This guide is the checklist behind a bid in Iceland: each document and step in the order a tender asks for it, and who is allowed to handle it. For how Icelandic procurement works overall, from thresholds and procedures to evaluation and complaints, see How to bid for public tenders in Iceland.
Before you bid
1. Open your company’s account on the tendering portal. Fjársýsla ríkisins and many other buyers use TendSign, run by Mercell; others use the system the notice names, such as In-Tend or the portals of Reykjavík, Isavia and RARIK. Registering lets you read the documents without committing to bid.
- Cost and time: free, and done the same day. The account stays open.
- Users: each account is tied to a company kennitala or ID number. Up to nine user accounts per ID are free; more cost money.
- Who does it: your company registers itself. A bid consultant then registers their own additional user under your company ID, so they never need your password, and you approve that user.
- From abroad: TendSign registration accepts companies from any country with their own home ID number, and the interface is in English.
2. Icelandic companies: an electronic ID for the procurator. Rafræn skilríki, issued by Auðkenni, are how you log in to island.is to order certificates later in the process. They aren’t shown as required to submit a TendSign bid. The ID is personal: your prókúruhafi uses their own. A foreign bidder generally can’t get one without an Icelandic kennitala, and supplies home-country certificates instead.
3. Read the language clause. Each tender states which languages it accepts; in 2026, 82% of Icelandic TED notices accepted English. Icelandic certificates are issued only in Icelandic. Where a tender is Icelandic-only, a translator needs days, so check the deadline before you start.
With your bid
4. The ESPD. The European Single Procurement Document (Evrópska hæfisyfirlýsingin) is a reusable self-declaration that can replace certificates at bid stage; the selected bidder then submits the certificates. It is free, takes about 1 day and can be reused. It is filled in for you; you confirm and sign it.
5. The electronic forms. On TendSign you create the bid and answer the buyer’s electronic forms rather than uploading PDFs: comparable work, references and staff go in the fields provided, subcontractors are added, and the ESPD is attached. It is free and takes a few days to assemble. The forms are filled in for you; you confirm the answers. Foreign references count.
6. A guarantee, where the tender sets one. No standard applies: of 364 Icelandic TED notices in 2026, 34 required a guarantee, 57 said none was needed and 273 didn’t say. Works contracts commonly use ÍST 30. A bank or insurer issues the guarantee; you apply for it, and the wording can be prepared for you. Whether a foreign issuer is acceptable depends on the tender.
7. Send the bid. The bid goes out with Senda tilboð from the logged-in account, and the system confirms it by email. Keep that receipt.
- Who does it: the bid is prepared for you by a bid consultant working as a named user; you approve the final content before it goes.
If you’re in line for award
The selected bidder now submits the certificates the ESPD stood in for.
| Evidence | Issued by | Who can get it for you | Valid for | What only you do |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skuldleysisvottorð (no tax arrears) | Skatturinn, online through island.is | Nobody: only your registered prókúruhafi can order it | Issued only at a balance of ISK 0; in Icelandic | Order it with your own rafræn skilríki and forward it |
| Pension-fund certificates (staðfesting á skilum lífeyrisiðgjalda) | Each pension fund you pay into | The funds can be listed and the requests drafted for you | — | Send or authorise the requests |
| Company-registry certificate (vottorð úr fyrirtækjaskrá) | Skatturinn – Fyrirtækjaskrá, online | Can be ordered for you, since the register is available electronically | — | — |
Foreign firms supply a home-country tax clearance, a home social-security certificate and a home register extract instead.
Before the contract and the first posting
8. Posted workers. EEA, EFTA and Faroese service providers may post employees to Iceland temporarily. They give the Administration of Occupational Safety and Health (Vinnueftirlitið, AOSH) information about their operations and the posted employees, for each posting, and follow Icelandic law. The data can be prepared for you; the employer submits or authorises the notification.
9. Chain liability. If you use subcontractors or staffing agencies, you as main contractor are liable for their staff’s wages, terms and insurance (keðjuábyrgð), and since 2024 you may ask for payslips and timesheets (Art. 88a of Act 120/2016). Monitoring your subcontractors stays with you for the contract term.
10. E-invoicing. Public buyers must accept e-invoices under EN 16931, in Iceland’s TS 236:2017 specification. Your accountant or an e-invoicing provider sets this up, and it takes a few days; you choose the provider. A foreign supplier uses a Peppol or EN 16931 provider.
Who does what
| Step | Who can do it | What only you do |
|---|---|---|
| Portal account | A bid consultant registers their own user under your company ID | Register the company; approve the consultant’s user |
| Rafræn skilríki | Nobody else | Your procurator uses their own |
| Language and translations | A translator; the clause is checked for you | — |
| ESPD | Filled in for you | Confirm and sign |
| Electronic forms and references | Filled in for you | Confirm the answers |
| Guarantee | A bank or insurer; the wording prepared for you | Apply for it |
| Sending the bid | Prepared for you by a bid consultant as a named user | Approve the final content |
| Skuldleysisvottorð | Nobody but your prókúruhafi | Order and forward it |
| Pension-fund certificates | Requests drafted for you | Send or authorise them |
| Company-registry certificate | Ordered for you | — |
| AOSH posted-worker information | Data prepared for you | Submit or authorise it |
| Chain liability | Flagged for you | Monitor your subcontractors |
| E-invoicing | Your accountant or an e-invoicing provider | Choose the provider |
The professionals involved
| Professional | Licensed or regulated by | What they do for a bidder |
|---|---|---|
| Löggiltur endurskoðandi (state-authorised auditor) or bókari (bookkeeper) | Endurskoðendaráð (auditors’ oversight) | Confirm financial figures and annual accounts asked as evidence of financial standing; handle VAT (VSK) and payroll registrations with Skatturinn for a foreign winner |
| Tilboðsráðgjafi (bid consultant) | Unregulated | Prepare the electronic bid forms in TendSign as an additional user under your kennitala; prepare the ESPD and the evidence pack |
If your company is from abroad
You don’t need an Icelandic company or ID number to bid: TendSign takes your home company ID, and who may bid from abroad is set out in How to bid for public tenders in Iceland. For the paperwork:
Register on TendSign with your home ID number. In place of the skuldleysisvottorð, give your home country’s tax clearance; in place of the pension-fund certificates, a home social-security certificate; in place of the company-registry certificate, your home register extract. A foreign branch (útibú) registers in the same Icelandic register if needed. References from abroad are valid, staff you post to Iceland are reported to AOSH, and invoices go through a Peppol or EN 16931 provider.
Pitfalls
- Never hand over your rafræn skilríki. Certificates bound to your prókúruhafi are ordered by that person, with their own ID.
- Read the language clause first. Translation takes days and deadlines can be short.
- Watch your subcontractors. Chain liability makes you answer for their staff’s wages, terms and insurance.
- Fill in the forms, don’t attach PDFs. TendSign bids are made in its electronic forms.
- Keep the email receipt. It is your confirmation that the bid was sent.
- A bid sent for you needs your signed authorisation. When someone submits a bid on your company’s behalf, a copy of a signed authorisation (umboð) must go with it.
Doing it with askTender
In Iceland, your askTender Partner is added as a named user on your company’s account on TendSign and works under their own login. You keep your own login, and sign what only you can sign: the company registration, the ESPD, approval of the final bid and the certificates ordered by your prókúruhafi. The askTender Desk prepares the ESPD, the TendSign forms and the evidence pack; askTender Partners, such as a löggiltur endurskoðandi, do the steps their licence covers.
Questions
Which documents go in with a bid in Iceland?
The ESPD, which can stand in for certificates at this stage, and your answers in the tender’s electronic forms, including references, comparable work, staff and subcontractors. Add a bank or insurance guarantee only where the tender asks for one, and translations where the language clause requires Icelandic.
Can a consultant prepare my bid on TendSign?
Yes. Your company registers on TendSign, and the consultant then registers an additional user account under your company ID, one of the nine that are free, so nobody uses your password. The consultant fills in the forms; you approve the final content before the bid is sent.
Which certificates does the selected bidder provide?
A skuldleysisvottorð from Skatturinn showing no tax arrears, a certificate from each pension fund you pay into showing you are up to date, and a certificate from Skatturinn’s company register. Foreign firms supply their home-country tax clearance, social-security certificate and register extract.
Who can order the skuldleysisvottorð?
Only your company’s registered procurator (prókúruhafi) in Skatturinn’s company register, logged in on island.is with their own rafræn skilríki. It is issued online, in Icelandic, and only when the balance on your kennitala is ISK 0, so your accountant can’t order it in their own name.
What does a foreign company do before working in Iceland?
EEA, EFTA and Faroese providers posting staff give the Administration of Occupational Safety and Health (AOSH) information about their operations and posted employees, for each posting. As main contractor you are also liable for the wages, terms and insurance of your subcontractors’ staff, and public buyers take e-invoices in the EN 16931 format.
Sources
- island.is: taking part in a tender
- Submitting bids in TendSign (midlaegirsamningar.is)
- TendSign: supplier registration
- island.is: certificate of no tax arrears (skuldleysisvottorð)
- Skatturinn: company register (fyrirtækjaskrá)
- island.is: posted workers
- Financial Management Authority: utbodsvefur.is
- Act on Public Procurement No. 120/2016 (official English translation)
- Regulation 360/2022 (e-invoicing standard)
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.