guide
Find a Tender Service Explained
4 min readBy David OkonjoReviewed by Helen MarshPublished 2026-07-09Last reviewed 2026-07-28
In short
Find a Tender (FTS) is the UK government service publishing higher-value public procurement notices. Contracts Finder carries lower-value opportunities and contract awards, so most suppliers need to monitor both.
What appears where
FTS carries above-threshold notices including planned procurement, tender, transparency and contract award notices. Contracts Finder carries below-threshold opportunities and awarded contract records.
Searching effectively
CPV codes are inconsistently applied, so keyword monitoring across both services, plus regional portals, catches opportunities that a single code-based search misses.
Frequently asked questions
Is Find a Tender free?
Yes, publication and search are free. Aggregation tools exist because monitoring multiple portals manually is time-consuming.
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