How to bid for government tenders in French Polynesia

French Polynesia at a glance


Main law	Code polynésien des marchés publics (CPMP), in force since 1 January 2018; amended 2019 and 2025
Covers	The Pays (territory), its public bodies, the 48 communes and their groupings
French State services	France’s Code de la commande publique instead
Portal	Te Ariari (teariari.gov.pf), at no cost to bidders
Formal procedures from	XPF 35 million (Pays); XPF 20 million (communes), excluding tax
Currency	CFP franc (XPF): XPF 1,000 = EUR 8.38, fixed
Foreign bidders	No bar found; 15% withholding tax without a local establishment
Deadlines	Tahiti time (UTC-10)
Challenges	Standstill 16 days (11 electronic); Papeete administrative court

Which rules apply

French Polynesia’s autonomy statute lets the territory set procurement rules for itself, its public bodies, the communes and their groupings. So the buyer decides the rulebook:

The Pays and its public bodies (ministries, services, the Assembly, CESEC, the Competition Authority and territorial public bodies) follow the CPMP. The Direction de la commande publique (DCO) has run the Pays procurement function, including its central purchasing body, since 1 January 2022.
The 48 communes, inter-communal bodies and syndicates also follow the CPMP, but with a lower formal threshold and no statutory payment deadline.
French State services and State public bodies are not under the CPMP. They follow France’s Code de la commande publique, applied there by article L2661-1. We couldn’t confirm which thresholds they apply in XPF, or where the State publishes these tenders.

The DCO publishes the CPMP online; “LP” articles are law, “A” articles regulation.

Where tenders appear

Te Ariari. The CPMP makes teariari.gov.pf the only authorised platform. It lists notices, tender documents and past award data, with e-mail alerts, and there’s no fee for buyers or bidders.
Official journal and press. Notices also go in the Journal officiel de la Polynésie française (JOPF) or a legal-notices newspaper such as La Dépêche de Tahiti. The DCO points bidders to Lexpol, which carries the online JOPF; we couldn’t confirm its current role for notices. A 2020 business guide reportedly advises checking local papers daily, as notices have no minimum display period.
Award data. Buyers publish data on contracts of XPF 3 million or more on Te Ariari by 31 January of the following year.
Electronic or paper. Mandatory e-procurement has been postponed, so check each notice for electronic or paper submission.

Thresholds and procedures

Amounts are excluding tax, for CPMP buyers. They’re the same for works, supplies and services; frameworks count at maximum value.

Contract value	Pays and its public bodies	Communes and their groupings
Below XPF 8 million	No mandatory advertising or competition	Same
From XPF 8 million to the formal threshold	Adapted procedure (MAPA)	Adapted procedure (MAPA)
Formal procedures from	XPF 35 million	XPF 20 million

Adapted procedure. The buyer sets the advertising, time limits and any negotiation. There’s no statutory minimum period, but it must suit the contract.
Formal procedures are open or restricted tender, negotiated procedure with advertising, competitive dialogue and design contest. Negotiation without advertising is limited to listed cases, such as extreme urgency or a failed tender.
Minimum periods.
- Open tender: 30 days from the notice, or 12 if urgent.
- Restricted tender: 21 days to apply and 21 to bid, or 12 each if urgent.
- Negotiated with advertising, and competitive dialogue: 21 days to apply.
Special cases. Legal, teaching and training services may use MAPA at any value. Since 2025, design contracts below XPF 8 million need no competition.

Who can bid

No bar on foreign firms. We found no CPMP rule excluding them. CESEC noted in 2025 that e-submission opens every tender internationally; paper bids delivered in person had favoured local firms.
No local preference. We found no statutory price margin for local firms. CESEC recommended favouring local partnerships, but that’s advice, not law.
Groups and subcontracting are allowed, and subcontractors can be paid directly.
Language. One business-chamber guide says offers must be in French. We couldn’t confirm the exact rule after 2025.
Tax compliance. The same guide says you can’t bid if, on 31 December of the prior year, you hadn’t filed tax and social returns or paid what was due.
Certificates. Only the provisionally selected bidder provides tax certificates (territorial and French State), a certificate from the territory’s social-security fund, and proof of signing authority. If they’re late, the next-ranked bidder is asked. We couldn’t confirm which home-country equivalents are accepted; ask the buyer.
Withholding tax. Payments to firms with no permanent establishment in French Polynesia face a 15% withholding tax on the gross amount. Check how it applies and price it in.
Identifiers. Payment requests carry IDs such as SIREN, SIRET, RIDET or the numéro TAHITI, the local business ID.
Treaties. We couldn’t confirm whether the WTO GPA covers any buyers here.

Every document, step by step. Who issues each certificate, who can get it for you, what it costs and how long it stays valid: Every step to bid in French Polynesia.

Bidding, step by step

Identify the buyer: CPMP for the Pays, its bodies and communes; the French code for State services.
Find the notice on Te Ariari, and check the JOPF, Lexpol and local papers.
Download the documents. No login is needed, but registering your e-mail means you’re told of changes and extensions.
Create a supplier account on Te Ariari to submit. Practise on the training site, ecole.teariari.gov.pf.
Ask questions only on the platform. Answers that affect offers go to all identified bidders.
Prepare the bid in French: application letter (LC1, or LC1bis for a group), capacity information (LC2), sworn no-exclusion declaration (LC3), subcontracting forms (LC4/EC2) if needed, commitment form (EC1) and a technical statement. Since 2025 you don’t sign the commitment form at submission in formal procedures. We couldn’t confirm whether prices must be in XPF.
For e-signatures, use a qualified certificate that complies with the EU eIDAS regulation.
Submit before the deadline, in Tahiti time (UTC-10). A bid late by seconds is rejected. Only your last submission is opened, so resubmit the full offer after changes.
Optionally send a backup copy on paper or USB, sealed and marked “copie de sauvegarde”, arriving before the deadline.
If ranked first, send your certificates by the buyer’s deadline.
Wait out the standstill, then sign. A scanned signature counts only as a copy, so sign on paper unless you use an e-signature.
Invoice through Chorus Pro, the French State’s e-invoicing portal, where e-invoicing applies.

Securities and payment

Bid bonds. We couldn’t confirm any CPMP bid-bond rule.
Retention. Optional, up to 5% of the initial value including tax. You can replace it with a first-demand guarantee, or a surety if the buyer agrees. It’s released within 1 month of the guarantee period ending.
Guarantors must be approved by France’s prudential authority (ACPR); a foreign guarantor must be approved in its home country. The buyer may refuse one.
Advance. 10% is mandatory when the contract exceeds XPF 10 million including tax and runs over 2 months; you may refuse it. It can rise to 30%, or 60% against a first-demand guarantee. It’s paid within 30 days of the order to start.
Payment deadlines.
- Pays and its public bodies: payment order within 30 days of your request, or 60 days for work outside Tahiti and Moorea.
- Communes: no statutory deadline; the contract decides.
Late payment earns automatic interest at the legal rate plus 2 percentage points.

How bids are evaluated

Best value. The most economically advantageous offer wins, on at least two weighted criteria set in advance.
Criteria. One business-chamber guide lists examples including quality, price, environmental performance, direct sourcing of agricultural products, vocational integration, lifecycle cost and delivery time.
Rejections. Inappropriate, irregular, unacceptable or abnormally low offers are rejected. The 2025 amendments defined these in the code.
Who decides. In formal procedures, the award commission gives an opinion and the competent authority decides.
Travel costs. CESEC flagged that some tenders left non-resident firms’ travel costs out of the price comparison, and recommended including them. Check each tender.

Challenging a decision

Court. The Tribunal administratif de la Polynésie française in Papeete. File online through Télérecours.
Standstill. In formal procedures, at least 16 days between the rejection notice and signature, or 11 if notified electronically. Framework call-offs are excluded.
Reasons. The buyer must give reasons within 15 days of a written request.
Before signature (référé précontractuel). Filing stops signature until the judge rules, within 20 days.
After signature (référé contractuel). Within 31 days of a published award notice, otherwise 6 months. For MAPA or no-competition contracts, a buyer can close this route with a notice of intent and an 11-day wait.
Validity action. Harmed third parties have 2 months from the award notice.
Appeals. We couldn’t confirm which court hears appeals from Papeete.

What changed in 2025–2026

May 2025: the Assembly reportedly adopted the e-procurement law unanimously, after CESEC’s February opinion.
15 July 2025: LP n° 2025-22 amended the CPMP. It:
- set the e-procurement framework;
- defined irregular and abnormally low offers;
- allowed sourcing and lightened the application file;
- ended signing the commitment form at submission;
- required maximum values for frameworks and justification for not using lots.
1 September 2025: mandatory e-procurement above the formal thresholds was postponed pending implementing orders. We couldn’t confirm a new start date.
1 January 2026 (planned): Chorus Pro e-invoicing for contracts of XPF 8 million or more. We couldn’t confirm it took effect.
2026: an “API Fenua Entreprises” application service was reportedly announced; we couldn’t confirm its launch.
1 January 2027 (target): full e-procurement from XPF 8 million, and e-invoicing from XPF 500,000.

Live French Polynesian tenders

Questions

Can a foreign company bid on government tenders in French Polynesia?

Yes. We found no rule barring non-resident or foreign firms, and Te Ariari lets you bid from anywhere. Offers are reportedly required in French, and firms with no permanent establishment face a 15% withholding tax on payments.

Which rules apply to a tender in French Polynesia?

The territory (the Pays), its public bodies, the 48 communes and their groupings follow the Code polynésien des marchés publics. French State services and State public bodies there follow France’s Code de la commande publique.

What are the main thresholds?

Below XPF 8 million excluding tax, no competition is mandatory. Above that, buyers use an adapted procedure until the formal threshold: XPF 35 million for the Pays and its bodies, XPF 20 million for communes.

How long do I get to prepare a bid?

At least 30 days in an open tender (12 if urgent) and 21 days per stage in a restricted tender. Adapted procedures have no statutory minimum. Deadlines are in Tahiti time (UTC-10).

What securities and advances apply?

Retention of up to 5%, replaceable by a first-demand guarantee. A 10% advance is mandatory above XPF 10 million including tax for contracts over 2 months. We couldn’t confirm any bid-bond rule.

How do I challenge an award?

At the Papeete administrative court. Before signature, apply during the standstill of 16 days (11 after electronic notice). After signature, apply within 31 days of a published award notice, otherwise 6 months.

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.