How to find public tenders that suit your company

Where tenders are published

In Estonia tenders are published in the public procurement register (riigihanked.riik.ee). Every tender from the simplified procurement threshold upwards must appear there. Since 1 November 2026 that threshold for classic-sector buyers is €50,000 for supplies and services and €100,000 for works. Smaller purchases follow the buyer's internal rules and are sometimes announced on its own website.

When the estimated value exceeds the EU threshold, the notice is also published in the Official Journal of the EU, TED (ted.europa.eu). For 2026–2027 the thresholds are €5,404,000 for works, and for supplies and services €140,000 for central government and €216,000 for other buyers such as municipalities.

Neighbouring countries have their own systems: EIS in Latvia, CVP IS in Lithuania and Hilma in Finland. Sweden has no single register; tenders appear in several notice databases. The larger tenders from all of them reach TED, which makes TED a good common source if you want to bid abroad. See Tenders in Finland and Sweden.

Describe what you sell

Registers are searched in two ways: by procurement codes (CPV) and by keywords. You need both, because each misses something on its own.

• CPV codes describe the subject using a common European classification, for example 45 for construction work and 72 for IT services. Choose codes at the two- to five-digit level rather than too narrowly. See CPV codes explained simply.
• Keywords catch tenders the buyer filed under another code. Use the words a buyer would put in a title: not "full-service digital agency" but "website", "information system", "development", "maintenance". Add translations for the markets you target.

A good test: take three tenders you would have liked to win last year and check which codes and words would have brought them into your search.

Narrow the results

• Excluded words. If you clean buildings but not streets, exclude words such as "street" or "winter maintenance".
• Countries. Start at home and add other countries when you are ready to bid and deliver there.
• Value. Very small tenders may not repay the bidding effort; very large ones may require turnover or references you lack. Many notices do not publish a value at all.
• Lots. Large tenders are often split into lots, for example by region. A smaller company can bid for one lot.

Be there early

• Procurement plans. Many buyers publish an annual procurement plan on their website.
• Prior information notices and market consultations. These let you comment on the requirements before they are fixed.
• Expiring contracts. A four-year framework signed four years ago will soon be tendered again. Contract award data is public.

Before you decide to bid

Read three things first: the selection criteria (turnover, references, licences), the award criteria (price only, or price and quality) and the deadlines for bids and for questions. See How to read a tender notice and its deadlines. If you cannot meet every requirement alone, a joint bid or relying on a subcontractor's experience may be allowed.

In the Estonian register, questions and bids are submitted electronically after logging in with an Estonian ID card, Mobile-ID or Smart-ID; foreign companies can register as well.

Make searching a routine

Companies rarely miss tenders because they never find them; they find them too late. Search every working day and make sure the results reach the person who decides whether to bid. You can do this by hand with saved searches, or let Hangete do it: choose your industry, keywords and countries, and every working day at 7:00 you get an email with only the matching tenders, showing value, deadline and why each one fits.

Browse what is open now on Open public tenders, for example construction, IT and cleaning.