Use this checklist when you want to turn your first UK tender search into a small, actionable shortlist. The output is a qualification record for each candidate, with access requirements and unanswered questions visible. For the full source map and market-entry context, start with the UK supplier playbook.
1. Define what a useful result looks like
Write down your offer, deliverable locations, minimum preparation time and any hard limits such as certifications or service capacity. Choose a small set of named buyers. Keep buyer headquarters separate from the location where the work must happen.
Run one service-keyword search and one classification search. Compare them: a useful notice missed by either search tells you something concrete about the vocabulary or scope to change.
2. Open the official notice and follow the documents
Start at Find a Tender. Identify the buyer and applicable source, then separate planning and market-engagement notices from live tenders and awards. Check the tender's own response platform. Completing or sharing central supplier information does not itself submit a bid. Use the relevant devolved sources when the target buyer requires them.
Save the source URL and last checked date. Do not treat a translated summary or a third-party search result as the full submission instruction.
3. Answer the first qualification question
Is this a live competition we can enter, and what must be submitted through which system?
Then inspect the lot's technical scope, mandatory evidence, delivery obligations, evaluation criteria and price basis. Record the question deadline separately from the response deadline. If a key condition is unclear, assign a clarification action before estimating bid effort.
Worked example
A technology supplier with teams in England and Scotland should keep a shared capability taxonomy but separate the source and eligibility checks. A Scottish council procurement and a central-government opportunity can require different registration routes and documentation. Use CPV plus service terms, then check local support requirements and the permitted route into any framework.
4. Save a record your team can act on
Copy these fields into your existing tracker:
Buyer; procurement identifier; notice stage; lot; framework or market admission; supplier information action; response platform; deadline.
Add a decision: pursue, clarify, partner, monitor or reject. Give it one owner and a reason. For a rejected result, preserve the reason so that the next search improves. For a pursuit, identify who checks amendments and when the submission route will be tested.
5. Check the shortlist against the source
Open the latest official documents again before committing bid-writing time. Confirm that the deadline remains open, the lot is accessible, and no amendment changes the decision. A newly published award is useful research but is not a new invitation to bid.
If you use Duke, compare these same candidates with the records shown in your account. This checklist does not certify complete UK coverage or that every portal action can be completed in Duke. Keep the official response route and source verification in your process.
Read the tender notice review workflow for the next document check. Bring your shortlist to a Duke discussion to assess the workflow and sources available for your buyers.
Source guidance checked: 13 September 2026; supporting official guidance is linked in the UK playbook. Editorial owner: Antoine Simon. Next review: 13 December 2026. The example is illustrative, not a live opportunity.