Prior Information Notice

A prior information notice (PIN) is an advance notice published by a contracting authority to inform the market of upcoming procurement activities. PINs serve two distinct purposes under EU procurement law: as an informational tool announcing planned procurements for the coming period, allowing suppliers to prepare, or as a formal call for competition that replaces the standard contract notice and enables shorter time limits in subsequent procurement stages. PINs are a strategic procurement planning instrument that benefits both contracting authorities, by signalling demand and stimulating market engagement, and suppliers, by providing early visibility of upcoming opportunities and additional preparation time.

How It Works

The PIN mechanism operates differently depending on whether it is used for informational purposes or as a call for competition.

PIN for Information Only: The contracting authority publishes a PIN announcing its procurement intentions for the coming 12 months. This notice describes the subject matter, estimated value range, and anticipated timing of planned procurements, without creating any binding commitment to proceed. The PIN is published in TED and may also be published on the contracting authority's buyer profile. Suppliers review the PIN to understand upcoming opportunities, begin market research, identify potential consortium partners, and prepare their bid teams and resources. The information-only PIN does not require suppliers to take any formal action, though many authorities welcome expressions of interest or engagement during market consultation activities that may follow.

PIN as Call for Competition: When used as a call for competition, the PIN takes on a formal procedural role. Under Article 48(2) of Directive 2014/24/EU, a contracting authority may use a PIN instead of a contract notice as the formal call for competition, provided the PIN specifically refers to the supplies, services, or works that will be the subject of the contract, indicates that the contract will be awarded by restricted procedure or competitive procedure with negotiation without further publication, and invites interested economic operators to express their interest in writing. The PIN must have been published between 35 days and 12 months before the date on which the invitation to confirm interest is sent.

When a PIN is used as a call for competition, the subsequent procedural steps change. Rather than publishing a separate contract notice, the contracting authority sends an invitation to all economic operators that expressed interest in response to the PIN, inviting them to confirm their interest. This invitation must contain all the information that would normally appear in a contract notice and provides the basis for the pre-qualification and tendering stages.

The practical advantage of using a PIN as a call for competition is that it enables significantly reduced time limits. For an open procedure, publication of a PIN at least 35 days before the contract notice allows the minimum tender receipt period to be reduced from 35 days to 15 days. For a restricted procedure or competitive procedure with negotiation, the minimum time for receipt of tenders can be similarly reduced.

The PIN is published using the eForms electronic notice format, which provides several subtypes: pin-only (information only), pin-buyer (buyer profile announcing the authority's procurement plan), and pin-cfc-standard (PIN used as call for competition). Each subtype requires different mandatory fields and triggers different procedural consequences.

Contracting authorities typically publish PINs at the beginning of their fiscal or procurement planning cycle, providing a comprehensive overview of anticipated procurement activities. Some authorities publish a single annual PIN covering all planned procurements, while others publish individual PINs for significant upcoming contracts.

Legal Framework

Article 48 of Directive 2014/24/EU is the primary legal provision governing prior information notices. This article distinguishes between PINs used for advance information and PINs used as a call for competition.

Article 48(1) establishes the informational PIN. Contracting authorities may make their procurement intentions known by means of a prior information notice published by the Publications Office of the EU or on the buyer profile. Where the PIN is published on the buyer profile, the contracting authority must send a notice of the publication on the buyer profile to the Publications Office.

Article 48(2) provides for the PIN as a call for competition. When used in this role, the PIN must contain all the information set out in Annex V Part B Section I (for information PINs) that is available at the time of publication, plus the specific reference to the supplies, services, or works to be procured, the indication that no contract notice will be published and that suppliers should express interest, and the contact details for obtaining procurement documents.

Article 48(3) establishes the time constraints. The PIN must have been sent for publication between 35 days and 12 months before the date on which the invitation to confirm interest is sent.

Article 47 of the Directive establishes the time limit reductions enabled by PINs. Under Article 47(2), when a contracting authority has published a PIN that is not itself used as a call for competition, the minimum time limit for the receipt of tenders under the open procedure may be reduced to 15 days (from the standard 35 days), provided the PIN was published at least 35 days and not more than 12 months before the contract notice.

Article 47(3) requires that where PINs are used as a call for competition, the minimum time limit for receipt of requests to participate shall be 30 days from the date of dispatch of the invitation to confirm interest.

Annex V of the Directive specifies the information required in PINs. Part B Section I lists the minimum information for PINs, including the identity of the contracting authority, the CPV codes and description of the procurement, the estimated value, the estimated date of publication of the contract notice, and any other relevant information.

In practice, PIN usage varies significantly across the EU. Some Member States and contracting authorities use PINs extensively as part of their procurement planning and market engagement strategy, while others rarely publish them. In France, the use of avis de pre-information is relatively common for major procurements. In Germany, PINs (Vorinformation) are used selectively, primarily for complex or high-value procurements where advance market preparation is beneficial.

Practical Examples

A national defence ministry publishes an annual PIN in January covering all anticipated procurement activities for the fiscal year. The PIN lists 45 planned procurements across categories including IT procurement systems, vehicle maintenance services, facility management, and training services, with estimated values and anticipated publication dates for each. Defence industry suppliers use this PIN to plan their bid teams, identify teaming opportunities, and prioritize their business development activities for the year. This informational PIN creates no binding commitment and individual procurements may be added, modified, or cancelled throughout the year.

A regional transport authority is planning a major construction project to extend a metro line. Six months before the anticipated contract notice, the authority publishes a PIN as a call for competition under Article 48(2), specifying that the contract will be awarded through a restricted procedure. Construction firms and engineering companies submit expressions of interest during the following months. When the authority is ready to proceed, it sends an invitation to all firms that expressed interest, inviting them to confirm their interest and submit pre-qualification information. The use of the PIN as a call for competition gives the market extensive preparation time while allowing the authority to reduce the subsequent procedural time limits.

A university publishes a PIN announcing its intention to procure a new laboratory information management system within the next six months. The PIN provides sufficient detail for software vendors to begin understanding the requirement and assessing their capability to deliver. Three months later, the university publishes the formal contract notice for an open procedure with a reduced tender submission deadline of 15 days (instead of 35), enabled by the prior publication of the PIN more than 35 days earlier. Vendors that monitored the PIN have already completed their preliminary analysis and can respond effectively within the shortened deadline.

Key Considerations for Suppliers

Monitoring PINs is an essential business development activity for suppliers active in public procurement markets. PINs provide the earliest possible visibility of upcoming opportunities, often months before the formal contract notice is published. Suppliers that identify opportunities at the PIN stage have significantly more time to prepare competitive responses, identify and secure consortium partners, and align their internal resources.

Suppliers should distinguish between informational PINs and PINs used as calls for competition. An informational PIN requires no formal response but should trigger internal planning activities. A PIN used as a call for competition requires a formal expression of interest within the specified period; failure to respond means the supplier will not be invited to participate in the subsequent procedure. Missing the expression of interest deadline for a PIN-CFC is equivalent to missing the tender deadline in a standard procedure.

When a PIN is published, suppliers should use the preparation time proactively. This may include conducting site visits, engaging with the contracting authority through any published market consultation opportunities, researching the authority's existing systems and contracts, identifying potential subcontractors or consortium partners, and preparing standard qualification documentation. The preparation advantage provided by a PIN is only valuable if it is actively used.

Suppliers should also be aware that PINs may be published on the contracting authority's buyer profile rather than (or in addition to) TED. Monitoring buyer profiles of key target customers ensures that PINs published only locally are not missed. Many national procurement platforms aggregate PINs from their contracting authorities, providing a centralized monitoring point.

Finally, suppliers should note that a PIN does not guarantee that the procurement will proceed. Contracting authorities may modify their plans, delay procurements, or cancel them entirely after publishing a PIN. The PIN creates no binding commitment, and suppliers should manage their investment in preparation accordingly.

Notice - The general concept of a published procurement notice, of which the PIN is a specific pre-procurement type
Contract Notice - The standard formal call for competition that the PIN may precede (for information) or replace (as a call for competition)
Call for Competition - The formal initiation of a procurement procedure, which a PIN may serve as under Article 48(2)
Open Procedure - The most common procedure for which a prior PIN enables reduced time limits
Restricted Procedure - A procedure that can follow a PIN used as a call for competition

Frequently Asked Questions

Does publishing a PIN commit the contracting authority to conducting the procurement?

No. An informational PIN (pin-only or pin-buyer) creates no binding commitment. The contracting authority may modify the scope, delay the procurement, or cancel it entirely without any obligation to suppliers that have noted the PIN. Even a PIN used as a call for competition (pin-cfc) does not create an absolute obligation to proceed, though the authority must manage any expressions of interest received in accordance with the principles of transparency and good administration. If the authority decides not to proceed, it should communicate this decision to all parties that expressed interest.

How does a PIN reduce procurement time limits?

Under Article 47(2) of Directive 2014/24/EU, publication of a PIN at least 35 days before the contract notice allows the minimum tender receipt period for an open procedure to be reduced from 35 to 15 days. For restricted procedures and competitive procedures with negotiation, similar reductions apply to the subsequent tendering phase. The logic is that suppliers who have had advance notice of the procurement through the PIN have already had time to prepare, making the full statutory time limit unnecessary. The PIN must have been published at least 35 days but not more than 12 months before the contract notice to qualify for these reductions.

Can a PIN be used for below-threshold procurement?

PINs under Directive 2014/24/EU are designed for above-threshold procurement. However, many Member States allow or encourage contracting authorities to publish advance notices for below-threshold procurement under national procurement rules. These national planning notices serve a similar informational purpose, alerting the market to upcoming opportunities, but they do not carry the specific procedural consequences (such as time limit reductions) established by the Directive. Suppliers monitoring national procurement platforms may find these national planning notices alongside formal EU PINs.