This guide is the checklist behind a bid under French Polynesia’s procurement code: every document and step, grouped by the point at which a buyer asks for it, with who can lawfully do each one. For how procurement works there overall (which buyers follow which code, thresholds, deadlines, evaluation and challenges), see How to bid for government tenders in French Polynesia.
Before you bid
1. Get the consultation documents. Notices (the AAPC) appear on Te Ariari and on Lexpol, and the consultation file (the DCE) downloads without a login. Logging in means you’re told when the buyer changes something.
2. Open a supplier account on Te Ariari. You need it to deposit a candidature or offer electronically and to receive questions, requests for missing documents and notifications. The platform is run by the Direction de la commande publique.
- Cost and time: free; open the same day with a valid email address.
- Who does it: your company owns the account. Each user has their own passwords, so a consultant who will deposit for you uses their own user under your written mandate.
- From abroad: allowed. Deadlines are Tahiti time (UTC-10).
3. Practise a deposit (optional). The training site, ecole.teariari.gov.pf, lets you test your workstation and try a deposit before a real deadline. It is free and takes a day at most; it can be run for you to check file sizes and naming. Firms on slow connections in particular should use it, because a late pli can’t be put right.
4. Settle who signs. Bid documents must be signed by a person who can commit the company. If that person isn’t available, attach a délégation de pouvoirs to the candidature; plain paper is accepted. It is free, done the same day and valid as drafted. A lawyer or adviser drafts it and your legal representative signs it. The same goes for the written mandate a consultant needs to deposit for you. Only the legal representative can grant these powers. If the home documents aren’t in French, translating the délégation is advisable.
5. An electronic signature, only if the buyer demands one. It isn’t mandatory today: an unsigned electronic candidature and offer still bind you. If the DCE imposes e-signature, you need a qualified eIDAS certificate tied to a natural person, one per company represented (LP 2017-30).
- Time: 1-2 weeks.
- Valid: for the certificate’s term.
- Who does it: your authorised representative buys and keeps their own certificate, on a USB key or smart card, and signs personally. Nobody else holds it.
With your bid
6. The candidature forms.
- LC1, or LC1bis for a groupement: the candidature letter, identifying the candidate or groupement and the lots it bids for. It replaces France’s DC1; the forms are published on Lexpol. Free; it is filled in for you, and an authorised person signs if the règlement de consultation asks.
- LC3, the sworn declaration (déclaration sur l’honneur): states that no exclusion ground under LP 233-1 applies to you. The grounds include convictions, liquidation, unpaid taxes or social contributions at 31 December of the previous year, failing the obligation to employ disabled workers (Code du travail PF LP 5312-4) and illegal employment of foreign workers. The grounds can be screened and the form filled in for you; your legal representative or a delegate signs it truthfully.
- LC2, your capacities (CPMP A 233-1 to A 233-4): buyers may ask only for items on that list, and the minimum levels must be proportionate.
- Financial: turnover, overall and in the contract’s field, for up to 3 years; a bank statement or proof of professional-risk insurance; balance sheets (bilans) for 3 years. Your expert-comptable supplies the figures.
- Technical: references for supplies or services over 5 years, and for works over 5 years with certificates of good execution; staff and equipment.
- If a document objectively can’t be produced, other proof may be given (LP 233-3), and new firms may prove financial capacity by any equivalent means. You sign LC2 and provide genuine references.
7. Insurance certificates. Proof of cover for professional risks is one of the financial-capacity items, and most consultations ask for it.
| Certificate | Asked of | Issued by | Valid | What only you do |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Civil liability (RC) | All firms | Your insurer, in a few days | The policy year | Hold the policy |
| Professional liability (RC Pro) | Regulated professions | Your insurer | The policy year | Hold the policy |
| Decennial insurance (garantie décennale) | Works tenders | Your insurer | Policy year or per site | Hold the policy; check the activity codes match the lot |
The certificates can also be stored in your Te Ariari vault.
8. Your offer. The mémoire technique, the draft acte d’engagement (EC1) and the price schedules (BPU, DQE or DPGF), all prepared for signature. Write it in French: consultation letters state that offers must be in French, so any foreign document needs a French translation, by a sworn translator (expert près une cour d’appel) where the règlement asks, otherwise a professional one, in a few days. A firm with no permanent establishment in French Polynesia should price in the 15% withholding tax (Code des impôts LP 197-1), checked by your accountant.
9. If you bid with others or use subcontractors.
- Groupement d’opérateurs économiques, joint and several or joint, bids on LC1bis. Each member provides its own exclusion, tax, social and authority evidence, and in a joint-and-several groupement the lead (mandataire) gives the guarantee for the whole contract. A lawyer drafts the agreement and mandates; each member’s representative signs.
- Subcontractors: form LC4 presents a subcontractor at the candidature stage, and EC2 has its direct-payment terms approved at the offer stage. Both are free, filled in for you and signed by both companies.
10. Tie-break preference and reserved lots, where the documents provide for them. At equal price or equivalent offers, preference goes to a cooperative, an agricultural producers’ group, an artisan or a sheltered workshop (LP 236-2), and lots may be reserved for sheltered workshops (LP 225-1). Tick the right LC1 box and attach your proof of status.
11. Deposit the pli. Your candidature and offer go on Te Ariari, or on paper where the buyer still uses paper, before the deadline in Tahiti time. On the platform, it is the end of the upload that counts, and only the last pli received in time is opened.
- Cost: free.
- Backup copy: a copie de sauvegarde on paper or a physical medium may be sent in parallel within the deadline. For paper, buyers accept registered mail or hand delivery against a receipt.
- Who does it: the files are assembled for you, with clear names and no special characters. You upload, or a consultant uploads from their own Te Ariari user under your written mandate; a courier or partner can hand in the paper pli or backup copy. You approve the final pli first.
- Valid: your offer stays open for the period in the règlement.
12. Answer the buyer. Requests to complete your candidature (within the deadline set, at most 7 days), to clarify or to negotiate arrive through Te Ariari’s messaging. Replies can be drafted for you; you, or your mandated consultant, send them.
If you’re in line for award
As the best-ranked bidder, you send these within the buyer’s deadline. If the winner can’t produce them in time, its offer is rejected and the buyer moves to the next-ranked bidder.
| Document | Issued by | Who can get it for you | Cost and validity | What only you do |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tax regularity certificate (attestation de régularité fiscale): IS, IT, TVA, CPS and CSTS | Direction des impôts et des contributions publiques (DICP) | Your expert-comptable, under your mandate, online (by post or email) or at the DICP counter | Free; shows your position at 31 December of the year before the consultation launch; reusable in the same year with the same buyer | Grant the mandate; be registered for at least one of the listed taxes |
| French State tax certificate | DFiP Polynésie française (DGFiP), Papeete | You or your expert-comptable | Position at 31 December of the previous year | Request it or authorise the request |
| Social-security certificate, including your number of employees | Caisse de prévoyance sociale (CPS) | — | Position at 31 December of the previous year | Print it from your CPS employer account (the Reva online employer counter) or collect it at the CPS counter |
| Extrait K-bis or other proof of who can commit the company | Greffe du RCS, Tribunal de première instance de Papeete | Anyone, by post or at the court reception, with the request form from the Cour d’appel de Papeete site | XPF 750 timbre fiscal (CCISM guide, 2019); buyers expect a recent extract | — |
| Acte d’engagement (EC1) | You | Pre-filled for you with prices, lots and bank details | Free | An authorised representative or delegate signs, by hand on the printed offer or electronically if both parties use e-signature |
The DICP certificate covers declarations and payments of IS, IT, TVA, CPS and CSTS. You keep the original and may use photocopies. In formal procedures, the acte d’engagement is signed at award (LP 322-6 IV 1°), and the winner proves the signatory’s authority (CPMP LP 321-1 III), which is usually what the K-bis shows: the gérant, PDG or DG.
Before the contract and the first invoice
Retention or a first-demand guarantee. Where the contract provides for retention (retenue de garantie) of up to 5% of the initial value including tax, you can replace it with a garantie à première demande or, if the buyer doesn’t object, a caution personnelle et solidaire. An ACPR-approved bank or insurer issues it on the CPMP model (annex 8) by your first payment request, or the retention is deducted. It runs until the end of the warranty period, and you sign with the guarantor.
Advance-payment guarantee. An advance of 10% is mandatory for contracts over XPF 10 million including tax lasting over 2 months. A buyer may require a guarantee for advances up to 30%; above 30%, up to 60%, a first-demand guarantee on the CPMP model (annex 9) is compulsory. It stays in place until the advance is repaid, and the advance payment period starts once it is received.
Numéro TAHITI. The local business identifier, the counterpart of SIREN and SIRET, kept in the ISPF’s Répertoire territorial des entreprises. Payment requests must carry an identifier such as SIREN, SIRET, RIDET, Numéro TAHITI or Tahiti iti. If your firm is already registered, its number can be looked up and the printable avis de situation taken from the public register search with no login; a new firm gets one through the business-creation formalities.
Chorus Pro. Contractors and directly paid subcontractors send invoices electronically through Chorus Pro: from 1 Jan 2026 for contracts of XPF 8 million or more excluding tax, and from 1 Jan 2027 for contracts of XPF 500,000 or more. Setting up is free and done the same day. Your company creates its structure and approves users, and your accountant can be attached to it under their own identity.
Who does what
| Step | Who can do it | What only you do |
|---|---|---|
| Downloading the DCE | Anyone; no login needed | — |
| Te Ariari account | Profile and alerts set up for you; a consultant works from their own user | Own the company account; grant the written mandate |
| Délégation de pouvoirs, mandate | A lawyer or adviser drafts | Your legal representative signs |
| Qualified e-signature (if demanded) | A qualified trust service provider | Buy, keep and use your own certificate |
| LC1, LC2, LC3, LC4, EC2, mémoire technique, price schedules | Prepared for you; figures from your expert-comptable | Sign; provide genuine references |
| Insurance certificates | Your insurer | Hold the policies |
| Groupement agreement | A lawyer drafts | Each member’s representative signs |
| Depositing the pli and the backup copy | You, or a consultant from their own user under your mandate; a courier or partner for paper | Approve the final pli |
| DICP certificate | Your expert-comptable, under mandate | Grant the mandate |
| DGFiP certificate | You or your expert-comptable | Request it or authorise the request |
| CPS certificate | — | Draw it from your own employer account |
| K-bis | Anyone | — |
| Acte d’engagement | Pre-filled for you | Sign |
| Retention and advance guarantees | A bank or insurer | Sign with the guarantor |
| Chorus Pro | Your accountant, attached under their own identity | Create the structure and approve users |
The professionals involved
| Professional | Licensed or regulated by | What they do for a bidder |
|---|---|---|
| Expert-comptable practising in French Polynesia | Ordre des experts-comptables | Prepare the turnover statement and three years of bilans for LC2; keep your DICP and CPS declarations and payments current at 31 December, which the certificates confirm; request the DICP certificate under your mandate |
| Avocat (Barreau de Papeete) or a lawyer in your home country | Barreau de Papeete | Draft the délégation de pouvoirs; advise on the exclusion grounds (CPMP LP 233-1) and groupement agreements; bring référé précontractuel or contractuel actions before the Tribunal administratif de la Polynésie française |
| Notaire (French Polynesia) or a home-country notary | Chambre des notaires de Polynésie française | Authenticate signatures and powers where a buyer asks for a formal one (a simple délégation on plain paper is normally enough); certify copies of foreign company documents |
| Bank or insurer giving guarantees | Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de résolution (ACPR); a foreign guarantor’s home regulator | Issue the garantie à première demande or caution personnelle et solidaire in place of retention; guarantee repayment of an advance |
| Insurer | ACPR | Issue the RC, RC Pro and décennale certificates |
| Consultant en réponse aux marchés publics | — | Fill in LC1, LC1bis, LC2, LC3, LC4, EC1 and EC2 and the mémoire technique for signature; deposit the electronic pli, or hand in the paper pli or backup copy, under your written mandate |
If your company is from abroad
You don’t need a local company, branch or agent to bid; who may bid from abroad, and on what terms, is explained in How to bid for government tenders in French Polynesia. For the paperwork:
The forms are the same and are filled in French. Your home registry extract stands in for the K-bis, translated into French if needed. The DICP issues no certificate to a firm that isn’t registered for one of its listed taxes, so a non-resident gives home-country equivalents of the DICP, DGFiP and CPS certificates; ask the buyer before bidding which ones it accepts. In LC3, equivalent foreign insolvency procedures and foreign-law measures also count as exclusion grounds. Check that your liability cover extends to French Polynesia and, for works, that your decennial cover is valid for works there. A foreign guarantor must be approved in its home country, and the buyer may refuse it. A firm with no establishment in French Polynesia invoices with its own identifiers, and payments to it bear the 15% withholding tax, so price it in. Given the distance and the connection risk, send a backup copy, and remember every deadline is Tahiti time (UTC-10). The CESEC recommends partnering with a local firm; that is advice, not law.
Pitfalls
- Never hand over your passwords or your signature certificate. That covers Te Ariari, CPS, DICP and Chorus Pro; a consultant works only through their own user and your written mandate.
- Approve the final pli yourself. An unsigned electronic candidature or offer still binds your company.
- Deposit early. Deadlines are Tahiti time (UTC-10), late plis can’t be regularised, and a backup copy is your safety net.
- Have your 31 December certificates ready before you’re ranked first. A winner that can’t produce them in time is eliminated.
- Price in the 15% withholding tax if you have no permanent establishment in French Polynesia.
- Check who the buyer is. French State services there follow France’s Code de la commande publique, not the CPMP, so this checklist doesn’t apply to them.
Doing it with askTender
In French Polynesia, your askTender Partner is added as a named user on your company’s account on Te Ariari and works under their own login (we confirm this with the portal before your first bid). You keep your own login, and sign what only you can sign: the délégation de pouvoirs and the mandate, your sworn declaration, any e-signature a buyer demands and the acte d’engagement. The askTender Desk prepares the LC forms, the mémoire technique and the price schedules, assembles the pli and coordinates the certificates; askTender Partners, such as an expert-comptable, an avocat or a notaire, do the steps their licence covers.
Questions
Which certificates does the winning bidder have to provide in French Polynesia?
A tax regularity certificate from the DICP, a French State tax certificate from the DFiP in Papeete, and a certificate from the Caisse de prévoyance sociale (CPS), each showing your position at 31 December of the year before the consultation, plus a K-bis or other proof that the signatory can commit the company and the signed acte d’engagement (EC1). If they don’t arrive within the buyer’s deadline, the offer is rejected.
Can my accountant get the DICP tax certificate for me?
Yes. Your expert-comptable can request it under your mandate, online through the DICP’s form for receiving a certificate (delivered by post or email) or at the DICP counter. There is no fee, and the certificate can be reused in the same year with the same buyer; you keep the original and may send photocopies.
Do I need an electronic signature to bid in French Polynesia?
Not today. An unsigned electronic candidature and offer still bind your company, and the contract can be signed by hand after the offer is printed. Only if a buyer requires e-signature do you need a qualified eIDAS certificate tied to a natural person, one per company represented; allow 1-2 weeks to obtain it.
Can someone else deposit my bid on Te Ariari?
Yes, under your written mandate. Each user of Te Ariari has personal passwords, so a consultant uploads from their own user rather than yours. Because an unsigned pli still binds your company, approve the final version before it is deposited.
How much does a K-bis cost in French Polynesia?
A business-chamber guide from 2019 gives XPF 750 as a timbre fiscal. The extract comes from the greffe of the RCS at the Tribunal de première instance de Papeete, and anyone can order it by post or at the court reception with the request form.
Is there a bid bond in French Polynesia?
No statutory bid bond was found. The guarantees come after award: a first-demand guarantee can replace retention of up to 5%, and an advance above 30% of the base requires one.
Sources
- Direction de la commande publique: guides and FAQ for businesses
- E-procurement guide for economic operators (DCO, May 2025)
- CCISM: building a compliant bid file for French Polynesian public contracts
- Practical guide for Polynesian small businesses answering public tenders, volume 1 (January 2020)
- Code polynésien des marchés publics, Livre III: award procedures
- Code polynésien des marchés publics, Livre IV: contract execution
- DICP: procedures for businesses (tax certificates)
- ISPF: Répertoire territorial des entreprises (Numéro TAHITI)
- Chambre des notaires de Polynésie française
- CESEC opinion n° 51/2025 on e-procurement
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.