The restricted procedure in Belgian public procurement
In Belgium, a restricted procedure starts with a request to participate. Article 37 of the law of 17 June 2016 sets thirty days minimum for that request, from the sending of the notice. Only operators invited after the assessment may submit a tender, with thirty days minimum from the invitation. Without a request in time, a company is not added.
Updated
In Belgium, a restricted procedure starts with a request to participate. Article 37 of the law of 17 June 2016 sets thirty days minimum for that request. Only invited operators then submit a tender. Article 79 sets a minimum of five candidates, except below the European publicity thresholds. On TED, the published date is often for the request, not yet for the tender.
First a request, then the tender
In Belgian public procurement, the restricted procedure has two stages. Any company may ask to participate. Only the companies invited after selection submit a tender.
The law of 17 June 2016 as a whole is explained here: Guide to the law of 17 June 2016 The official text is on Justel. The open procedure, in a single stage, is here: Open procedure The procedures in which the buyer may discuss the tender are here: Negotiated procedure
The French text, which was read for articles 37 and 79 below: Law of 17 June 2016 (Justel, French) The Dutch text: Law of 17 June 2016 (Justel, Dutch)
Restricted or open
Article 35 names both where a contract notice has been published. The type is on the notice. On a TED notice it is at point 2.1, “Procedure type”. Reading the published date as the tender deadline can mean missing the request to participate.
| Point | Restricted procedure | Open procedure |
|---|---|---|
| Who may submit a tender | Only the operators invited after the request to participate | Any interested economic operator |
| Stages | Two stages: a request to participate, then the tender | One stage: the tender, with the selection information requested |
| Minimum time limits | 30 days for the request. 30 days for the tender from the invitation. 10 days for the tender with a prior information notice (art. 37, § 3). Justified urgency: at least 15 days for the request and 10 days for the tender. The 30-day tender period may be reduced by 5 days if it is electronic | 35 days for tenders, from the sending of the notice. 15 days with a prior information notice (art. 36, § 2) or, in justified urgency, a period of at least 15 days. The 35-day period may be reduced by 5 days if the tender is electronic |
| When it is used | Article 35 names it where a contract notice has been published. Article 79 sets a minimum of five candidates, except below the European publicity thresholds | The same article 35. These articles do not set an amount that would require the open procedure |
| What the TED notice shows | The procedure type, at point 2.1. The published date is often the one for the request to participate | The procedure type, at point 2.1, and a deadline for receipt of tenders |
What the law of 17 June 2016 says
Article 37, § 1, says that in a restricted procedure any economic operator may submit a request to participate in response to a contract notice containing the information set by the King, by providing the information for selection that the contracting authority requests. The minimum period for receipt of requests to participate is thirty days from the date the contract notice is sent. The sentences in this section are an English rendering of the French text.
Paragraph 2 says that only the economic operators invited to do so by the contracting authority, following its assessment of the information provided, may submit a tender. The contracting authority may limit the number of candidates invited, in accordance with article 79. The minimum period for receipt of tenders is thirty days from the date the invitation to tender is sent.
Paragraph 3 allows that period for receipt of tenders to be reduced to ten days where the contracting authority has published a prior information notice and both conditions of the paragraph are met. The prior information notice had to contain all the information set by the King, insofar as it was available when the notice was published. It had to have been sent for publication between thirty-five days and twelve months before the date the contract notice was sent. That reduction applies to the tender period, not to the period for the request to participate.
Paragraph 4 covers a state of urgency duly justified by the contracting authority, which makes the minimum periods in the article impossible to meet. The period for receipt of requests to participate cannot then be shorter than fifteen days from the sending of the notice. The period for receipt of tenders cannot be shorter than ten days from the sending of the invitation to tender.
Paragraph 5 allows the period for receipt of tenders in paragraph 2, second subparagraph, that is the thirty-day period, to be reduced by five days where tenders are submitted by electronic means under the rules on electronic platforms adopted under article 14, § 1, second subparagraph, and §§ 5 to 7. In the text of the article, that reduction does not apply to the period for the request to participate, nor to the periods already reduced by paragraphs 3 and 4.
Paragraph 6 says the King may set additional procedural rules for the restricted procedure. This page does not list them: they are in the decree, and the dates that count remain those of the notice and of the invitation.
Article 79, § 1, allows the buyer, in the restricted procedure, to limit the number of candidates who meet the selection criteria, provided the minimum number of qualified candidates set in paragraph 2 is available. Paragraph 2 says the buyer states in the notice the objective and non-discriminatory criteria or rules, the minimum number of candidates it intends to invite and, where applicable, their maximum number. In the restricted procedure, the minimum number of candidates is five. The number of candidates invited must be sufficient to ensure genuine competition. The buyer invites a number at least equal to that minimum. Where the number of candidates who meet the selection criteria and the minimum levels of capacity is below the minimum the buyer set, the buyer may continue by inviting the candidates who have the required capacity. In the same procedure, the buyer does not include economic operators who did not request to participate, nor candidates who do not have the required capacity.
Paragraph 3 of article 79 says that, for contracts below the thresholds set for European publicity, the duty to state in the notice the minimum number and, where applicable, the maximum number of candidates does not apply. The amounts for 2026 and 2027 are in the thresholds guide: Thresholds 2026-2027 How to read a date for a request to participate is already explained here: Request to participate
TED, the directive, the Belgian platform
Above the European thresholds, a notice sent to the Official Journal of the European Union is read on TED: TED Directive 2014/24/EU provides for the restricted procedure in article 28. Articles 28 and 65 of the directive also cover the limitation of the number of candidates. The Belgian law of 17 June 2016 transposes part of it. Text of the directive: Directive 2014/24/EU
Belgian contracts that are not on TED are explained here: Markets not on TED The federal platform is e-Procurement The BOSA page on that platform: BOSA, e-Procurement
What an SME checks before replying
The first published date is usually not the one for the price tender. Without a request to participate in time, the company is not invited.
- Read the procedure type on the notice, in a useful order: How to read a TED notice
- Check that the published deadline has not passed: Still open The list of deadlines that are still open is here: Deadlines
- Submit the request to participate, with the selection information requested, before that request’s date. The price tender comes after the invitation, if the company is invited.
- Above the European thresholds, the ESPD is attached to the request to participate. How to complete it: ESPD guide
- To prepare the tender after the invitation, read the award criteria and their weighting in the procurement documents. What the law of 17 June 2016 says about them (articles 81 and 82): Award criteria
- If the notice is an open procedure, there is no such request: the tender is submitted directly. That case is here: Open procedure
- An alert for new notices is set here: Alert
What AOEX does not do
AOEX does not submit the request to participate or the tender, does not choose whom to invite and does not contact the buyer. This page does not say who will be invited or who will be selected.
The text to follow remains the latest official notice, the invitation, and the procurement documents.
Common questions
Can I submit a tender in a restricted procedure without a request to participate?
No. Article 37, § 2, of the law of 17 June 2016 says only the economic operators invited after the information provided has been assessed may submit a tender. Article 79 adds that the buyer does not include operators who did not request to participate.
What are the minimum periods of a restricted procedure in Belgium?
Thirty days for the request to participate, from the sending of the notice (article 37, § 1). Thirty days for the tender, from the sending of the invitation (§ 2). A prior information notice that meets § 3 may reduce the tender period to ten days. In duly justified urgency, § 4 allows a period that cannot be shorter than fifteen days for the request and ten days for the tender. The thirty-day tender period may be reduced by five days where the tender is electronic (§ 5). The notice may publish a later date.
Must the buyer invite five companies?
Article 79, § 2, sets the minimum number of candidates at five in the restricted procedure. The number invited must be enough for genuine competition. If fewer candidates have the required capacity than the minimum the buyer set, the buyer may continue with those who have it. Below the European publicity thresholds, § 3 says the duty to state that minimum number in the notice does not apply.
Is the date published on TED the tender deadline?
Not always. In a restricted procedure, the published date is often the one for the request to participate. The tender comes after the invitation, and only for the invited companies. A tender deadline may therefore be absent from the contract notice.
Sources
Law of 17 June 2016, articles 37 and 79, French text read on Justel on 26 October 2026: Law of 17 June 2016 (Justel, French) Dutch text: Law of 17 June 2016 (Justel, Dutch) Directive 2014/24/EU: Directive 2014/24/EU
This note describes public documents and how AOEX works. It is not legal advice.
Edited by aoex.
