VgV (Procurement Ordinance)

The VgV, Verordnung über die Vergabe öffentlicher Aufträge (Ordinance on the Award of Public Contracts), is the central federal regulation that governs the procurement of public supply and service contracts in Germany above the EU thresholds. It was fundamentally restructured during the 2016 procurement law reform and has since been amended several times, most recently effective 1 January 2026 to reflect the new EU thresholds.

In the hierarchy of German procurement law, the VgV sits at the ordinance level, below the Act against Restraints of Competition (GWB). The GWB defines the overall framework, who qualifies as a public contracting authority, what principles apply, when legal protection is available, while the VgV operationalises the actual procurement procedure: which procedure type is permissible, which minimum deadlines apply, which suitability evidence may be requested, and how the contract must be awarded.

The VgV applies exclusively above the EU thresholds (see EU thresholds). Below those thresholds, the federal UVgO applies for supplies and services, while construction works are governed by Part A of the VOB. This split between above-threshold and below-threshold regimes is a defining structural feature of German procurement law.

The VgV does not cover:

• Works contracts, above the threshold these fall under the EU sections of the VOB/A.
• Utilities (sector) contracts in energy, water and transport, governed by the SektVO.
• Defence and security contracts, governed by the VSVgV.
• Concessions, governed by the KonzVgV.

For bidders, the VgV is therefore the relevant rulebook in many typical situations: IT services, consulting, cleaning, catering, printing services, freelance planning services and any other supply or service contract above the EU threshold falls within its scope.

Structure of the VgV

The VgV is organised in several sections: general provisions and communication (§§ 1–13), award procedure types (§§ 14–22), preparation and publication (§§ 23–41), suitability and grounds for exclusion (§§ 42–52), requirements for bids and evaluation (§§ 53–69), special rules for planning competitions and professional services (§§ 70–80a), and final/transitional provisions. This structure essentially mirrors the workflow of a procurement procedure: anyone planning a procedure or submitting a bid can follow the ordinance section by section.

Together with the GWB and the supplementary provisions on e-procurement, the VgV forms the complete legal regime for above-threshold supply and service procurement by classic public authorities in Germany.

The VgV is a federal ordinance issued by the German government on the basis of § 113 GWB. It ranks below the act of parliament but above administrative guidelines such as the federal procurement manual. Its legal embedding stems from three layers:

EU-law foundation. The VgV transposes EU Directive 2014/24/EU into national law. As a result it is largely determined by EU law: national discretion exists but is tightly framed by EU secondary law and the case law of the ECJ. Breaches can trigger infringement proceedings by the Commission.

National foundation in the GWB. Above-threshold procurement law is anchored in Part 4 of the GWB (§§ 97 ff.). § 97 GWB lays down the principles of competition, transparency, equal treatment and economic efficiency. § 99 GWB defines the public contracting authority, § 103 GWB defines public contracts, and § 106 GWB sets out the EU thresholds. The VgV operationalises all of these statutory requirements for supply and service contracts.

Procedure types and conditions. § 14 VgV governs the choice of procedure type. The defaults are the open procedure and the restricted procedure with a call for competition. The negotiated procedure, the competitive dialogue and the innovation partnership are only available under narrow conditions. The negotiated procedure without a prior call for competition (§ 14(4) VgV) is the strictest exception and may only be used in tightly defined cases such as exclusive rights or extreme urgency.

Deadlines. §§ 15 ff. VgV define minimum periods: 35 days for bids in the open procedure, 30 days for requests to participate in the restricted procedure, both reducible in the case of a prior information notice or fully electronic submission. The negotiated procedure with a call for competition also has minimum periods, but allows more room for negotiation.

Suitability and exclusion. §§ 42–52 VgV regulate suitability criteria (technical capacity, economic capacity, reliability), the use of the self-declaration (ESPD) and both mandatory and discretionary grounds for exclusion under §§ 123, 124 GWB. Self-cleaning under § 125 GWB can cure an otherwise mandatory exclusion.

Legal protection. Bidders affected by VgV breaches can appeal to the public procurement chamber (Vergabekammer). As a rule, they must first submit a timely challenge (Rüge) under § 160(3) GWB. Decisions by the procurement chamber can be appealed to the procurement senate of the competent higher regional court.

Distinction from special ordinances. A clean separation from the SektVO (utilities), VSVgV (defence), KonzVgV (concessions) and VOB/A-EU (works) is essential. The VgV is the default ordinance for classic supply and service procurement.

A German federal ministry plans an EU-wide tender for a four-year framework agreement for IT consulting services with an estimated total volume of EUR 6 million. Because the contract value clearly exceeds the EU threshold of EUR 216,000 for services, the VgV applies, rather than the UVgO or any informal procedure.

The typical VgV workflow:

1. Preparation. The contracting authority prepares the procurement documents under § 28 VgV: specifications, suitability criteria, award criteria, draft contract. The value estimation under § 3 VgV is documented.
2. Choice of procedure. Because no exception applies, the authority opts for an open procedure. Publication is electronic, via TED and the national procurement platform, in accordance with § 37 VgV.
3. Publication. The contract notice in eForms format states the subject matter, estimated contract value, suitability requirements, award criteria and bid deadline (minimum 35 days under § 15 VgV).
4. Bidder communication. Bidder questions are submitted via the platform and, in line with § 12 VgV, anonymised and shared with all participants.
5. Evaluation. Under § 56 VgV the authority verifies bidders' suitability, where appropriate by requesting evidence from the pre-qualification register. Bids are then evaluated against the published award criteria.
6. Award. Before awarding the contract the authority informs unsuccessful bidders under § 134 GWB, triggering a ten-day standstill period. Only after that may the contract be signed.

An IT consulting firm using Patterno Hit for market intelligence receives the contract notice on the day of publication in its daily briefing, the AI-driven search profile picks up exactly these kinds of framework agreements without the sales team having to scan TED manually.

The VgV is extensive and detailed. Contracting authorities and bidders alike regularly trip over the same pitfalls:

• Wrong procedure type. Authorities default to the negotiated procedure or even the negotiated procedure without prior call for competition, although the strict requirements of § 14 VgV are not met. Consequence: the procedure is set aside in review proceedings.
• Disproportionate suitability criteria. The VgV only allows suitability criteria that are proportionate to the subject matter (§ 122 GWB, § 42 VgV). Minimum turnover requirements above twice the contract value or excessive reference requirements are regularly held to be discriminatory.
• Incorrect threshold calculation. For framework agreements the total value over the term must be estimated under § 3 VgV, not just the annual volume. Under-estimating risks running the whole procedure unlawfully as a below-threshold award.
• Mixing up VgV and VOB/A. Works contracts do not fall under the VgV but under VOB/A (above the thresholds: VOB/A-EU). Mixed contracts (e.g. design + build) must be classified by their main subject matter.
• Ignoring the standstill period. Awarding a contract before the ten-day standstill period under § 134 GWB expires renders the contract subject to nullity under § 135 GWB, a serious commercial risk.
• Wrong ordinance for utilities. Sector contracting authorities (water, energy, transport) sometimes apply the VgV instead of the SektVO, or vice versa. The two regimes differ significantly in thresholds and procedural requirements.

There are well-established strategies for running VgV-compliant procedures and for participating in them successfully:

• Clarify scope precisely. For every procedure verify: Does the estimated value exceed the EU threshold? Is it a supply/service (VgV) or a works contract (VOB/A-EU)? Is the authority a classic or a sector contracting authority? A careful initial check prevents procedural errors.
• Document the value estimation. The estimation under § 3 VgV is not only mandatory, it is the most important piece of evidence in any dispute. Sources, methodology and calculation should be documented transparently in the procurement record (Vergabevermerk).
• Choose the procedure type deliberately. When in doubt, use the open procedure, the safest path and the regulatory default. The negotiated procedure and competitive dialogue are powerful tools, but they require explicit justification.
• Keep suitability and award criteria separate. Suitability criteria relate to the bidder (e.g. references, turnover), award criteria to the bid (e.g. price, quality, lead time). Mixing them invites challenges and annulments.
• Take e-procurement seriously. The VgV requires consistent electronic communication (§§ 9–13 VgV). Authorities that answer bidder questions by email or accept paper submissions breach the ordinance.
• Systematise market monitoring. For bidders, a central search across all relevant platforms is essential. Patterno Hit aggregates more than 180 portals and uses AI to filter VgV procedures that match the company's profile, a clear advantage over manual TED research.
• Enforce the standstill period. Authorities should hard-code the ten-day period under § 134 GWB into their workflow, ideally via automated reminders in the procurement platform.