What actually changed
The Procurement Act 2023 came into force for new UK procurements on 24 February 2025. It created a single place where public buyers publish notices, which the Act and the Procurement Regulations 2024 call the central digital platform. Cabinet Office guidance names it plainly: the central digital platform "is available at https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/".
Find a Tender now covers more than high-value opportunities. Its own page states that from 24 February 2025, "both above and below threshold notices about new UK procurements will be published on this service, except below threshold in Scotland".
The old below-threshold duty moved with it. Guidance is explicit that publishing a below-threshold tender notice and contract details notice on the central digital platform "replaces the requirement to publish a contract notice and contract award notice only on Contracts Finder".
Which service carries what, today
| Question | Find a Tender | Contracts Finder |
|---|---|---|
| New opportunities, above threshold | Yes, all four nations | No |
| New opportunities, below threshold | Yes, except in Scotland | No, beyond a legacy tail |
| Procurements begun before 24 February 2025 | Above-threshold notices only | Yes, their below-threshold notices and awards land here |
| Award records and who won | Yes, for new procurements | Yes, history back to 26 February 2015 |
| Legal basis | Procurement Act 2023 | Public Contracts Regulations 2015 and other pre-2025 regimes |
Sources: Find a Tender service guidance and Cabinet Office thresholds, checked 17 September 2026.
The thresholds for 2026 and 2027
From the Cabinet Office thresholds guidance updated 13 July 2026, drawn from Procurement Policy Note 023. These apply from 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2027, and they include VAT.
| Type of contract | Including VAT | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Goods or services, central government authority | £135,018 | Departments, NHS trusts, agencies |
| Goods or services, sub-central authority | £207,720 | Councils and universities. Most agency work sits below this |
| All other light touch contracts | £663,540 | Certain social, health and training services |
| Works contracts | £5,193,000 | Construction, which is why works notices look enormous |
| Advertised below-threshold, central government | £12,000 | Above this, an advertised contract needs a notice |
| Advertised below-threshold, everyone else | £30,000 | Where most winnable digital work lives |
One caution on figures elsewhere. The GOV.UK Contracts Finder start page still says Find a Tender is for contracts "usually above £139,688 including VAT". That was the 2024 and 2025 figure. Thresholds are re-set every two years to track the UK's obligations under the WTO Government Procurement Agreement, so check the effective dates when comparing figures.
A worked example: a £60k website against a £400k framework
The £60,000 website rebuild for a district council. A council is a sub-central authority, so the above-threshold line is £207,720. At £60,000 this is a below-threshold contract and the full procedure does not apply. But it is over £30,000, making it a notifiable below-threshold contract. If the council advertises it, a below-threshold tender notice must go on Find a Tender first, before anywhere else, and a contract details notice follows after award. Under the old rules that notice went to Contracts Finder. Check Find a Tender as well as Contracts Finder; one service does not cover every procurement regime.
The £400,000 digital services framework. At £400,000 it is over both thresholds, so it is a public contract and a covered procurement. A tender notice goes to Find a Tender, award brings a contract award notice and a standstill period, and a contract details notice follows. Each later call-off is its own procurement with its own notices.
Both now arrive through the same door.
So why still use Contracts Finder?
Not for opportunities. For evidence. Contracts Finder holds award records back to 26 February 2015: who won the last rebuild, what it went for, when the term ends, which incumbent you would be displacing.
The two services can contain notices from different procurement regimes. Use their dates and notice types to distinguish open opportunities from awards and historical records.
How to set alerts on each
Find a Tender
- Choose Notice Search. Summarised Search groups every notice from one procurement together, but covers only procurements published from February 2025.
- Sign in or register. Find a Tender uses GOV.UK One Login, so reuse one if you have it.
- Save the search criteria. An account lets you register your organisation, save searches and sign up for notifications by email.
Contracts Finder
- Run a search. Filter by keyword, region or postcode radius, CPV code, value range and procurement stage: early engagement, future opportunity, opportunity, or awarded contract.
- Choose Save search on the results page, then sign in or register. Contracts Finder uses Supplier Registration accounts; register as a Supplier to search and apply.
- Saving puts the search in your saved searches list and, in the service's own words, "you can choose to receive emails when new notices are published that meet your search criteria".
What neither service will tell you
- Work that was never advertised. The duty to publish in advance bites only when the buyer chooses to advertise. You may learn the job existed once it is gone.
- Whether you are eligible. Both match text and codes. Neither reads the conditions of participation, certifications or reference projects, because most of that sits in the tender pack.
- Whether it is worth your afternoon. A saved search returns everything that matched, and a thin notice matches your keyword just as well as a rich one.
Where we fit
TenderVerdict reads both services nightly through their official APIs, alongside TED and BOAMP, and assesses a selection of promising notices against a capability profile built from your website. You can start with five free briefs: one initial brief and four Monday follow-ups, with BID, STRETCH or SKIP and reasons. Scheduled runs start at 7am UK time (8am in Paris); delivery follows processing. It replaces the reading, not the deciding. We judge the published notice, not the tender pack.
Common questions
Do I still need a Contracts Finder account in 2026?
Contracts Finder remains useful for older procurements, award research and subcontract opportunities. Start with Find a Tender for new procurements, then add Contracts Finder and relevant regional services for your market.
What is the value threshold for Find a Tender?
There is no single one. Above-threshold starts at 135,018 pounds including VAT for central government goods and services, and 207,720 pounds for other authorities. Below that, an advertised contract still needs a notice from 12,000 or 30,000 pounds.
Why are the thresholds quoted including VAT?
Because the Procurement Act 2023 values contracts inclusive of VAT. Section 123 treats an amount payable under a contract as including any amount referable to VAT. Check the applicable regime and whether its figures include VAT.
Does Find a Tender cover Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland?
Yes, with one exception. Since 24 February 2025 both above and below threshold notices for new UK procurements go on Find a Tender, except below-threshold notices in Scotland, which stay on Public Contracts Scotland.
Contracts Finder says Find a Tender starts at 139,688 pounds. Which is right?
139,688 pounds was the 2024 and 2025 central government threshold. The current figure is 135,018 pounds including VAT. Some GOV.UK start pages have not been updated; the Procurement Act thresholds guidance carries the current table.
Can I get email alerts from both services?
Yes. Both let you save a search and receive email when new notices match. Find a Tender uses GOV.UK One Login; Contracts Finder uses a Supplier Registration account. Both match words and codes, not whether you could win.
If a contract is under 30,000 pounds, will I see it advertised?
Often not. The rules bite only when the buyer chooses to advertise. A buyer may ask a few known suppliers for quotes and publish nothing until a contract details notice appears after award.
Related
See your own tenders judged.
Start with five free briefs, no card. Confirm your email and check your company profile, then review the verdicts and their reasons.