Belgian TED notice in two stages: is the deadline for the tender or the request to participate?

One procedure, two dates

In an open procedure, any interested company submits a tender straight away. In a restricted procedure or a competitive procedure with negotiation, there are two stages. First, the company submits a request to participate with the information asked for the selection. Then, only the companies the buyer invites submit a tender.

The type of procedure is shown in the TED notice, under point 2.1, “Type of procedure”. In the two notices below, point 5.1.12 publishes the “Deadline for receipt of requests to participate” and point 5.1.9 the “Minimum number of candidates to be invited for the second stage of the procedure”. No deadline for the receipt of tenders is published there.

Reading this date as the tender deadline can cost you the contract: by that date, it is the request to participate that must be filed, not the priced tender.

What the law says

Article 37 of the Belgian law of 17 June 2016 on public procurement says that, in a restricted procedure, any economic operator may submit a request to participate by providing the information for selection that the contracting authority asks for. The minimum time limit for receipt of requests to participate is thirty days from the date the contract notice was sent.

The same article says that only the economic operators invited by the contracting authority, after it has assessed the information provided, may submit a tender. The minimum time limit for receipt of tenders is thirty days from the date the invitation to tender was sent. Article 38, § 4, says the same for the initial tender in the competitive procedure with negotiation.

Article 79, § 2, sets the minimum number of candidates at five in the restricted procedure and at three in the competitive procedure with negotiation. It adds that, in the same procedure, the contracting authority does not include economic operators that did not request to participate. The law is published in French and Dutch; the wording here is our English rendering. Articles 28, 29 and 65 of Directive 2014/24/EU contain the same rules.

Text of the law: https://www.ejustice.just.fgov.be/eli/loi/2016/06/17/2016021053/justel Text of the directive: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32014L0024

Two Belgian notices still open on 10 October 2026

TED notice 671217-2026 was published on 30 September 2026, in Dutch. Its title stays as in the notice: “België – Restauratiewerkzaamheden – Complex Plateau - Rozier - Restauratie exterieur fase 6.3 en interieur fase A”. The published buyer is Universiteit Gent, in Ghent. The published procedure is restricted (“Niet-openbaar”).

It publishes 29 October 2026 at 10:30, with the offset UTC+01:00, as the deadline for receipt of requests to participate, and a minimum of five candidates to be invited to the second stage. The selection criteria are not written in the notice: it refers to the procurement documents, the “Selectieleidraad”, published at https://cloud.3p.eu/Downloads/1/2424/1G/2021. Submission is electronic, on https://www.publicprocurement.be, in Dutch. The only published award criterion is price.

TED notice 646873-2026 was published on 21 September 2026, in French, then changed by notices 670576-2026, on 29 September 2026, and 679797-2026, on 2 October 2026. Both changes concern the specifications: article II.2, criterion no. 2 of technical and professional ability, then articles II.1.3 and II.1.4 on the assessment of applications and the selection decision. The title stays in French: “Belgique – Travaux de construction – Design & build pour la construction d'environ 48 logements à la Prihielle”. The published buyer is La Régionale Visétoise d'habitations, in Visé. The published procedure is competitive with negotiation.

The latest change publishes 20 October 2026 at 12:00, with the offset UTC+02:00, as the deadline for receipt of requests to participate, and a minimum of three candidates to be invited. The buyer reserves the right to award the contract on the basis of the initial tenders without negotiating. Here, the notice publishes the selection: a team of at least six people (general contractor, architect, building services engineer, structural engineer, health and safety coordinator and energy performance (PEB) officer), at least three references for housing design over the last ten years and at least three references for housing construction over the last five years, each time with at least two worth at least EUR 4,000,000.00 of works excluding VAT and backed by a certificate of satisfactory performance, and contractor accreditation D, class 8.

The notice pages: https://ted.europa.eu/en/notice/-/detail/671217-2026 https://ted.europa.eu/en/notice/-/detail/646873-2026 https://ted.europa.eu/en/notice/-/detail/670576-2026 https://ted.europa.eu/en/notice/-/detail/679797-2026

Can I still reply?

On 10 October 2026, neither date has passed. What a company can still file is a request to participate, with the selection evidence asked for, on the published platform and in the published language. It does not yet file a priced tender.

After the deadline for requests to participate, a company that did not ask to participate can no longer be added to the same procedure. A request filed on time does not guarantee an invitation: the buyer first assesses the selection.

If the notice also publishes a deadline for tenders, or if a more recent change notice moves the date, the latest published notice and the procurement documents prevail.

What AOEX does not do

AOEX files neither the request to participate nor the tender, and does not contact the buyer. This page does not say who will be invited or who will be chosen.

The text to follow remains the latest official notice and the procurement documents, including the Selectieleidraad or the specifications.