Public contracts are contracts concluded by a public person (called a ‘public buyer’) with a public or private person (called an ‘economic operator’) to meet its needs for works, supplies or services.

The public purchaser must comply with different procedures depending on the estimated value of the order and the nature of the contract: works, supplies or services.

Market advertising rules vary depending on the amount of the contract and the category of the public purchaser (contracting authority or administering entity).

It is possible to find public procurement notices in different publication media:

• CHEEK: titleContent on: Supplement to the Official Journal of the European Union disseminate contract notices to formalized procedure
• Support entitled to receive legal ads (Shal): there is a list of legal ad logs.
• Buyers' sites and platforms: each public buyer has the obligation to publish its markets on a dedicated internet platform called “ buyer profile ». It is accessible free of charge.
• BOAMP: titleContent : it is accessible online. Publication in BOAMP is mandatory for contracts that exceed european thresholds. Advertising is also mandatory or at BOAMP or in a Shal for supply or service contracts that exceed €90,000.

To better target interesting contracts, it is advisable for the company that wishes to apply for a public contract to set up a watch according to its geographical area and its sector of activity. It is also possible to refer to free sites to appear in the supplier bases.

Public procurement projects can also be published on the consultation portal APProch which allows companies to view the public service procurement forecast.

Consult public procurement projects (APProch)

In a public procurement procedure, the principle is the freedom to apply.

The information contained in thecontract notice (subject matter of the contract, deadline for submission of tenders, place of performance, etc.) are not always sufficient to select the contracts of interest.

The consultation documents (formerly the company consultation file or WFD) allow for a decision on whether or not to respond to a consultation.

They are made available free of charge by the public purchaser on its buyer profile.

These documents make it possible to prepare the response to the contract, specifying the modalities of the consultation and the expected technical specifications.

In order to respond to a contract, a file must be prepared containing all the information requested by the buyer. It always consists of two parts: one application and one offer :

• To present its application, it is possible to provide either form called ‘ESPD’ (single European procurement document) or the declaration forms DC1, DC2 and possibly DC4.
• The offer meets the need expressed by the public purchaser in the special technical clauses (specifications). She's compound a technical and financial offer.

For more information, refer to the fact sheets on the preparation of the " application file’ and the offer folder’.

Where the contract is for an amount greater than €60,000, the answer must be mandatory transmitted in dematerialized through the buyer profile. Care must be taken to ensure the format and size of the computer files transmitted. In this case, replies sent in paper format are inadmissible.

For more information, see our fact sheet “submit the answer to a public contract and exchange with the public buyer”.

The buyer shall assess the offer, the economic and financial capacity and the technical and professional capacities of the applicant company.

He chooses the offer most economically advantageous using objective, precise and non-discriminatory criteria. For example, a turnover of twice the amount of the contract may be required to apply for a public contract.

The candidate must be informed of the criteria used by the buyer to evaluate his offer. They are indicated in the Consultation Regulation (CR) or sometimes in thecontract notice.

The buyer must inform the unsuccessful candidates of the choice of theawardee. They may request explanations under conditions that depend on the type of procedure and appeal to the administrative judge.

For more information, see our fact sheet“Be informed and appeal in case of rejection of the tender to a public contract”

To get the market paymentHowever, it is necessary for the buyer to ascertain its proper performance, which is called the “service done”.

Once the service has been established, the company awarded the contract may send its invoice.

The buyer has a maximum period after receipt of the invoice to pay the invoice. This period varies according to the type of buyer:

• 30 days for local authorities and local public institutions, the State and its public institutions
• 50 days for public health facilities and military health facilities
• 60 days for public companies

When these deadlines are not met, financial penalties are automatically applied.

The SME holders of contracts of more than €50,000 HT: titleContent and whose duration of execution is greater than 2 months receive an advance from the public purchaser. This advance corresponds to the payment of part of the contract amount before the commencement of its execution . For more information on the amount of the advance, please refer to the “ request payment and invoice a public contract’.