How to bid for public tenders in Montenegro

Montenegro at a glance


Main law	Law on Public Procurement (“Sl. list CG” 74/19), amended 2023, 2024 and twice in 2026
Portal	CEJN at cejn.gov.me (ESJN in the law); bids are electronic
Policy body	Ministry of Finance, Directorate for Public Procurement Policy
Full procedures from	EUR 25,000 goods and services; EUR 40,000 works
Foreign bidders	Equal treatment; no domestic price preference found
Language	Montenegrin; tenders may allow an international language
Currency	Euro, net of VAT
Guarantees	2% bid, up to 10% performance, from EUR 40,000
Challenges	Review Commission, via CEJN, within 10 days of an award

Where tenders appear

One portal. Tenders, decisions, contracts and appeals are all on CEJN, cejn.gov.me, which the law calls ESJN. The Ministry of Finance runs it and keeps the register of bidders.
Searching is open. You can search procedures, procurement plans and documents without logging in. Bidding needs an approved account.
Early signals. Since July 2026, buyers publish a market-research report on CEJN at least 10 days before launching large tenders.
A warning on translations. The English “unofficial translation” of the law online is the February 2019 bill, not the law in force. Don’t rely on it. No official consolidated text yet includes the 2026 amendments.

Thresholds and procedures

Values are annual estimates, net of VAT.

Contract value	Route
Under EUR 4,000	Simple procurement; direct choice on an invoice or pro-forma
EUR 4,000 to under 8,000	Simple procurement with a written contract
Goods and services EUR 8,000 to under 25,000; works EUR 8,000 to under 40,000	Simple procurement: request for offers on CEJN, at least 3 days to respond
Goods and services from EUR 25,000; works from EUR 40,000	Full procedures under the law
At or above EU thresholds	A separate class; the Ministry publishes the amounts

Procedures include open, restricted, competitive dialogue, innovation partnership and negotiated procedures. Negotiation without publication needs a listed ground, such as no acceptable bids or extreme urgency.
Minimum bid periods. In open and restricted procedures, 15 days for goods and services under EUR 150,000 or works under EUR 500,000, and 30 days above. Urgency can cut these to 15 days, or 10 for the bid stage of a restricted procedure. There’s no separate minimum for international tenders.
Market research. Above those same values, buyers must research the market at least 10 days before launch.
Award deadline. The decision is due within 60 days of bid opening.
EU-level values. We couldn’t confirm the EU-threshold amounts for 2026–2027, or exactly what changes above them.

Who can bid

No local entity needed. Buyers can’t discriminate by nationality or territory, or limit bidders by place of registration.
No price preference appears in the law. A US government guide reportedly agrees.
Treaties. Montenegro has reportedly been a party to the WTO Government Procurement Agreement since July 2015.
Reserved contracts are allowed for operators where disabled or disadvantaged people are at least 30% of staff.
Joint bids. Bid alone or with partners, but only once: a solo bidder can’t also join a consortium or subcontract in the same procedure.
Exclusion. Final convictions for offences such as bribery, fraud, tax evasion or money laundering, and unpaid taxes or contributions, exclude you.
Conflicts. Since July 2026, a firm that helped draft the technical documents can’t bid unless all that information is shared with other bidders.
Proving eligibility.
- Self-declaration first. Submit the izjava privrednog subjekta, which works like the EU’s ESPD. Proof comes later.
- Home-country documents are accepted: criminal record, tax certificate, company register extract and licence, plus 2 years of audited accounts and references for up to 5 years. Since July 2026, older works references count if the documents allow it.
Construction.
- Licence. Works need a licence from the Ministry of Spatial Planning, Urbanism and State Property. No fee is charged; processing takes 8 days.
- Engineers. Foreign engineers need diploma recognition, a professional exam and Chamber of Engineers membership.
- Subcontracting. A 2017 law-firm note reports that a licensed contractor may subcontract only certain phases, not the whole works.
- Branches. We couldn’t confirm whether a foreign company must register a local branch to get a licence.

Bidding, step by step

Find tenders on cejn.gov.me. No account is needed to search.
Register on CEJN. Click “registracija” and enter your organisation, administrator and authorised persons. Foreign authorised persons are identified by passport number.
Send the registration form to the Ministry. It asks for company name, registration number, tax ID (PIB), legal form and activity code. An administrator must approve the account before you can log in. We couldn’t confirm how foreign firms fill the Montenegrin ID fields, whether a signed form is still needed, or whether bidders pay any CEJN fee. Start early.
Check your licences, including the construction licence for works.
Ask questions through CEJN, and note the deadline for appealing the documents.
Submit your bid on CEJN: self-declaration, bid guarantee, evaluation and quality evidence, and any joint-bid agreement. If the guarantee can’t go electronically, upload a copy and deliver the original in a marked envelope before the deadline.
Bid opening is automatic. CEJN opens bids at the deadline and sends the minutes to all bidders.
Answer clarification requests. You get at least 8 days, and each document can be requested only once.
Watch for the award decision on CEJN. It becomes enforceable if no one appeals within 10 days.
Sign the contract and return it with the performance guarantee within 15 days, or up to 60 days if the buyer allows.

Securities and payment

Threshold. Bid and performance guarantees are mandatory from EUR 40,000, except in extreme-urgency negotiated procedures. Below that, they’re optional.
Bid guarantee. 2% of the estimated value of the contract or lot. It must cover bid validity plus 5 to 15 days, and is returned on request within 10 days of signature.
Performance guarantee. Up to 10% of the contract value. Buyers may also require advance-payment and defects-liability guarantees, and professional liability insurance.
Payment terms are set in each contract. We couldn’t confirm any statutory payment deadline.
Contract changes. Since July 2026, modifications without a new procedure need the funds to be in the procurement plan.

How bids are evaluated

Best value. The buyer picks the most economically advantageous bid on price, price-quality ratio or life-cycle cost.
Price alone is allowed only in listed cases, such as negotiated procedures without publication, e-auctions and defence.
Price weight in price-quality scoring is capped at 90% of the points.
Gender criteria. Women’s share in the contract team, staff and ownership can score up to 5%.
Automatic scoring. CEJN calculates price points. No origin preference applies.
Abnormally low bids. In simple procurement, a bid at least 30% below the average must be justified within 3 days.
Lowest price? A US government guide reportedly describes the best offer as the lowest price. The law doesn’t support that.

Challenging a decision

How. Appeal through CEJN to the Commission for the Protection of Rights in Public Procurement Procedures, lodged via the buyer. You can challenge the documents, an exclusion, an award or a cancellation.
Deadlines.
- Documents: 20 days from publication if the bid period is at least 30 days, 10 days if at least 15, otherwise half the bid period.
- Exclusion: 10 days from delivery.
- Award or cancellation: 10 days from publication on CEJN.
Fee. 1% of the estimated value, capped at EUR 20,000, refunded if you win.
Foreign appellants without a seat in Montenegro must name a local proxy for service.
Suspension. An appeal automatically suspends the procedure.
Guarantee trap. If your bid guarantee was missing or defective, the buyer can reject your appeal.
Timing. Since July 2026, the Commission decides within 25 days of the complete file, extendable by 10.
Award appeals. Since July 2026, they fail unless you challenge every bidder ranked above you and show your bid is best.
Court. The Administrative Court can review the Commission’s decision, but that doesn’t stop signature. We couldn’t confirm the time limit to sue.
Simple procurement has no Commission appeal. Ask the Ministry of Finance for “monitoring” on CEJN within 2 working days; the contract is frozen until it answers.
In practice. In late 2025 the Commission upheld 123 of 187 appeals, in 31 days on average. 20 involved foreign firms.

What changed in 2025–2026

June 2025: Montenegro provisionally closed EU accession Chapter 5 on procurement, committing to stronger anti-corruption rules and automatic “red flag” detection.
17 July 2026 (amendment 98/26):
- Anti-corruption: anonymous reporting via CEJN, and contracts breaching the rules are void.
- Conflicts of interest: statements are filed on CEJN, and bidders can ask for a conflicted official to be removed.
- Process: market research for large tenders, review deadlines cut from 30 to 25 days, and signing extendable to 60 days.
- Review body: Commission members will be appointed by Parliament after a public call. We couldn’t confirm when, or how it affects appeal times.
- Rulebooks: new forms, an Ethics Code and four rulebooks were published the same day.
17 September 2026 (132/26): technical specifications must consider accessibility.
Context: according to Institut Alternativa, 2024 procurement totalled about EUR 982 million, with 39% single-bid procedures.

Live Montenegrin tenders

Questions

Can a foreign company bid in Montenegro without a local entity?

Yes. The law bans conditions that discriminate on national or territorial grounds, and accepts eligibility documents from your home country. For works, you need a Montenegrin construction licence.

Is there a preference for Montenegrin bidders?

We found none in the law or its 2026 amendments. The only reserved contracts are for operators where disabled or disadvantaged people are at least 30% of staff.

Which language and currency are used?

Montenegrin or another official language. Tender documents may also be in an international language, and may allow technical parts of a bid in one. Prices are in euros, net of VAT.

How long do I have to bid in Montenegro?

In an open procedure, at least 15 days for goods or services under EUR 150,000 or works under EUR 500,000, and at least 30 days above those values. Simple procurement can allow as little as 3 days.

What guarantees do I need to post?

From EUR 40,000, a bid guarantee of 2% of the estimated value and a performance guarantee of up to 10% of the contract value are mandatory. Below that, the buyer may ask for them.

How do I challenge a tender award in Montenegro?

Appeal through CEJN within 10 days of the award decision’s publication. The fee is 1% of the estimated value, capped at EUR 20,000, and refunded if you win. The appeal suspends the procedure. Bidders without a seat in Montenegro must name a local proxy.

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.