Every step to bid in the Netherlands: the documents, who handles…

This guide is the checklist behind a Dutch bid: each account, form and certificate a tender can ask for, the order they come in, and who is allowed to handle each one. For how Dutch procurement works overall (thresholds, procedures, how bids are assessed, getting paid), see How to bid for public contracts in the Netherlands.

Before you bid

1. Open a TenderNed business account. All tenders above the EU thresholds, and the national tenders that are advertised, are published on TenderNed, and you need a business account to take part. The account is free. There are two routes in:

Companies registered with the KvK log in with eHerkenning, the Dutch business e-ID. The TenderNed account costs nothing; the eHerkenning means is bought separately from an accredited supplier.
Companies that can’t register with the KvK take the foreign business route: a username, a password and a TAN code sent by SMS, without eHerkenning. TenderNed checks and approves the business within 1 business day and emails an activation code, which must be used within 30 days. The code also goes to a named board member of your company, so someone at board level has to be involved. The interface is in Dutch only.

Whoever registers becomes the local administrator (lokaal beheerder). Keep that role with one of your own employees. The administrator can then invite colleagues or outside advisers, who each create their own user account, and decide what role they get. A process manager or project leader can add tenders and submit; nobody ever needs your login.

2. Set up eHerkenning and its authorisations (Dutch companies). eHerkenning is also the key to other government services you will need, including MijnJustis for the GVA. Every person who acts for the company needs a personal authorisation (machtiging). A registered authorised signatory (tekenbevoegde) or an appointed authorisation manager grants them. An adviser, such as your accountant, uses their own eHerkenning under a chain authorisation (ketenmachtiging) for the specific services, never your means. Higher assurance levels require the person’s identity to be verified, and the GVA application needs level EH2+ or higher. eHerkenning is not available without a KvK registration.

3. Create an account on the buyer’s platform, if the notice names one. Many buyers publish on TenderNed but run the tender on their own platform, such as Mercell (which absorbed Negometrix and CTM). Each platform needs its own supplier account for your company. Whether advisers can be added as separate users differs per platform.

With your bid

4. The UEA (Uniform Europees Aanbestedingsdocument). This is your self-declaration on exclusion grounds and suitability, used in European tenders and at the buyer’s choice below the thresholds. You complete it either in TenderNed’s ESPD module, which adds it to your bid as a PDF, or as an interactive PDF from the tender documents. It is free, done the same day and valid for one tender. There is no SME certificate in the Netherlands: you simply declare SME status in the UEA.

Who does it: the form can be filled in for you from your company data. You confirm it is true.
Signature: only if the buyer asks for one. Then your authorised signatory per the KvK signs, or a representative holding a volmacht signs with their own signature.

5. Prepare and submit in TenderNed. You add the tender to Mijn aanbestedingen, download the documents and can ask questions for the buyer’s Nota van Inlichtingen. You then answer the requirements and award criteria, complete the UEA and upload documents under Overige Documenten. To submit, a user with the project-leader or local-administrator role enters a transaction code sent by SMS to that user’s own phone. Bids stay encrypted in TenderNed’s digital safe until it opens, and you can resubmit until the deadline. Submission is free.

Who does it: an invited adviser can prepare everything from their own user account. Your administrator submits, or an adviser does so with the submitting role and a written volmacht.

6. Authority to sign (tekenbevoegdheid) and volmacht. Bids and the contract are signed by someone registered as authorised in the KvK, or by someone holding a written power of attorney (volmacht). A lawyer typically drafts the volmacht naming the employee or adviser, and your authorised director signs it. A notary can make it a notarial power of attorney. For a foreign company, signing authority is shown by its home-register extract.

If you’re in line for award

The buyer now asks the intended winner for evidence.

Certificate	Issued by	Who can get it for you	Valid for	What only you do
KvK trade-register extract	Kamer van Koophandel	Anyone can order it online with your KvK number, the same day	Buyers usually want one no older than 6 months	—
Gedragsverklaring Aanbesteden (GVA)	Justis	Only a representative of the company, or someone you grant the “GVA: aanvraag” authorisation	At most 2 years old when submitted	Apply or authorise, and pay €75
Tax statement (Verklaring betalingsgedrag nakoming fiscale verplichtingen)	Belastingdienst	An accountant or tax adviser under their own authorisation	No older than 6 months at submission	Sign the request or authorise the adviser; keep taxes paid
Financial and economic standing (annual accounts, turnover statement, accountant’s statement)	Your company and its accountant	An accountant prepares the figures and any assurance report	The last 1–3 financial years	Sign any declaration

The GVA is a Justis statement that no conviction or competition fine in the last 5 years leads to exclusion. You apply digitally through MijnJustis with eHerkenning EH2+ and the “GVA: aanvraag” authorisation, paying €75 via iDEAL, or on the paper form with a KvK extract no more than 14 days old. Justis decides within 8 weeks for a legal person (4 weeks for a natural person), with another 8 or 4 weeks if relevant records are found. There is no rush procedure.

The tax statement proves that your tax returns and payments are up to date and that no assessments are outstanding, so the tax exclusion ground doesn’t apply (Aanbestedingswet art. 2.89). It is free. The Belastingdienst aims for 1 week, and currently takes about 2. The request is filed online, with the DigiD or eIDAS login of the signer, or on paper. The Belastingdienst can send you an updated statement every 3 months.

Financial evidence follows the tender’s requirements on financial and economic standing (art. 2.90). Where the tender asks for an audited statement, a registered accountant issues an accountantsverklaring.

When the tender asks for them:

SNA quality mark (NEN 4400-1 or NEN 4400-2): for companies that supply labour (temporary work, secondment, payroll), intermediaries and subcontractors, common in staffing, cleaning, security and construction. An accredited inspection body checks your payroll, tax and identity administration, with half-yearly inspections, and the result is visible in the public SNA Register.
VCA: the safety, health and environment checklist for contractors, as VCA*, VCA** or VCA Petrochemie, often required in construction, industrial maintenance and infrastructure. A certification body audits the company, and workers sit VCA exams at recognised exam centres. Certificates can be verified in SSVV’s Central Certificate Register.
CO2-Prestatieladder (version 4.0): a Dutch sustainability certificate at different levels. Buyers use it to give an award advantage (gunningsvoordeel), especially in infrastructure, civil works, engineering and rail and road maintenance. A certifying body audits you against the level, and you commit to a CO2 plan.
Social return and PSO: many buyers add social-return (SROI) clauses, often 5% of contract value under local policy, and accept the PSO quality mark (Prestatieladder Socialer Ondernemen) as evidence. You commit to a hiring or procurement plan, agreed with the buyer.
ISO 9001, 14001, 27001 and 45001: from a body accredited by the RvA or another EA member. Valid for 3 years with annual surveillance audits. Buyers must accept equivalent certificates from other EU accredited bodies.
Sworn Dutch translations and apostilles for foreign documents: nearly all Dutch tenders run in Dutch. Buyers may ask for sworn translations of foreign certificates and for an apostille on foreign public documents, unless an EU exemption applies.

Before the contract

Chain-liability statement (Verklaring betalingsgedrag ketenaansprakelijkheid): in construction and staffing chains, main contractors ask subcontractors for this Belastingdienst statement that payroll taxes are paid, often together with a G-account. It is free, takes about 2 weeks at present, and can be renewed every 3 months. An accountant or payroll provider files it; you sign.
VOG for the company or staff: in care, education, security and data-sensitive contracts, a buyer may ask at contract stage for a certificate of conduct for the company (VOG RP) or for individual employees (VOG NP). The company applies for its own; employees apply for theirs after the employer’s request.

Who does what

Step	Who can do it	What only you do
TenderNed account	Registration data prepared for you; advisers join as invited users	Register, receive the activation code at board level, stay local administrator
eHerkenning	Advisers use their own eHerkenning under a ketenmachtiging	Buy eHerkenning, verify your signatory’s identity, grant authorisations
UEA	Filled in for you from your data	Confirm it; sign if the buyer asks
Submission in TenderNed	An invited adviser prepares and uploads; submits only with the role and a volmacht	Approve the final bid; submit, or grant the submitting role
Volmacht	A lawyer drafts; a notary for a notarial deed	Your authorised director signs
GVA	Someone you authorise for it	Apply or authorise, and pay
Tax and chain-liability statements	An accountant or tax adviser	Sign the request or authorise
Financial evidence	An accountant	Sign any declaration
SNA, VCA, CO2-Prestatieladder, PSO, ISO	An accredited certification or inspection body	Undergo the audit; staff sit VCA exams
Sworn translations	A sworn translator	Get any apostille in your home country

The professionals involved

Professional	Licensed or regulated by	What they do for a bidder
Advocaat	Nederlandse orde van advocaten (NOvA) and local deans	Review tender documents, the Nota van Inlichtingen and draft agreements; advise on exclusion grounds and the Gids Proportionaliteit; draft volmachten; file complaints and summary proceedings (kort geding) within the 20-day standstill
Registeraccountant (RA) or Accountant-Administratieconsulent (AA)	Koninklijke Nederlandse Beroepsorganisatie van Accountants (NBA); AFM for statutory audit firms	Prepare annual accounts and turnover or solvency statements; request the tax statement under their own ketenmachtiging; issue an accountantsverklaring where a tender requires an audited statement
Notaris	Koninklijke Notariële Beroepsorganisatie (KNB)	Notarial powers of attorney and statutes, including for a Dutch BV or branch; in a foreign bidder’s own country, a notary there receives the sworn or solemn declaration used instead of the GVA
Beëdigd vertaler	Bureau Wbtv (Raad voor Rechtsbijstand), Register beëdigde tolken en vertalers	Sworn Dutch translations of foreign certificates, statutes and GVA equivalents
Certification and inspection bodies	Raad voor Accreditatie (RvA); scheme owners SSVV (VCA), SKAO (CO2-Prestatieladder), Stichting Normering Arbeid (SNA) and PSO-Nederland	Certify ISO 9001, 14001 and 27001, VCA, CO2-Prestatieladder levels, SNA (NEN 4400-1/-2) and PSO
Tenderschrijver or tender manager	Unregulated	Join your TenderNed organisation as an invited user, prepare the bid, complete the UEA and upload documents; submit if given the submitting role, with the SMS code going to their own phone

Legal advice and litigation, such as a kort geding, belong to an advocaat.

If your company is from abroad

You don’t need a Dutch company or KvK registration to bid. Who may bid from abroad, and on what terms, is explained in How to bid for public contracts in the Netherlands. For the paperwork:

TenderNed: use the foreign business route; eHerkenning isn’t available to you without a KvK registration.
Company register: your home-country register extract, with a sworn translation if asked. It also shows who may sign for you.
GVA: Justis can’t issue one to you. Provide your home country’s equivalent (the EU’s e-Certis lists them) or a sworn or solemn declaration before a judge, notary or professional body in your home country. Your representative requests the extract or makes the declaration in person, and buyers usually apply the same 2-year limit.
Tax statement: your home tax authority’s compliance certificate.
Financial evidence: your home-country filed accounts, translated if asked.
SNA: NEN 4400-2 is the version for businesses established abroad.
ISO and CO2-Prestatieladder: certificates from any EA-member accredited body count; the CO2-Prestatieladder is open to foreign organisations.
Chain-liability statement: available once you are registered for Dutch payroll tax.
Staff screening: home-country equivalents of the VOG for non-resident staff, where the buyer accepts them.

Pitfalls

Start the GVA early. Justis takes up to 8 weeks for a company and has no urgent procedure, so begin at least 8 weeks before you expect an award.
Check document ages against the bid date. The tax statement may be no older than 6 months and the GVA no older than 2 years.
Don’t share logins. Advisers work through their own invited TenderNed account or their own eHerkenning under a ketenmachtiging, never yours.
Only the submitting user can submit. The SMS transaction code goes to that user’s own phone, so settle in advance who presses submit.
Plan to bid in Dutch unless the documents allow another language; the TenderNed interface is Dutch only.
Don’t offer a VOG in place of the GVA: buyers may not ask for it for that purpose.
Make sure your advocaat isn’t also acting for a competitor. An advocaat may not act for competing bidders in the same tender.

Doing it with askTender

In the Netherlands, your askTender Partner is added as a named user on your company’s account on TenderNed and works under their own login. You keep your own login and sign only what the law reserves to you: registering the company, granting authorisations, applying for the GVA and signing the UEA or a volmacht when that is required. The askTender Desk prepares the UEA and forms, assembles the bid and coordinates the certificates; askTender Partners, such as an accountant, an advocaat or a sworn translator, do the steps their licence covers.

Questions

Which documents do I need to submit with a bid in the Netherlands?

Usually just the UEA, the Dutch form of the European Single Procurement Document, together with your answers to the requirements and award criteria and any documents the tender asks for. TenderNed has a built-in UEA module that attaches the form as a PDF. You only sign it if the buyer asks. Certificates come later, from the intended winner.

How long does a Gedragsverklaring Aanbesteden take?

Justis decides within 8 weeks for a company, and that can stretch by another 8 weeks if relevant records turn up. There is no urgent procedure, so apply at least 8 weeks before you expect an award. It costs €75 online and may be at most 2 years old when you submit it.

Can my accountant request the tax statement for me?

Yes. The Verklaring betalingsgedrag nakoming fiscale verplichtingen is free, and an accountant or tax adviser can request it under their own eHerkenning authorisation (ketenmachtiging), or on the paper form signed by your authorised signatory. Allow about 2 weeks. It must be no more than 6 months old when you submit it.

Can a tender writer submit my bid on TenderNed?

Only from their own user account, after your local administrator invites them, and only with the project-leader or local-administrator role. The SMS transaction code goes to the phone of whoever submits. If someone other than your authorised signatory submits, give them a written volmacht first.

Can a buyer ask for a VOG instead of the GVA?

No. Where the GVA is the prescribed evidence on exclusion grounds, a buyer may not ask for a Verklaring Omtrent het Gedrag (VOG) in its place. A VOG for the company or for staff can still be asked at contract stage in sensitive work such as care, education or security.

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.