This guide is the checklist behind a Luxembourg bid: each document and step in the order a tender asks for it, and who can lawfully handle it. For how Luxembourg procurement works overall (thresholds, procedures, who may bid, how bids are assessed, payment and challenges), see How to bid for public tenders in Luxembourg.
Before you bid
1. A user account on the public procurement portal. Downloading the documents, asking questions through secure messaging and depositing an electronic offer all happen on pmp.b2g.etat.lu, run by the Ministry of Mobility and Public Works. There is no supplier pre-registration list. The account is free and ready the same day.
- How you log in: a LuxTrust smartcard or stick, the Luxembourg eID, a notified EU eIDAS identity, or a username and password.
- One account per person. Each account has one email address and one login support, so everyone who works on your bids self-registers their own and nobody uses anyone else’s signing device.
- From abroad: a username and password or a notified EU eIDAS identity works; no Luxembourg registration is needed.
2. Your workstation and the signing tool. Test your computer on the portal and install its Mon assistant marchés publics tool before the deadline week, with your signatory.
3. A qualified electronic signature. Every offer has to be signed before it is deposited; a request to participate doesn’t. The signature comes from LuxTrust (smartcard or Signing Stick, PRIVATE or PRO), the Luxembourg eID, or any provider with “QCert for eSig” on the EU Trusted List. Files are signed as PAdES PDFs, or as XAdES or CAdES with a token, using Mon assistant marchés publics or directly in a PDF reader. The signature lasts as long as its certificate.
- Who does it: your authorised representative signs each offer file on their own device; the files can be prepared for you and checked with the portal’s Vérifier la signature tool.
- From abroad: any qualified certificate on the EU Trusted List works. Non-EU certificates are not mentioned as accepted.
4. Questions. Read the documents for the language, lots and guarantees, and send questions to the buyer through the portal’s secure messaging. Both can be done for you.
With your bid
5. The procuration, if someone other than your statutory manager signs. The signatory must be able to bind the company: the manager shown in the RCS, or the holder of a procuration, either a private deed or one drawn up by a notary. Paper offers may also be handed in by your mandataire. Its validity is whatever it states.
- Who does it: a lawyer drafts it and your statutory managers sign it. A partner who signs under a procuration uses their own qualified certificate.
- From abroad: an extract from your home register proves who may sign.
6. The ESPD (DUME). Above EU thresholds, buyers must accept the European Single Procurement Document; below them, only if the documents allow it. It is free, done the same day and made for each tender.
- Who does it: it can be completed for you; your representative confirms it and signs it with the offer.
7. The bordereau and the technical offer. Prices go on the buyer’s price schedule (bordereau de soumission) in euros, excluding VAT, next to the technical offer. They can be prepared for you, for your signature.
8. The joint-and-several undertaking (engagement solidaire), for a consortium. A collective offer must include a dated and signed undertaking that names a mandataire from among the members and states each member’s share. A lawyer drafts it and each member’s authorised representative signs it; it holds for that tender.
9. Sworn translations, when the buyer asks. A buyer may require any submitted document to be translated into French, German or Luxembourgish at your cost, by a sworn or approved translator (traducteur assermenté / agréé). It is typical for foreign certificates and statutes. The bid itself usually follows the language of the documents, French or German.
10. Quality and environmental certificates, when the tender asks. Buyers may require certificates from independent bodies on quality assurance or environmental management (ISO 9001 or 14001, EMAS), and test reports from conformity-assessment bodies (RGD arts. 18 and 21). A certification body audits you, and equivalent certificates from other Member States must be accepted.
11. The electronic deposit. You prepare the deposit on the portal, attach the files already signed, deposit before the deadline and keep the acknowledgement of receipt, which lists each correctly signed file. Depositing is free.
- Who does it: once your signatory has signed the files, the deposit can be assembled and uploaded for you.
If you’re the likely winner
The buyer asks for proof that your social contributions and taxes are paid, and gives you at least 15 days. Each of the three certificates must be dated no earlier than 3 months before the opening day and no later than that day, so start requesting them before the bid deadline. Your subcontractors provide them too.
| Document | Issued by | Who handles it | Valid for | What only you do |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Social-security certificate (attestation de non-obligation) | Centre commun de la sécurité sociale (CCSS) | An accountant or fiduciary, where the CCSS accepts a mandate; otherwise you request it | Dated within 3 months before the opening | Request it or authorise the request; keep contributions paid |
| Direct-tax certificate, covering direct taxes and wage-tax withholding returns | Administration des contributions directes (ACD), from the competent collection office, on simple request | An accountant requests it for you | Dated within 3 months before the opening | Authorise the request |
| VAT certificate | Administration de l’enregistrement, des domaines et de la TVA (AED) | An accountant requests it for you | Dated within 3 months before the opening | Authorise the request |
| Criminal-record extract of the company (casier judiciaire personne morale), if the tender asks; it includes EU convictions notified through ECRIS | Service du casier judiciaire (Parquet général) | Requested by the company online on MyGuichet.lu with a LuxTrust product, or by email, post or in person; free | — | Request it; an individual entrepreneur gives their personal extract |
| RCS extract, if the tender asks | Luxembourg Business Registers | Ordered for you online with your RCS number | — | — |
Before the contract and the first invoice
A business permit (autorisation d’établissement), for firms from outside the EEA and Switzerland. The Ministry of the Economy’s Direction générale des classes moyennes issues this permit for commercial, craft, industrial and certain liberal activities, subject to professional integrity (honorabilité) and qualification. Firms from outside the EEA and Switzerland need it even for occasional work in Luxembourg, before they start. The chancery fee is €50, and it lasts while the conditions are met; changes must be notified. A fiduciary can prepare the file, but the manager registered at the RCS files it on MyGuichet.lu with their own LuxTrust (PRIVATE or PRO), or signs the paper application.
A notification of occasional services, for EEA and Swiss firms. Craft and industrial firms from the EEA and Switzerland, which includes most construction trades, notify the Ministry of the Economy before work starts; liste C trades and regulated liberal professions are exempt. The fee is €50, paid online by card or Payconiq, by fiscal stamp or by bank transfer, and the notification is valid for 12 months. The form can be prepared for you; you sign it and pay the fee.
Posted workers. A foreign employer declares each posting to the Inspection du travail et des mines (ITM) on its e-Détachement platform before the posting, and the workers carry home-country A1 forms.
Insurance. Before works start, the buyer may require an insurer’s certificate for professional liability up to the amount in the specifications, and an all-risks site policy for large works or general contracting. The insurer must be approved in Luxembourg, or an EEA insurer authorised to operate there; it covers the contract, and you sign the policy.
The retention guarantee and the non-EEA deposit. On works and supplies, buyers retain 10% of interim payments, which you can replace with a guarantee from a bank or a mutual guarantee society (mutualité de cautionnement), valid until acceptance. A buyer may also require a deposit from a winner domiciled outside the EEA (RGD art. 34). There is no general bid-bond rule. You sign the guarantee facility.
A Luxembourg VAT number, where needed. A foreign contractor may need Luxembourg VAT registration before starting work; an accountant files it with the AED.
Electronic invoicing. Invoices on public contracts are structured e-invoices that comply with the EN standard, sent through Peppol or MyGuichet.lu. You contract with a Peppol access-point provider, or use your own MyGuichet professional space.
Who does what
| Step | Who can do it | What only you do |
|---|---|---|
| Portal account | Everyone who works on your bids self-registers their own | Register your own account |
| Workstation test and signing tool | Set up with you | Install it on your signatory’s computer |
| Qualified signature | LuxTrust, the Luxembourg eID or an EU Trusted List provider issues it | Your representative signs every offer file on their own device |
| Questions | Sent through secure messaging for you | — |
| Procuration | A lawyer drafts; a notary for an authentic deed | Your statutory managers sign |
| ESPD | Completed for you | Confirm and sign it with the offer |
| Bordereau and technical offer | Prepared for you | Sign them |
| Consortium undertaking | A lawyer drafts | Each member signs |
| Sworn translations | A sworn or approved translator | — |
| Quality certificates | An accredited certification body | Undergo the audit |
| Deposit | Assembled and uploaded for you | Sign the files beforehand |
| CCSS, ACD and AED certificates | An accountant or fiduciary | Authorise the request; keep payments current |
| Company criminal-record extract | — | Request it on MyGuichet.lu with LuxTrust |
| RCS extract | Ordered for you | — |
| Business permit | A fiduciary prepares the file | Your manager files it and meets the integrity and qualification conditions |
| Services notification | Prepared for you | Sign it and pay the fee |
| Posted-worker declarations | — | Declare postings and obtain A1s |
| Insurance and retention guarantee | An insurer, bank or mutual guarantee society | Sign the policy and the facility |
| E-invoicing | Set up through your access-point provider | Contract with it, or use your MyGuichet space |
The professionals involved
| Professional | Licensed or regulated by | What they do for a bidder |
|---|---|---|
| Avocat à la Cour (lawyer) | Ordre des avocats du Barreau de Luxembourg or de Diekirch | Review the cahier spécial des charges, the exclusion grounds and consortium documents; draft procurations for those who sign offers; seek interim relief before the President of the Administrative Tribunal during the standstill, and bring annulment actions, where a lawyer is required |
| Expert-comptable, fiduciaire or réviseur d’entreprises agréé | Ordre des experts-comptables (OEC); Institut des réviseurs d’entreprises (IRE) and the CSSF for auditors | Keep you current with the CCSS, ACD and AED so the three certificates can be issued within the 15-day window; prepare financial-capacity statements and annual accounts (audited ones by a réviseur); file Luxembourg VAT registration and returns with the AED |
| Notaire (notary) | Chambre des notaires du Grand-Duché de Luxembourg | Draw up incorporation and branch deeds, needed before a business permit for a Luxembourg entity, and authentic procurations |
| Traducteur assermenté (sworn translator) | Sworn before the Cour supérieure de justice; list kept by the Ministry of Justice | Translate into French, German or Luxembourgish any bid document a buyer asks for |
| Certification or conformity-assessment body | OLAS (ILNAS) or another EA-member accreditation body | Issue the quality, environmental and test certificates a buyer may require |
| Bank, mutual guarantee society or insurer | CSSF (banks); Commissariat aux assurances (insurers) | Issue the guarantee replacing the 10% retention, the deposit a buyer may ask of a non-EEA winner, and professional-liability and all-risks site insurance certificates |
| Tender consultant | Unregulated | Prepare the bordereau, the technical offer, the ESPD and the annexes, and assemble the deposit on the portal |
If your company is from abroad
You don’t need a Luxembourg company or registration to bid, but firms from outside the EEA and Switzerland need a business permit before performing, and EEA and Swiss craft and industrial firms notify the Ministry of the Economy; who may bid from abroad, and on what terms, is explained in How to bid for public tenders in Luxembourg. For the paperwork:
- Portal: log in with a username and password or a notified EU eIDAS identity.
- Signature: any qualified certificate on the EU Trusted List.
- Signing authority: an extract from your home register.
- Company record: your home-register extract instead of the RCS extract, translated if the buyer asks.
- Tax and social security: a bidder not established in Luxembourg provides the Luxembourg certificates and the same certificates from its home tax and social-security authorities.
- Criminal record: from the competent authority of the state where the company has its real seat.
- Translations: sworn translations into French, German or Luxembourgish, if the buyer asks.
- Before work: the business permit or the services notification, posted-worker declarations with A1 forms, and a Luxembourg VAT number where needed. A non-EEA winner may face the RGD art. 34 deposit.
Pitfalls
- Never lend your LuxTrust or eID, and never borrow one. Your own signatory signs the offer files before anyone deposits them.
- Check every file’s signature with the portal’s verifier before depositing: an unsigned offer is void.
- Date the certificates right. They must be dated within 3 months before the opening day, so request them before the bid deadline.
- Sort out the permit before work starts. Firms from outside the EEA and Switzerland can’t start without a business permit; EEA and Swiss craft firms must notify (€50, 12 months).
- Bid in the language of the documents, usually French or German, unless they allow otherwise.
Doing it with askTender
In Luxembourg, your askTender Partner is added as a named user on your company’s account on the Public Procurement Portal and works under their own login. You keep your own login, and sign what only you can sign: every offer file with your own qualified certificate, the procuration, the consortium undertaking, the guarantee facilities, the business permit or services notification and the contract; you also request the company’s criminal-record extract. The askTender Desk prepares the bordereau, the technical offer, the ESPD and the deposit and coordinates the certificates; askTender Partners, such as a lawyer, an accountant, a notary or a sworn translator, do the steps their licence covers.
Questions
Which documents do I submit with a bid in Luxembourg?
The offer itself (the price schedule, or bordereau, in euros excluding VAT, and the technical offer), the ESPD where the tender uses it, a procuration if the signer isn’t your statutory manager, and the joint-and-several undertaking for a consortium. Every offer file must carry a qualified electronic signature before you deposit it on the portal.
Which signature can I use on a Luxembourg offer?
A qualified electronic signature from LuxTrust (smartcard or Signing Stick), the Luxembourg eID, or any provider listed with ‘QCert for eSig’ on the EU Trusted List. The material doesn’t mention non-EU certificates as accepted. Signing a request to participate isn’t required, but an unsigned offer is void.
What does the likely winner have to provide?
Certificates from the CCSS (social security), the ACD (direct taxes) and the AED (VAT), each dated no earlier than 3 months before the opening day, within the deadline the buyer sets, which is at least 15 days. Subcontractors provide them too, and a bidder not established in Luxembourg adds the same certificates from its home authorities. The buyer may also ask for the company’s criminal-record extract.
Can someone else sign the offer for my company?
Yes, if they can bind the company: your statutory manager as shown in the RCS, or someone holding a procuration that your managers sign. A lawyer can draft it, and a person signing under a procuration uses their own qualified certificate.
What do I need before starting work in Luxembourg?
Firms from outside the EEA and Switzerland need a business permit (autorisation d’établissement) from the Ministry of the Economy, even for occasional work. EEA and Swiss craft and industrial firms notify the Ministry instead (€50, valid 12 months). Foreign employers also declare posted workers to the ITM, and the contract may call for insurance certificates and a guarantee replacing the 10% retention.
Sources
- Law of 8 April 2018 on public procurement (Legilux)
- Grand-Ducal Regulation of 8 April 2018 (Legilux)
- marches.public.lu: authentication and e-signature
- Public procurement portal: practical guide for companies
- guichet.lu: taking part in a public tender
- guichet.lu: business permit
- guichet.lu: notifying occasional and temporary services
- guichet.lu: posting staff to Luxembourg
- guichet.lu: criminal-record extract of a legal person
- guichet.lu: electronic invoices for public contracts
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.