How to bid for public tenders in Denmark

Denmark at a glance


Law	Udbudsloven (Public Procurement Act) for goods, services and EU-level works; Tilbudsloven (Tender Act) for works below the EU threshold
Regulator	KFST, the Danish Competition and Consumer Authority
Notices	udbud.dk (national, with a free search agent) and TED
Where you bid	The buyer’s e-tendering platform (for example ETHICS, Mercell, EU-Supply)
Foreign bidders	No Danish company, CVR or MitID needed to bid
Labour	Labour clauses requiring Danish collective-agreement pay on state contracts
Payment	E-invoicing via NemHandel is mandatory
Complaints	Klagenævnet for Udbud: automatic suspension if you complain during the standstill

SKI, the central purchasing body owned by the state (55%) and Local Government Denmark (45%), runs the big frameworks. About 1,000 public organisations bought DKK 18.8 billion through SKI agreements in 2025, from 1,605 suppliers. About 86% of those suppliers are SMEs, and two-thirds of the spend was IT.

Which rules apply: the thresholds

EU thresholds from 1 January 2026:

Contract	Threshold
Works (and concessions)	DKK 40,313,840 (€5,404,000)
Goods and services, state buyers	DKK 1,044,400 (€140,000)
Goods and services, regions, municipalities and others	DKK 1,611,360 (€216,000)
Social and other specific services (light regime)	DKK 5,595,000
Utilities and defence, goods and services	DKK 3,222,720

Below the thresholds:

Contract	Rules
Goods and services with clear cross-border interest	Must be advertised on udbud.dk, with a procedure and award criteria that respect equal treatment and transparency
Goods and services without cross-border interest, from DKK 500,000	Buyer must secure market terms: a market survey plus one quote, two or more quotes, or an advert
Works above DKK 3 million	Tilbudsloven: open or restricted licitation, publicly advertised
Works DKK 300,000–3 million	Tilbudsloven: 2–3 invited bids, one of which may come from outside the local area
Works below DKK 300,000	One bid can be enough

The Tilbudsloven repeal didn’t happen. A 2026 bill (L 113) would have abolished Tilbudsloven from 2027, added labour clauses to municipal works and repealed the tax-haven exclusion. It lapsed when the March 2026 election was called, so Tilbudsloven still applies. Watch for it to be re-tabled in the session opening in October 2026.

Minimum bid periods and binding times:

An EU open procedure gets at least 35 days, or 30 with electronic submission; as little as 15 after a prior information notice or in urgency.
Under Tilbudsloven, bids stay binding for 40 working days unless the tender says otherwise.

Who can bid

No discrimination by nationality. Buyers must treat EU and EEA companies no less favourably than Danish ones. Companies from other countries get the same protection to the extent the WTO GPA or a trade agreement requires.
Countries without an agreement. After the EU Court’s Kolin (2024) and CRRC (2025) rulings, the buyer decides whether to admit them, and they can’t rely on the directives. See how companies from outside the EU can bid for EU tenders.
Tax-haven exclusion (still in force). A company established in a country on the EU list of non-cooperative tax jurisdictions, with no GPA or trade agreement opening Danish procurement to it, is automatically excluded. The list includes Russia, Panama, Fiji and Trinidad and Tobago, among others.
Medical devices. EU rules exclude Chinese companies from medical-device tenders above €5 million.

Bidding without Danish credentials

No CVR or MitID. Nothing in Udbudsloven requires a Danish company or CVR number to bid. MitID Erhverv is for organisations in Denmark using government self-service; it isn’t needed to bid through e-tendering platforms.
E-signatures. Buyers may require an advanced e-signature only where the risks justify it, and then must accept any eIDAS-compliant advanced signature.
Access is free. Taking part in a procedure can’t require a fee.
Language. The law has no language rule, so each notice sets it. Most tenders are in Danish; some larger and EU-level tenders allow English. If only Danish is permitted, documents in other languages can be disregarded. The Complaints Board upheld rejecting a bidder whose insurance documents were only in English.
The ESPD. The electronic ESPD is mandatory as preliminary evidence. The intended winner then proves its statements with:
- home-country register extracts or certificates;
- or, where your country doesn’t issue them, a sworn or solemn declaration before an authority, notary or professional body.

Labour clauses, apprentices and posted workers

Labour clauses.
- State buyers must include labour clauses in all works, manufacturing and service contracts, whatever their size. Goods from ordinary production or stock are exempt.
- The clause guarantees employees of the supplier and subcontractors pay, allowances, working hours and conditions no less favourable than the most representative Danish nationwide collective agreement for the trade, with documentation duties and sanctions.
- Municipalities and regions are recommended to do the same.
Apprentices. Buyers must require apprentices or trainees on:
- works contracts performed in Denmark lasting at least 6 months and above the EU works threshold;
- certain service contracts (repair, installation, transport, cleaning) of at least 6 months and DKK 5 million.
Subcontractors: in works and services contracts, you must disclose their names and contact details.
Posted workers: register in RUT, the Register of Foreign Service Providers, by the time work starts. Fines are around DKK 10,000.

Bidding, step by step

Find the notice on TED and udbud.dk, and set up the udbud.dk search agent. Watch SKI for framework tenders.
Identify the regime: EU procedure, light regime, cross-border below-threshold, or a works licitation under Tilbudsloven. Note the permitted languages, the lots and the deadline.
Register on the platform the notice names to download the documents. Access is free.
Ask questions in writing in the platform’s Q&A.
Check exclusion grounds, including the tax-haven rule. Collect ESPDs from any consortium members or subcontractors whose capacity you rely on.
Complete the electronic ESPD and prepare home-country certificates or sworn declarations.
Prepare the bid in a permitted language, against the stated award criteria, priced in DKK unless stated otherwise.
Submit electronically before the deadline.
The award letter gives the reasons and the date the standstill ends. If you’re the intended winner, provide your evidence.
Before work starts:
- register in RUT if you’re posting workers;
- apply any labour or apprentice clauses;
- set up e-invoicing.

Securities and payment

Securities are contractual. Udbudsloven sets no statutory bid or performance bond. For works, the AB 18 general conditions are usually agreed. They set the contractor’s security at:

Stage	Security
Until handover	15% of the contract sum
After handover	10%
One year after handover	2%, expiring after 5 years

The security is due within 8 working days of the contract, and is automatic where the contract sum exceeds DKK 1 million. Public clients are exempt from providing security to the contractor.

AB 18 payments:
- interim payments can be claimed twice a month, due 15 working days after the claim;
- the final account is due 25 working days after handover.
E-invoicing is mandatory. Invoices to public authorities go electronically through NemHandel, in OIOUBL or Peppol BIS format. They must quote the buyer’s EAN location number and reference. A non-compliant invoice can be held back.

How bids are evaluated

The standard: the most economically advantageous tender, judged on price, cost (including life-cycle costing) or best price-quality ratio (bedste forhold mellem pris og kvalitet).
Sub-criteria can cover quality (including environmental, social and innovative features), the experience of staff, after-sales service and delivery. Price can be fixed so bidders compete on quality alone.
Unusually low tenders: the buyer must ask you to explain. It must reject a bid whose low price comes from breaking environmental, social or labour obligations, including collective agreements.
No local preference is allowed. Tilbudsloven actually requires invitations to include bidders from outside the local area.
SMEs: buyers must split contracts into lots or explain why not. A public buyer that fails to explain can be fined 1% of the contract value (up to DKK 100,000) by the Complaints Board.

Complaints

Standstill: 10 calendar days after an electronic award notice, or 15 days by letter. There’s no standstill for framework call-offs, dynamic purchasing system awards or awards made without a prior notice.
Automatic suspension. A complaint filed during the standstill stops the contract being signed until the Board rules on interim suspension, which it must do within 30 days. Tell the buyer in writing that you’re complaining, no later than when you file.
Deadlines:
- EU procedures:
  - 20 days if you weren’t shortlisted;
  - 45 days after the award notice on TED;
  - 30 days after notice of a framework call-off or dynamic purchasing award;
  - 6 months after a framework is concluded.
- Tilbudsloven and cross-border below-threshold contracts: 45 days after a reasoned award notice.
- Below-threshold contracts without cross-border interest can’t go to the Board.
Fees: DKK 20,000 for complaints about EU procedures, and DKK 10,000 for others such as Tilbudsloven. It’s refunded if you win in whole or in part.
Remedies: the Board can award damages and declare contracts ineffective.
Courts: Board decisions can be taken to court within 8 weeks.

What changed in 2025–2026

2025: Udbudsloven and the Complaints Board Act were re-consolidated.
30 June 2025: the EU restricted Chinese bidders in medical-device tenders.
1 January 2026: new thresholds (DKK 40.3 million works; DKK 1.04 million / 1.61 million goods and services).
18 February 2026: bill L 113 was tabled. It would have:
- abolished Tilbudsloven from 2027;
- required at least 3 quotes or an advert for works from DKK 5 million;
- required Danish collective-agreement terms in municipal EU-level works;
- repealed the tax-haven exclusion.
March 2026: L 113 lapsed with the general election, so none of it is in force.
9 September 2026: the European Commission proposed a single EU Public Procurement Act. It’s a proposal only, and doesn’t change 2026 bidding.

Live Danish tenders

Questions

Do I need a Danish company, CVR number or MitID to bid in Denmark?

No. Danish procurement law doesn’t require a Danish entity or CVR number to bid. You bid through the buyer’s e-tendering platform with that platform’s own account, and if an advanced e-signature is required, buyers must accept any eIDAS-compliant one. MitID Erhverv is for organisations in Denmark using government self-service, not for bidding.

Can I bid in English in Denmark?

Only if the notice allows it. Danish law sets no language rule, so each notice decides. Where Danish is the only permitted language, the Complaints Board has upheld a buyer that disregarded documents in English. Check the notice’s language field and ask in the tender Q&A early.

What are the Danish procurement thresholds for 2026?

From 1 January 2026: works DKK 40,313,840; goods and services DKK 1,044,400 for state buyers and DKK 1,611,360 for regions, municipalities and others; social and other specific services DKK 5,595,000. Below the thresholds, goods and services with clear cross-border interest must be advertised on udbud.dk, and works fall under the Tender Act (Tilbudsloven).

Can a company from outside the EU bid in Denmark?

EU and EEA companies must get equal treatment, and companies from WTO GPA or trade-agreement countries are protected as far as those agreements reach. For other countries, under the EU Court’s Kolin and CRRC rulings, the buyer decides whether to admit you. Companies established in an EU-listed tax haven with no GPA or trade agreement are automatically excluded.

Will a foreign contractor have to pay Danish wages?

Often, yes. State buyers must include labour clauses requiring pay and conditions at least equal to the most representative Danish nationwide collective agreement, in all works, manufacturing and service contracts; municipalities and regions are recommended to do the same. Large contracts performed in Denmark may also require apprentices, and posted workers must be registered in the RUT register.

How do I challenge a Danish tender award?

Complain to Klagenævnet for Udbud (the Complaints Board for Public Procurement) during the 10-day standstill. That automatically stops the contract being signed until the Board rules on suspension, within 30 days. The fee is DKK 20,000 for EU-procedure complaints and DKK 10,000 for others, refunded if you win in whole or in part.

Sources

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.