exclusion grounds. Below the threshold, works tenders typically use Formblatt 124. They are free, prepared the same day, valid for the one procedure, and you confirm them.
5. Submit in text form. Requests to participate and bids are submitted electronically in text form (§ 53 VgV, § 126b BGB). Text form means the declaring person is named; it doesn’t need a signature. A buyer may demand an advanced or qualified electronic signature or seal where security requires it, and the signer must be able to bind the company without limits. Keep the platform’s receipt confirmation (Empfangsbestätigung).
- Who does it: an adviser can prepare and upload the bid from their own user account, naming your authorised person or acting under a written power of attorney. Any qualified signature or company seal is applied by your own signatory, never by anyone else.
- From abroad: EU qualified certificates and seals are accepted under eIDAS.
6. Wage-compliance declarations (where they apply). For federal works and services contracts of €50,000 or more performed in Germany, the federal Tariftreuegesetz (from 1 May 2026) requires the contractor to grant collectively agreed working conditions set by regulation, and makes it liable for its subcontractors. Most states have their own wage-compliance laws with declarations. You sign; the forms can be prepared for you. This applies to work performed in Germany, including by posted workers.
7. If you bid with others or someone signs for you.
- Consortium declaration (Bietergemeinschaft): a consortium is treated as one bidder and needs no particular legal form to bid (§ 43 VgV). Members name a representative and accept joint liability. A lawyer typically drafts it; every member signs. For a foreign firm, teaming up with a German partner is a common way in.
- Power of attorney (Vollmacht): a bid is a declaration of the company, so anyone other than the statutory representative needs a Vollmacht. A lawyer drafts it, your managing director signs, notarised where required. Some registers refuse proxies altogether.
If you’re in line for award
Only now does the buyer ask for evidence, within its own deadline.
| Certificate | Issued by | Who can get it for you | Valid for | What only you do |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tax certificate (Bescheinigung in Steuersachen) | Your Finanzamt | A Steuerberater, as your authorised tax representative | PQ-VOB treats it as current for 13 months; buyers often want 12 months or less | Sign the Steuerberater’s power of attorney |
| Social-security and accident-insurance certificates (Unbedenklichkeitsbescheinigungen) | Health-insurance funds; Berufsgenossenschaft | Your Steuerberater or payroll provider, from each fund | Certificate validity; PQ updates every 13 months | Authorise the requests and keep contributions paid |
| SOKA-BAU certificate (construction employers) | SOKA-BAU | You or your payroll provider | Certificate validity; PQ updates every 13 months | Keep SOKA contributions and registrations current |
| Turnover confirmation | Wirtschaftsprüfer or Steuerberater | A Wirtschaftsprüfer or Steuerberater signs it | 13 months for PQ-VOB | — |
| References | Your former clients | Collected for you on a reference-certificate template | Until older than 5 years | Ask your customers to sign them |
Unpaid taxes are a mandatory exclusion ground, which is why buyers and PQ-Stellen ask for the tax certificate. The SOKA-BAU certificate proves contributions to the construction industry’s social funds and minimum-wage compliance; employers outside the BRTV/VTV use a sworn confirmation from a Wirtschaftsprüfer or Steuerberater instead. Works tenders typically ask for net construction turnover for the last three financial years and at least three references per work category from the last five years.
When the tender asks for them:
- ISO certificates (quality, environment, information security), from a DAkkS- or EA-member-accredited body. Valid for three years with surveillance audits. Buyers must accept equivalent certificates.
- Certified German translations for a foreign company: buyers set the language, almost always German, and typically want certificates and references translated by a sworn translator (allgemein beeidigter Übersetzer), listed in the Justiz-Dolmetscherdatenbank.
What you don’t need to file: the competition register (Wettbewerbsregister). Buyers must query it themselves before awards of €50,000 or more and may not ask you for a self-disclosure. A self-disclosure costs €20 and is only useful for tenders abroad. And the old Gewerbezentralregister extract is no longer issued for procurement since 1 June 2025, even if an old template still lists it.
Before the contract and the first invoice (construction)
§ 48b exemption certificate (Freistellungsbescheinigung). Without it, your public client must withhold 15% construction tax from every payment for construction work. The Finanzamt issues it on application if tax claims aren’t at risk and a German authorised recipient (inländischer Empfangsbevollmächtigter) is appointed. Its validity is stated on the certificate, and buyers can verify it online with the Federal Central Tax Office.
- Who does it: a Steuerberater files the application and can act as your authorised recipient. You sign the application and the appointment.
- From abroad: foreign builders apply to the central Finanzamt responsible for their country, appoint a German authorised recipient and prove tax residence with a certificate from their home tax authority.
Who does what
| Step | Who can do it | What only you do |
|---|---|---|
| Platform registration | You, with advisers added as users | Register the company and approve users |
| PQ-VOB or AVPQ | A PQ-Stelle or the chambers’ certification bodies check it; the file is assembled for you | Sign the contract and declarations; keep certificates current |
| Self-declarations (EEE, Formblatt 124) | Prepared for you | Confirm them |
| Submission in text form | Prepared and uploaded for you from an adviser’s own account | Approve the final bid; apply a qualified signature or seal if demanded |
| Tax, social-security and turnover evidence | A Steuerberater or Wirtschaftsprüfer | Sign the powers of attorney |
| Consortium declaration, power of attorney | A Rechtsanwalt drafts | Sign |
| Certified translations | A sworn translator | — |
| ISO certificates | An accredited certification body | Undergo the audit |
| § 48b exemption | A Steuerberater, who can also be your authorised recipient | Sign the application |
The professionals involved
| Professional | Licensed or regulated by | What they do for a bidder |
|---|---|---|
| Steuerberater, vereidigter Buchprüfer or Wirtschaftsprüfer | Steuerberaterkammer; Wirtschaftsprüferkammer | Confirm construction turnover for the last 3 years and minimum-wage compliance; request the tax certificate and § 48b exemption as your tax representative; prepare audited accounts |
| Rechtsanwalt / Fachanwalt für Vergaberecht | Regional Rechtsanwaltskammer; Bundesrechtsanwaltskammer | Review tender documents; complaints (Rügen) and review proceedings before the Vergabekammer; draft powers of attorney and consortium agreements; self-cleaning submissions |
| Notar | Notarkammern; Bundesnotarkammer | Publicly certify signatures, for example on powers of attorney; commercial-register filings |
| PQ-Stelle and ISO certification bodies | PQ-VOB association; DAkkS (accreditation) | Prequalify construction firms in PQ-VOB; ISO 9001, 14001, 45001 and 27001 certification |
| Sworn translator | State justice administrations (Justiz-Dolmetscherdatenbank) | Certified German translations of foreign register extracts, tax and social-security certificates and references |
Legal advice on your specific case, such as whether and how to file a complaint, is reserved to a Rechtsanwalt.
If your company is from abroad
You don’t need a German company to bid. Who may bid from abroad, and on what terms, is explained in How to bid for public contracts in Germany. For the paperwork:
For each step, a foreign company uses its home-country equivalent: a home register extract instead of the Handelsregister, a home tax certificate (translated), and home social-security equivalents. Workers posted to Germany stay in their home system with an A1 certificate. Foreign construction firms posting workers are generally covered by the SOKA-BAU procedure, and wage-compliance rules apply to work performed in Germany. Plan for certified German translations, and for the § 48b certificate with a German authorised recipient before the first invoice on construction work.
Pitfalls
- Don’t offer a competition-register self-disclosure in a German tender: buyers may not ask for one.
- Don’t chase a Gewerbezentralregister extract for procurement: it hasn’t been issued for that since 1 June 2025, and only the legal representative can ever apply for one, never a proxy.
- Never hand over your signature card or seal. If a qualified signature is demanded, your own signatory applies it.
- Construction: secure the § 48b certificate before you invoice, or 15% is withheld from every payment.
- Keep certificates current. PQ-VOB updates most documents every 13 months; buyers often want tax certificates no older than 12 months.
- Tax advice comes from a Steuerberater. Under the StBerG it is reserved to the professions the act names, such as Steuerberater and Wirtschaftsprüfer; a bid writer can’t give it.
Doing it with askTender
In Germany, your askTender Partner is added as a named user on your company’s account on the e-Vergabe platforms and works under their own login. You keep your own login and sign only what the law reserves to you: registering the company, confirming declarations, signing powers of attorney and applying a qualified signature when a buyer demands one. The askTender Desk prepares the self-declarations and forms, assembles the bid and coordinates the certificates; askTender Partners, such as a Steuerberater, a Rechtsanwalt or a sworn translator, do the steps their licence covers.
Questions
Which documents do I need to submit with a bid in Germany?
Usually only self-declarations: the European Single Procurement Document (Einheitliche Europäische Eigenerklärung) or the buyer’s own forms, such as Formblatt 124 for works below the threshold, plus your offer itself. Buyers accept self-declarations provisionally and ask for certificates, references and turnover evidence only from the bidder in line for award.
Do I need a qualified electronic signature to bid in Germany?
Not as a rule. Bids are submitted electronically in text form under § 53 VgV, which means the declaring person must be named, not that a signature is needed. A buyer can demand an advanced or qualified signature or seal where security requires it; then your own authorised signatory applies it.
Do I have to send an extract from the competition register (Wettbewerbsregister)?
No. German buyers query the federal competition register themselves before awards of €50,000 or more, and may not ask bidders for a self-disclosure. A self-disclosure costs €20 and is only useful for tenders abroad.
Can I still get a Gewerbezentralregister extract for a tender?
No. Since 1 June 2025 the Federal Office of Justice no longer issues Gewerbezentralregister extracts to prepare procurement decisions; the competition register replaced them. Old tender templates may still list it.
What happens if a construction firm has no § 48b exemption certificate?
The public client must withhold 15% construction tax from every payment for construction work. The Freistellungsbescheinigung under § 48b EStG avoids that; a Steuerberater can apply for it and, for a foreign firm, act as the required German authorised recipient.
Is prequalification required?
No. It is optional, but a listing counts as proof of suitability. Construction firms, including foreign ones, can be listed in PQ-VOB; supply and service providers can use the chambers of commerce’s official list (AVPQ).
Sources
- e-Vergabe des Bundes: terms of use for bidders
- VgV § 53: form and transmission of bids
- VgV § 43: consortia (Bietergemeinschaften)
- PQ-VOB guideline for prequalifying construction firms (Bundesanzeiger, 20 June 2022)
- Verein für die Präqualifikation von Bauunternehmen (PQ-VOB)
- Bundeskartellamt: self-disclosure from the competition register
- Federal Office of Justice: the Gewerbezentralregister and public tenders
- EStG § 48b: exemption from the construction withholding tax
- Justiz-Dolmetscherdatenbank: sworn translators in Germany
- European Commission: questions and answers on the Kolin judgment
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.