Public tenders in Bulgaria: platforms, thresholds and rules

At a glance

Law: Закон за обществените поръчки (ЗОП)
Oversight: Агенция по обществени поръчки (АОП)
Central portal: Централизирана автоматизирана информационна система „Електронни обществени поръчки“ (ЦАИС ЕОП)

Thresholds

ZOP: works, EU-level procedures (art. 20(1), lev amount converted to euro)	€ 5.381.917,65
ZOP: supplies and services, public contracting authorities, EU-level procedures	€ 139.997,85
ZOP: supplies and services, utilities (sector contracting entities)	€ 430.993,49
ZOP: social and other specific services (Annex 2), public contracting authorities	€ 749.988,50
ZOP: public competition (публично състезание) or direct negotiation, works, from	€ 153.387,56
ZOP: public competition or direct negotiation, supplies and services, from	€ 51.129,19
ZOP: collection of offers (събиране на оферти), works, from (below: direct award)	€ 40.903,35
ZOP: collection of offers, supplies and services, from (below: direct award)	€ 25.564,59
EU directive threshold 2026-2027: works contracts	€ 5.404.000
EU directive threshold 2026-2027: supplies and services, central government authorities	€ 140.000

Law and buyers

Public procurement in Bulgaria implements EU directives 2014/24/EU, 2014/25/EU and 2014/23/EU, mainly through the Закон за обществените поръчки (ZOP, Public Procurement Act) of 2016 and its implementing regulation. Buyers include ministries and agencies, municipalities, hospitals, universities, public companies and utilities in energy, water and transport. The Агенция по обществени поръчки (AOP, Public Procurement Agency) sets methodology, runs the national e-procurement platform and monitors procedures. Under Council of Ministers Decree No 385 of 2015, the Minister of Finance acts as the Централен орган за покупки (central purchasing body) for executive authorities, concluding framework agreements for items such as fuel, vehicles, office supplies, software and IT equipment. Municipalities and groups of buyers may set up their own central purchasing bodies. Bulgaria adopted the euro on 1 January 2026, and lev thresholds in ZOP now apply at their euro equivalent.[1][2][10]

Where tenders are published

Bulgarian procurement runs on ЦАИС ЕОП (CAIS EOP, app.eop.bg), the centralised electronic platform that ZOP makes mandatory for preparing notices, publishing documents, submitting tenders and communicating with the buyer. The Register of Public Procurement (РОП) is part of this system, and procurement pages are publicly accessible. Contracts above EU thresholds are also published in TED; in TED data for 2025, Bulgaria had about 9,500 contract notices, almost all linking to CAIS EOP. Commercial search services such as TheTenderBook aggregate notices, but the official documents sit on CAIS EOP. To submit tenders, a company must register on the platform, and registration requires a qualified electronic signature (КЕП). The interface is available in Bulgarian and English, but procurement documents and communication stay in their original language.[1][4][9]

Procedures and thresholds

ZOP lists thirteen procedures. Above the EU-level thresholds buyers use the open procedure (открита процедура), restricted procedure (ограничена процедура), competitive procedure with negotiation, competitive dialogue, innovation partnership and negotiated procedures without prior publication. Below those thresholds two national procedures apply: the public competition (публично състезание), open to anyone, and direct negotiation (пряко договаряне) in limited cases. For lower values buyers use collection of offers (събиране на оферти с обява), published in the register, or an invitation to selected companies. Below the lowest thresholds contracts may be awarded directly. Thresholds in ZOP are set in lev and since 2026 apply at the euro amount published by AOP. The EU's 2026-2027 thresholds under Delegated Regulation 2025/2152 differ slightly from the converted ZOP amounts, so check the notice.[1][2][7]

Documents and language

For procedures under ZOP, bidders declare that they meet the exclusion and selection criteria with the European Single Procurement Document, called ЕЕДОП in Bulgaria, which is completed and signed electronically in CAIS EOP. A separate ЕЕДОП is needed for each consortium member, subcontractor or third party whose capacity is relied on. Before the contract is signed, the selected bidder provides evidence such as criminal record certificates, proof of no tax and social security debts, the performance guarantee and any required registrations or certificates. Buyers may not ask for documents they can access through public registers. Tenders and requests to participate are prepared in Bulgarian; only when the contract is performed abroad may the buyer allow another official language. Foreign bidders should check the documents for translation requirements.[1][5]

Deadlines, award and challenges

In the open procedure the minimum time for tenders is 30 days from dispatch of the notice, which can be cut to 15 days after a prior information notice or in urgent cases. In the public competition the minimum is 20 days, or 10 days in those cases. For collection of offers the minimum is 10 days from publication of the announcement. Contracts are awarded to the most economically advantageous tender, based on price, cost or best price-quality ratio. The contract may not be signed before 14 days have passed from notifying bidders of the award decision. Appeals go to the Комисия за защита на конкуренцията (KZK, Commission for Protection of Competition), generally within 10 days, for example from receiving the award decision. KZK decisions can be appealed to the Supreme Administrative Court within 14 days.[1][11]

How to win a tender in Bulgaria

Bulgarian contracts go to the most economically advantageous tender, judged on lowest price, cost, or the best quality-price ratio. When quality counts, the documents must contain an evaluation methodology that tells you how the committee scores each indicator, including how it scores qualitative indicators that cannot be measured in numbers. Write your technical proposal against that methodology, indicator by indicator. You can ask for clarifications (разяснения) up to 10 days before the deadline; the buyer answers within 4 days and no later than 6 days before the deadline, through the procurement register, without naming who asked. Clarifications cannot change the conditions, so a question that exposes a real flaw may lead the buyer to amend the documents. To know the buyer, search the Register of Public Procurement in CAIS EOP, which holds its decisions, award notices, contract modifications and contract completion notices. If a price or cost offer is more than 20 percent more favourable than the average of the other bidders, you get 5 days to justify it. The committee's report and protocols explain the scoring, so study them after the decision.[1][9][10]

Map your technical proposal to every indicator in the evaluation methodology.
Send clarification questions at least 10 days before the deadline via CAIS EOP.
Search the buyer's earlier awards, contract changes and completion notices in the register.
Prepare a price justification in advance if you are far below expected prices.
Read the committee's report and protocols to see exactly where you lost points.

Clarification round: Разяснения (razyasneniya, clarifications of the procurement conditions)

How contracts are awarded in Bulgaria

of tenders are awarded on price alone: 76%
bids per lot (median): 2
of lots receive a single bid: 45%
of winners are SMEs: 92%

Source: TED, 26,867 contract and award notices from 2025, calculated by TenderRender.

How TenderRender helps you in Bulgaria

TenderRender does the work behind each step above. Your team checks and refines.

1
Research the buyer
Brings together the buyer's earlier awards, policies and contracts, so your bid fits this buyer's situation in Bulgaria.
2
Ask questions
Finds unclear points and risks in the documents and drafts questions about them for the clarification round: Разяснения (razyasneniya, clarifications of the procurement conditions).
3
Write per criterion
Drafts a first version per award criterion, in the language of the tender, with citations to your own documents.
4
Review
Scores your bid per award criterion the way an evaluator would, with concrete improvements.
5
Fill in forms
Fills in the ESPD, price schedules, questionnaires and Excel annexes from your own data and earlier bids, with a source per answer.
6
Submit
Builds a checklist of everything you need to submit on Централизирана автоматизирана информационна система „Електронни обществени поръчки“ (ЦАИС ЕОП) and prepares the documents ready to sign.

Tender search covers the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany; in Bulgaria you upload the documents from Централизирана автоматизирана информационна система „Електронни обществени поръчки“ (ЦАИС ЕОП) and TenderRender works with them the same way.

Teams writing or reviewing with TenderRender won 49% of their completed tenders. How this was calculated

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Tips for bidders

Get a qualified electronic signature and register your company on CAIS EOP well before the deadline, because registration is not possible without it. Read the user guides for economic operators on help.eop.bg and contact the AOP support centre with technical questions. Plan for a tender in Bulgarian, including the ЕЕДОП and the technical and price proposals, and budget time for translations of supporting documents. Since 2026, check that your prices and guarantees are in euro, while procedures opened earlier in lev continue under their original terms. Monitor CAIS EOP regularly, because collection of offers can have deadlines of only 10 days. Ask clarification questions through the platform in time, and note the 10-day window for appeals to KZK.[2][4][5][6]

Platforms in Bulgaria

Share of the 9,499 TED notices from 2025 whose documents sit on this platform.

CAIS EOP99.9%
All Bulgarian tenders run through CAIS EOP; register, join your organisation's profile and link a qualified electronic signature (KEP) to submit.
How it works →Website

PublicCommercial

Tender search for this country

TheTenderBook
Bulgarian public procurement monitoring platform with smart tender recommendations, real-time change alerts and competitor tracking.

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Frequently asked questions

Where are public tenders in Bulgaria published?

All procedures are published and run on the national platform CAIS EOP (app.eop.bg), which includes the Register of Public Procurement. Contracts above EU thresholds also appear in TED.[1][9]

Do I need to register to bid?

Yes, to submit a tender you must register your company on CAIS EOP. Registration requires a qualified electronic signature (КЕП).[1][4]

What are the thresholds?

Since the euro adoption, AOP states the ZOP thresholds in euro: EU-level procedures apply from about €139,998 for supplies and services and €5,381,918 for works. Collection of offers starts at €25,564.59 (supplies and services) and €40,903.35 (works); below that, direct award is allowed.[2][7]

Can foreign companies take part?

Yes, companies from other EU countries can bid on the same terms. They need a qualified electronic signature to register on CAIS EOP and must follow the language rules.[1][4]

In which language must I submit my tender?

Tenders are prepared in Bulgarian. Only when the contract is performed outside Bulgaria may the buyer allow another official language.[1]

How much time do I have to prepare a tender?

At least 30 days in the open procedure, 20 days in a public competition and 10 days for collection of offers. Shorter periods are possible after a prior information notice or in urgent cases.[1]

How do I challenge a procurement decision?

File an appeal with the Commission for Protection of Competition (KZK), generally within 10 days, for example from receiving the award decision. Its decision can be appealed to the Supreme Administrative Court within 14 days.[1][11]