This guide is the checklist behind a Hong Kong government bid: each registration, document and certificate, grouped by the point in a procurement when it is asked for, with who can lawfully do it. For how Hong Kong procurement works overall (the Stores and Procurement Regulations, thresholds, the Approved List groups, evaluation, payment and challenges), see How to bid for government tenders in Hong Kong.
Before you bid
Your logins
1. An e-Tender Box (ETB) account. The Government Logistics Department’s e-Tender Box, part of its Procurement and Contract Management System (PCMS), is where you read notices, download documents, send enquiries and submit electronic offers for GLD and departmental tenders that accept e-submission. Paper submission to a tender box remains an alternative.
- Cost: free, and so is the identification code you log in with.
- Who does it: your company. You register the account and either activate the Alternative Authentication Method (the identification code) or use your own digital certificate. The code belongs to the company, so it stays with you and is never handed to an adviser.
- From abroad: the identification code is open to every supplier, so you need no Hong Kong certificate.
2. A digital certificate (optional). A Hongkong Post e-Cert (Organisational) or an iAM Smart-Cert can replace the identification code on the ETB and works for other government e-services. It is issued to your organisation’s authorised user and can’t be transferred. Foreign companies simply use the free code instead.
3. e-TS(WC), for public works. The Development Bureau’s Electronic Tendering System for Works Contracts is mandatory for open public-works tenders under the Central and Public Works Tender Boards invited on or after 1 April 2026. Invitations, documents, queries, submission, clarifications and award results all run through it. The listed contractor, or the joint venture, holds the account and submits; advisers prepare the files offline.
4. Public bodies’ own registers. The Hospital Authority, Housing Authority, Airport Authority and MTR run their own procurement and supplier or contractor lists outside the Regulations, though they are GPA-covered above SDR 400,000 (≈HK$4.17 million). MTR often uses a prequalification questionnaire. The registration or questionnaire answers can be prepared for you; you submit them under your own account on each body’s portal.
5. GLD notification lists (optional). Free mailing lists of tender notices by commodity. They are not prequalification: any supplier may bid on an open tender without being listed.
Your business identity
6. Business Registration Certificate (Business Registration Ordinance, Cap. 310), or evidence of exemption. Every government tender must show your BR number or documentary evidence that you are exempt.
- Cost, from 1 April 2026: HK$2,350 for 1 year (fee HK$2,200 plus levy HK$150) or HK$6,170 for 3 years (fee HK$5,720 plus levy HK$450); a branch certificate costs HK$230, or HK$658 for 3 years.
- Time: apply within one month of starting business.
- Valid: 1 or 3 years.
- Who does it: a licensed TCSP or company secretary files Form 1(b) for a body corporate, in person or by post, with the certificate of incorporation, translated and certified if it isn’t in Chinese or English. Local companies register through the Companies Registry’s one-stop service. You sign the application as the company’s authorised officer.
- From abroad: a foreign company with no Hong Kong place of business doesn’t register and gives evidence of exemption instead. One that establishes a place of business in Hong Kong must register within one month.
7. A Hong Kong company or a registered non-Hong Kong company. Incorporating locally, or registering your foreign company with the Companies Registry, gives you a legal presence in Hong Kong. You need it for the public-works lists, which ask for a Hong Kong place of business, and it is convenient for contracts; goods and services tenders don’t require it.
- Cost: HK$1,545 electronically or HK$1,720 on paper, for either route, plus the business registration fee and levy.
- Valid: ongoing, with annual returns.
- Who does it: a TCSP licensee prepares and files it through e-Registry. Your directors sign their consents and you provide the incorporation documents.
- From abroad: register as a non-Hong Kong company within one month of establishing a place of business.
8. Certified translations and authenticated documents. Incorporation documents that aren’t in Chinese or English need a certified translation, at least for business registration, and each tender sets its own submission language. Where a tender, or the Approved List fast-track, asks for authenticated overseas documents, a home-country notary or authority certifies them. Hong Kong applies the Apostille Convention, so an apostille from another party works for public documents. For the fast-track, your non-local contract experience must be authenticated by the foreign government, consul or trade commissioner, and you obtain the employer’s or client’s certificates of the past contracts yourself.
For public works and building work
9. The Development Bureau’s List of Approved Contractors for Public Works. Public works are normally tendered only to listed contractors or joint ventures with them. Admission is normally probationary and tests capital, technical staff, management and integrity.
- What goes in: paid-up, employed and working capital shown in audited accounts; named technical staff; ISO 9001 for Groups B and C; and an integrity management policy, following the Contractor Management Handbook.
- Valid: ongoing while you meet the retention criteria; your contractor profile is updated every 3 years.
- Who does it: the application is assembled with an accountant and an engineer; you sign the application and declarations, submit it, and keep the capital and staff in place.
- From abroad: the same rules as for local and Mainland applicants, but you must possess or set up a Hong Kong place of business.
The integrity management policy every approved contractor must hold is based on the Development Bureau’s sample, and named staff must be trained on it. A lawyer can adapt the sample; your board adopts it and you make sure the training happens.
10. The List of Approved Suppliers of Materials and Specialist Contractors. Specialist categories, such as electrical work, waterproofing and landslip prevention, have their own approved list for selective works tenders, with the same handbook-driven application. A Hong Kong place of business is normally required.
11. Buildings Department registration. Registration with the Building Authority as a Registered General Building Contractor or Specialist Contractor is a statutory requirement for carrying out building works and for the Buildings category of the Approved List. The application is prepared with an engineer, and your authorised signatory and technical director attend the registration interview in person. In practice you need a Hong Kong entity.
12. ISO 9001:2015. Required for Group B and C approved contractors, where an accredited body can alternatively confirm the quality manual of your Hong Kong office, and commonly scored in non-works tenders. An HKAS-accredited certification body audits you; certificates run 3 years with surveillance audits. For a foreign firm, the review must cover the Hong Kong office.
With your bid
Read the documents and ask. Tender documents come through your ETB login or can be collected in person. Enquiries can be drafted for you and sent through the ETB.
What goes into the offer.
| Document | When it’s asked | Who prepares it | What only you do |
|---|---|---|---|
| BR number or evidence of exemption | Every tender | A TCSP or company secretary keeps the registration current | Sign the BR application |
| National-security declarations and clauses | Every tender under the Regulations | Checked for you | Accept the clauses and answer every declaration truthfully |
| Wage schedule and employment terms | Service contracts that rely heavily on non-skilled workers, where at least 25 of 100 technical marks go to wages | A bid writer | Commit to the wage levels and employment terms |
| ISO 9001 certificate | Group B and C works; many service tenders | An HKAS-accredited certification body | Run the system and be audited |
| Tender deposit | Only where a tender exceptionally asks; it mustn’t be excessive and is refunded after award | Your bank issues the instrument | Fund the deposit |
| Answers to the essential requirements | Every tender | A bid writer | Have your authorised signatory sign the offer |
| The price | Every tender | — | Set it yourself |
Departments must weigh national-security risks, including a tenderer’s affiliations and whether it is subject to PRC sanctions, and standard contracts allow disqualification and termination on those grounds. The rule applies to every bidder, local or foreign.
Submit. Online, the transmission must be completed on the ETB before closing; on paper, the sealed offer goes into the Specified Tender Box named in the notice. Late tenders, and tenders in the wrong box, are rejected. Submission is free.
- Online: your company submits with its own identification code.
- Paper: your authorised signatory signs the offer, and the sealed envelope can be deposited by an adviser, a courier or an agent.
If you’re in line for award
| Certificate or proof | Issued by | Cost and time | Valid for | What only you do |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Audited accounts for financial vetting, contracts above HK$15 million | A practising CPA | — | — | Provide the accounts and sign management representations |
| Answers to clarifications, third-party verification or a site visit | The procuring department checks your documents with their issuers | — | — | Answer the questions yourself |
| ISO 9001 or specialist registrations, if not yet supplied | Certification body; Development Bureau; Buildings Department | — | As issued | Keep them current |
Financial vetting applies to recommended tenderers for stores and services contracts above HK$15 million, and to goods contracts as well for tenders from 1 January 2026. Your CPA provides the audited statements and answers the department’s queries with you. Failing it raises the contract deposit to 5% or 6%.
Verification is direct. Departments verify documents with third parties, and under the 2025 standard terms misrepresentation leads to disqualification and immediate termination.
Before the contract
Contract deposit or performance bond. Lodged before signing for non-works contracts above HK$1.35 million, and for works under the Development Bureau’s circulars.
- Amount: nothing up to HK$1.35 million; 2% above that; above HK$15 million, 2% if you pass financial vetting, otherwise 5% or 6%.
- Who issues it: a bank, an insurer or a financially capable parent company, as a guarantee in the department’s form on your application.
- What only you do: apply, and provide the collateral or premium.
- Valid: for the contract period.
Electronic payment details. For procurement invited from 1 June 2025 the government pays electronically only, by bank transfer or FPS. You give the department your bank or FPS details and certify them yourself; overseas companies give overseas bank-transfer details. It is free.
Challenges, if you need one. A solicitor prepares a complaint on your instructions and you sign it. For GPA- or FTA-covered tenders the Review Body on Bid Challenges takes filings within 10 working days, extendable to 30; only suppliers from GPA or FTA parties can use it.
Who does what
| Step | Who can do it | What only you do |
|---|---|---|
| ETB account and identification code | Nobody else | Register, activate the code and keep it private |
| e-Cert | Nobody else | Apply for and hold the certificate |
| e-TS(WC) for public works | The listed contractor or joint venture | Hold the account and submit |
| Public bodies’ registers and questionnaires | Prepared for you | Submit under your own account |
| Business registration | A TCSP or company secretary | Sign the application as authorised officer |
| Company incorporation or non-Hong Kong company registration | A TCSP licensee | Directors sign consents; provide incorporation documents |
| Translations and authentication | A translator; a notary or home-country authority | Obtain certificates of past contracts |
| Approved List and specialist list applications | Prepared with an accountant and an engineer | Sign and submit; keep capital and staff |
| Buildings Department registration | Prepared with an engineer | Your authorised signatory and technical director attend the interview |
| Integrity management policy | A lawyer adapts the sample | Your board adopts it; staff are trained |
| Offer, wage schedule and declarations | A bid writer | Your authorised signatory signs; confirm the declarations |
| Submission | Online: nobody else. Paper: an adviser or courier delivers | Submit with your own code; sign the paper offer |
| Financial vetting | A practising CPA | Provide accounts; sign management representations |
| Contract deposit | A bank, insurer or parent company | Apply and provide collateral or premium |
| Payment details | — | Provide and certify bank or FPS details |
| Bid challenge | A solicitor | Instruct and sign |
The professionals involved
| Professional | Licensed or regulated by | What they do for a bidder |
|---|---|---|
| Trust or company service provider (TCSP licensee) or company secretary | Registry for Trust and Company Service Providers (Companies Registry), under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Ordinance (Cap. 615) | Incorporate a local company or register a non-Hong Kong company (Part 16); provide a registered office or place of business and act as company secretary; handle business registration filings and renewals with the Inland Revenue Department |
| Practising certified public accountant (HKICPA member or AFRC-registered practice unit) | Hong Kong Institute of CPAs; Accounting and Financial Reporting Council | Audit the financial statements used for the Approved List capital tests and for financial vetting above HK$15 million; prepare profits tax and business registration matters |
| Solicitor or barrister | Law Society of Hong Kong; Hong Kong Bar Association | Review tender conditions, national-security and termination clauses and joint-venture agreements with listed contractors; advise on complaints to the Review Body on Bid Challenges; draft powers of attorney and board resolutions authorising signatories |
| Notary public | Hong Kong Society of Notaries; in the home country, its own authority | Certify translations and copies of foreign incorporation documents; authenticate overseas documents |
| Translator | — | Certified Chinese or English translations of incorporation certificates for business registration, and of tender submissions where the tender requires it |
| HKAS-accredited certification body | Hong Kong Accreditation Service | ISO 9001:2015 certification for Group B and C contractors (and ISO 14001 or 45001); confirm the quality manual of a Hong Kong office with no contracts in hand to audit |
| Bank, insurer or parent-company guarantor | Hong Kong Monetary Authority; Insurance Authority | Issue contract deposit and performance bond guarantees; provide employees’ compensation and contractors’ all-risk insurance |
| Technical director, authorised signatory or registered professional engineer | Buildings Department (Building Authority); Hong Kong Institution of Engineers and Engineers Registration Board | Be the named technical staff the Approved List and Buildings Department registration require; prepare technical proposals for works tenders |
If your company is from abroad
You don’t need a Hong Kong office to bid for goods and services; public works need a place on the Approved List, which requires a Hong Kong place of business, or a joint venture with a listed contractor. Who may bid from abroad, and on which tenders, is explained in How to bid for government tenders in Hong Kong. For the paperwork:
Log in to the e-Tender Box with the free identification code. Without a Hong Kong place of business you don’t take out business registration; give evidence of exemption in its place, and a company profile or annual report for GLD’s notification lists. Foreign documents not in Chinese or English go in with a certified translation, and overseas documents a tender wants authenticated are certified and apostilled in your home country. For financial vetting, home-country audited accounts in English or Chinese are used, and a financially capable parent company can guarantee the contract deposit. A paper tender can be delivered by a courier or agent. The government pays to overseas bank accounts by transfer. National-security assessment applies to you as to everyone, and the Review Body on Bid Challenges is open only to suppliers from GPA or FTA parties.
Pitfalls
- Never share the identification code, e-Cert or e-TS(WC) login. Advisers prepare documents or deliver sealed paper tenders; they don’t submit online for you.
- Verify every document before it goes in. Departments check directly with third parties, and misrepresentation means disqualification and immediate termination under the 2025 standard terms.
- Offering an advantage is a crime. Under the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance it is an offence to offer advantages to win a contract or to get a rival to withdraw a tender.
- Use the right box and beat the clock. Late tenders and tenders in the wrong tender box are rejected.
- Don’t chase public works without the list. Without a place on the Approved List, which needs a Hong Kong place of business, the route is a joint venture with a listed contractor.
- Check the submission language and currency. Each tender sets its language. Contracts are normally priced in HK$; foreign-currency quotes need the conditions of SPR 355, and a non-USD foreign currency on tenders of HK$10 million or more needs Treasury approval.
- Your named technical staff must really be yours. For public works, the staff you name must be genuinely employed by your company and keep up their continuous capability-building hours; nobody can lend you their credentials.
Doing it with askTender
In Hong Kong, the e-Tender Box identification code belongs to your company, so you log in and press submit yourself, in a guided session with askTender; everything before that is prepared for you, and a paper tender can be delivered to the tender box by your askTender Partner. You sign only what the law reserves to you: the business registration application, the offer and its declarations, the Approved List application and the contract. The askTender Desk prepares the offer and declarations, assembles the bid and coordinates the certificates; askTender Partners, such as a TCSP licensee, a practising CPA, a solicitor, a notary or a translator, do the steps their licence covers.
Questions
Do I need a Hong Kong business registration to bid on a government tender?
Every tender must show a Business Registration Certificate number or documentary evidence of exemption. A company with a Hong Kong place of business registers with the Inland Revenue Department; a foreign company with no place of business in Hong Kong doesn’t register and gives evidence of exemption instead. For GLD’s notification lists, overseas suppliers give a company profile or annual report.
How much does business registration cost in Hong Kong?
From 1 April 2026, a 1-year certificate costs HK$2,350 (fee HK$2,200 plus levy HK$150) and a 3-year certificate HK$6,170 (fee HK$5,720 plus levy HK$450). A branch certificate costs HK$230, or HK$658 for 3 years. You must apply within one month of starting business.
Do I need a digital certificate to submit on the e-Tender Box?
No. The Government Logistics Department gives every supplier a free identification code, the Alternative Authentication Method, so an overseas company needs no Hong Kong certificate. A Hongkong Post e-Cert or iAM Smart-Cert can be used instead if you prefer. The code belongs to your company: keep it private and never hand it to an adviser.
What deposit does the winner of a Hong Kong tender pay?
A tender deposit is not normally required. The successful tenderer lodges a contract deposit before signing: none up to HK$1.35 million, 2% above that, and above HK$15 million 2% if it passes financial vetting or 5% or 6% if it doesn’t. A bank, an insurer or a financially capable parent company can give it as a guarantee.
Who can set up a Hong Kong company or branch for a bidder?
A licensed trust or company service provider (TCSP), who prepares and files the registration through e-Registry while your directors sign their consents. Incorporating a local company or registering a non-Hong Kong company costs HK$1,545 electronically or HK$1,720 on paper, plus the business registration fee and levy.
What happens in financial vetting?
Recommended tenderers for stores and services contracts above HK$15 million, and for goods contracts too on tenders from 1 January 2026, have their finances vetted before award. A practising CPA supplies the audited statements and answers the department’s queries with you; you provide the accounts and sign the management representations. Failing the vetting raises the contract deposit to 5% or 6%.
Sources
- GLD: the e-Tender Box identification code (Alternative Authentication Method)
- Hongkong Post e-Cert
- Inland Revenue Department: business registration fees
- Inland Revenue Department: applying for business registration
- Companies Registry: fees
- Companies Registry: register of trust or company service providers
- Stores and Procurement Regulations, Chapter I (FSTB)
- Stores and Procurement Regulations, Chapter III: Tender Procedures (FSTB)
- FSTB: Guide to Procurement
- Report of Task Force on Review of Government Procurement Regime (January 2026)
- Development Bureau: Contractor Management Handbook (Rev. 28)
- Development Bureau: mandatory use of e-TS(WC) for open public works tenders
- Trade and Industry Department: Government Procurement (WTO GPA)
- Trade and Industry Department: Review Body on Bid Challenges
- HCCH: Apostille Convention status table
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.