How do public tenders work in the Czech Republic?

Law and buyers

Public procurement in Czechia is regulated by zákon č. 134/2016 Sb., o zadávání veřejných zakázek (ZZVZ, Public Procurement Act), which transposes the EU procurement directives. The Ministry for Regional Development (Ministerstvo pro místní rozvoj, MMR) is responsible for procurement policy and runs the national e-procurement infrastructure NIPEZ and the information portal portal-vz.cz. Buyers include ministries and other central government bodies, the 14 regions (kraje), municipalities, state-owned and municipal companies and utilities. The law distinguishes three value bands: small-scale contracts (veřejné zakázky malého rozsahu, outside the formal procedures), below-threshold contracts (podlimitní) and above-threshold contracts (nadlimitní) that reach the EU thresholds. Financial limits are set by government regulation No. 172/2016 Sb., most recently amended by regulation No. 541/2025 Sb. from 1 January 2026. Supervision and review are the task of the Office for the Protection of Competition (ÚOHS).[1][3][9][10]

Where tenders are published

Below-threshold and above-threshold procedures are announced in the Věstník veřejných zakázek (vvz.nipez.cz), the national bulletin that also forwards above-threshold notices to TED. The procurement documents themselves are published on the contracting authority's buyer profile (profil zadavatele) in an electronic tool. The state-run Národní elektronický nástroj (NEN, nen.nipez.cz) is the largest public one; many regions, cities and companies use certified commercial tools instead, mainly Tender arena, eGORDION, E-ZAK and PROEBIZ. Written communication must in principle be electronic. To submit a tender in NEN you register on the NIPEZ portal; Czech entities need a qualified electronic certificate, EU and EEA entities can use certificates from the eIDAS trusted lists, and non-EU suppliers can sign the registration form with an electronic signature issued in their name. Other tools usually require their own account. Small-scale contracts are often only advertised on the buyer profile or by direct invitation.[6][7][8][13]

Procedures and thresholds

The ZZVZ offers the open procedure (otevřené řízení), the restricted procedure (užší řízení), the negotiated procedure with publication (jednací řízení s uveřejněním), the negotiated procedure without publication (jednací řízení bez uveřejnění), the competitive dialogue (řízení se soutěžním dialogem) and the innovation partnership. For below-threshold contracts there is also the simplified below-threshold procedure (zjednodušené podlimitní řízení), in which the buyer invites suppliers and publishes the procedure on its buyer profile. Contracts under the small-scale limits are not subject to the formal procedures, although the general principles of transparency, equal treatment and proportionality still apply and many buyers follow internal rules or grant conditions. Above the EU thresholds the full EU rules and TED publication apply. The amounts are listed in the thresholds table.[2][5]

Documents and language

Qualification can usually be shown first by a self-declaration, either a čestné prohlášení or the European Single Procurement Document (jednotné evropské osvědčení pro veřejné zakázky). The selected supplier must then provide evidence of basic eligibility: an extract from the criminal record, a confirmation from the tax office that there are no tax arrears, and a confirmation from the social security administration, plus an extract from the commercial register for professional eligibility. Such documents must show the situation no more than three months before the procedure started. An extract from the list of qualified suppliers (seznam kvalifikovaných dodavatelů) can replace several documents. Foreign suppliers submit their national equivalents; unless the buyer allows otherwise, documents in other languages need a translation into Czech, while Czech and Slovak documents need none. Tenders are normally written in Czech.[2]

Deadlines, award and challenges

In the above-threshold open procedure the minimum time for tenders is 30 days from the start of the procedure, extended by 5 days in certain cases. In the restricted procedure requests to participate get at least 30 days and tenders at least 25 days. Below the EU thresholds the open procedure needs at least 15 working days for supplies and services and 20 working days for works, and the simplified below-threshold procedure at least 11 working days. Tenders are assessed on economic advantageousness (ekonomická výhodnost): price and quality, lowest price or lowest life-cycle cost. Objections (námitky) go first to the contracting authority, generally within 15 days, and the contract may not be signed before that objection period has expired. A rejected objector can petition ÚOHS within 10 days, paying a deposit of 1 percent of its bid price, between 50,000 and 10,000,000 Kč. Small-scale contracts cannot be challenged this way.[2][10]

How to win a tender in the Czech Republic

Czech buyers assess economic advantageousness (ekonomická výhodnost): the best price-quality ratio, or simply the lowest price or life-cycle cost. Lowest price alone is not allowed for some services, such as architecture and engineering services in CPV division 71. The tender documents must state the criteria, the evaluation method per criterion and the weights, and quality criteria must be comparable and verifiable, so answer each one with concrete, checkable commitments. A buyer may even fix the price and compete on quality only. Ask for a vysvětlení zadávací dokumentace in writing at least 3 working days before the buyer's own clarification deadline, which is 5 working days before the tender deadline; the request and answer are published on the buyer profile without your name. To know the buyer, read its earlier contracts and amendments on its buyer profile (profil zadavatele) and in the public contract register (registr smluv). Missing qualification documents can often be supplied on request, but the evaluated content of a tender cannot change after the deadline. The award notice includes the evaluation report, which shows how every tender was scored.[2][9][12]

1. Turn every quality criterion into concrete, verifiable commitments in your tender.
2. Send clarification requests early, at least 3 working days before the buyer's deadline.
3. Search the buyer profile and registr smluv for its earlier contracts and amendments.
4. Check before submission that everything scored is complete, as it cannot be added later.
5. Use the evaluation report in the award notice to see where you lost points.

Clarification round: Vysvětlení zadávací dokumentace (clarification of the tender documents)

Tips for bidders

Register in NEN and in the commercial tools your target buyers use well before a deadline, because registration is checked manually and can take time, and make sure you have a suitable electronic signature. Follow the Věstník veřejných zakázek for formal procedures, but also watch buyer profiles of regions, cities and hospitals, since much procurement runs through their own tool. Plan for Czech: tender documents, clarification questions and most evidence are in Czech, and foreign documents need translations. Prepare current criminal record, tax and social security confirmations in advance, as they must not be older than three months. Read the objection deadlines carefully, they are short, and remember that the ÚOHS deposit is substantial. For small-scale contracts, contact buyers directly and ask to be included in invitations.[2][6][8]

Platforms in the Czech Republic

Share of the 19,016 TED notices from 2025 whose documents sit on this platform.

• NEN (NIPEZ)22.8%

  Free state e-tool; register a supplier account to bid, and sign with a qualified certificate (Safari not supported for signing, use Chrome).

  How it works →Website

• Tender arena21.7%

  Registration runs through the national NIPEZ portal; one supplier account then works across Tender arena and other connected Czech e-procurement tools.

  How it works →

• eGORDION12.8%

  eGORDION is a Czech e-tendering tool used by individual buyers; suppliers register once via the national NIPEZ portal, which also covers other connected tools.

  How it works →

• Věstník / vhodné uveřejnění4.2%

  The Věstník only publishes notices; bids go through each buyer's own profile or e-tool named in the notice, often NEN or a commercial tool.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

1. Zákon č. 134/2016 Sb., o zadávání veřejných zakázek (e-Sbírka)
2. Zákon č. 134/2016 Sb., consolidated text (§ 27, § 45, § 54, § 57, § 59, § 74-77, § 87, § 114, § 241-255)
3. Nařízení vlády č. 541/2025 Sb. (financial limits from 1 January 2026)
4. Agentura pro podporu podnikání a investic: Nové finanční limity pro veřejné zakázky a koncese platné od 1. 1. 2026
5. Centrum pro regionální rozvoj ČR: Informace ke zvýšení limitů VZMR od 3. 4. 2025
6. NIPEZ support: registration in NEN (incl. foreign suppliers and certificates)
7. Národní elektronický nástroj (NEN)
8. Věstník veřejných zakázek
9. Portál o veřejných zakázkách (MMR)
10. ÚOHS, public procurement review
11. Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/2152 (EU thresholds 2026-2027)
12. Zákon č. 340/2015 Sb., o registru smluv
13. TED - EU Tenders, the Supplement to the Official Journal

Checked on 15 October 2026. Made by TenderRender from official sources. Not legal advice: check the notice and documents of each tender.

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