PQQ supplement: what it means in a UK tender
PQQ supplement is a phrase with two lives. In a chemist it is a food supplement. In a tender pack it is a set of extra selection questions. This post is the tender meaning: the PQQ definition in UK public buying, what the extra form is for, and how a small firm decides whether to spend the evening on it.
If you sell research, evaluation, training, web work, design or comms from a desk, you will meet both the standard PQQ and, often, a file labelled PQQ supplement. They are not the same job. Read the supplement first.
What PQQ means in procurement
PQQ stands for pre-qualification questionnaire. The PQQ meaning in procurement is a selection stage. The buyer uses a form to check whether your firm is eligible and capable before anyone reads a full quality and price bid.
That is the whole PQQ definition. It is a gate. Questions typically cover legal status, exclusion grounds, insurance, financial standing, policies, certificates and relevant experience. Some questions are pass or fail. Some are scored to produce a shortlist. If you miss a stated minimum, you do not go through to the invitation to tender.
A PQQ tender is not a special type of contract. It is an ordinary advertised contract that uses a selection stage. PQQ tendering means you complete that stage first and, if invited, write the award submission later. For below-threshold contracts covered by Part 6 of the Procurement Act in England, a separate PQQ or selection stage before tender is generally not allowed (below-threshold contracts guidance).
You may also see the same stage called a selection questionnaire, or SQ. Under the old Public Contracts Regulations 2015, Cabinet Office policy pushed buyers towards a standard questionnaire so each pack did not invent a unique PQQ from scratch. Many documents still say PQQ on the cover. The work for you is the same.
What a PQQ supplement is
A PQQ supplement is the extra questions that sit on top of the standard form.
The standard questionnaire (and, now, the core supplier record on the Central Digital Platform) covers facts most buyers need from everyone: who you are, whether any exclusion grounds apply, your insurance, your accounts. The supplement is about this contract. It asks for evidence the buyer wants for this piece of work.
Typical contents of a PQQ supplement:
- two or three case studies in a named field, delivered in the last three or five years
- named people or CVs, with the days they can give
- a stated level of professional indemnity, public liability or cyber insurance
- a certificate such as Cyber Essentials, ISO 27001, a professional membership or a DBS check
- confirmation you can work in a named region or with a named user group
- a short capacity or method note, still at selection rather than award
The standard questions are often reusable. The supplement is where a sole trader or a two-person firm is most often a fit, or most often filtered out. If the supplement asks for three comparable public contracts in the last two years and you have one good evaluation from 2022, that is the decision. Do not fill twenty pages of company details first.
PQQ tendering under the Procurement Act 2023
For procurements that started on or after 24 February 2025, the Procurement Act 2023 is the main statute. Buyers may set conditions of participation: tests of legal, financial and technical ability that a supplier must meet to be considered. Under section 22(3) a buyer cannot require contract insurance to be in place before award (it can require the level at contract start, with evidence such as a broker’s letter), and cannot require audited accounts from firms the Companies Act does not require to audit.
A large part of the old core PQQ now sits on the Central Digital Platform. You submit basic supplier information once. Buyers can pull it. You still answer anything extra they ask for this contract.
That extra is, in practice, the PQQ supplement by another name. The file may say conditions of participation, selection questions, or still PQQ supplement. Open it. The label matters less than the minimums.
Procurements that started under the old rules can still appear, including call-offs from older frameworks. Those packs may still use PQQ and PQQ supplement as file names. Your task does not change: meet the bar, then write the bid if you are invited.
This is information, not legal or procurement advice. Bidlark is independent and is not a government service. Read the notice and the buyer’s documents. Take advice if a ground for exclusion or a declaration is unclear.
What a typical PQQ form asks for
A PQQ form is usually a Word file, a spreadsheet, or an online questionnaire on the buyer’s portal. Word limits are common. So are attachments: policies, certificates, accounts, a signed declaration.
| Block | What they want | What often stops a micro firm |
|---|---|---|
| Company and contact | Legal name, registration, VAT, address | Trading name that does not match the register |
| Exclusion grounds | Convictions, tax, insolvency, misconduct | A blank yes or no, or a matter you should have declared |
| Financial | Turnover, accounts, or a minimum turnover | A threshold set well above a one or two person firm |
| Insurance | PI, public liability, employers’ liability, cyber | A £5m PI requirement when you hold £1m |
| Experience | Similar work, dates, references | Three public contracts when you have one strong one |
| Policies | Data, equalities, safeguarding, health and safety | A policy they want as a file, not a paragraph |
| Certificates | Cyber Essentials, ISO, DBS, memberships | A certificate you do not hold and cannot get in time |
Insurance and certificates are the quiet filters. A notice can look right in your field and still be a stretch once the PQQ supplement states cover you do not hold.
Some packs also drop award-style questions into the supplement: a mini method, a social value note, a risk table. Treat those as real answers, not warm-up. Keep a copy. You may need the same material again at invitation to tender, in a tighter word limit.
Why the selection stage is worth an evening
PQQ benefits sit on both sides, and they are practical rather than grand.
For the buyer, a tight selection stage cuts the pile. They do not read a full method from every firm that lacks the insurance or the subject experience.
For you:
- You find out early whether a firm of your size is even in scope.
- You reuse answers. Insurance schedules, data handling, quality process and social value change slowly. Save them.
- You avoid a week on a bid that the supplement would have stopped on the first page.
- Some below-threshold contracts can be reserved for small firms and charities. Regulated below-threshold contracts in England generally cannot have a separate selection (suitability) stage before tenders, with exceptions such as higher-value works, frameworks and devolved Welsh authorities. Reserving for small firms and charities is a separate option (below-threshold contracts guidance). With fewer than 250 staff and turnover of no more than £44m or a balance sheet of no more than £38m, you count as an SME under section 123 of the Act (Procurement Act 2023).
None of that is a promise you will be invited, or that a buyer will choose you. It is a way to spend the evening on the right pack.
A buyer may exclude a supplier that acted improperly, for example by giving incomplete, inaccurate or misleading information, and so put itself at an unfair advantage (Schedule 7, paragraph 13). Put only what is true. If a figure is not to hand, find it before you submit. If you cannot meet a minimum, it is cleaner not to bid than to stretch a sentence until it sounds like you can.
How a small firm handles a PQQ without a bid team
You do not need a bid department. You need a short library of facts you already know.
Keep one folder or one notes file with:
- current insurance certificates and expiry dates, with the limit on each
- Cyber Essentials or other certificates, including the scope
- three case studies you can re-cut, with dates, buyer type, value and your role
- a paragraph on where you store information and who can access it
- a paragraph on social value you can actually deliver, not a generic list
- your registration number, VAT number and professional memberships
When a pack arrives, read the PQQ supplement and the notice before the standard form. Check insurance, certificates, turnover and “must have delivered X in the last Y years” in that order. If a minimum is a stretch, decide in minutes. Sometimes you can raise professional indemnity in time. Sometimes you cannot.
If a question is unclear, use the clarification process before that deadline, not the night before submission. Ask one precise thing. Keep the answer with the pack.
Bidlark is built for that first cut and for the writing that follows. It finds UK public contracts a small firm could win, reads each against your insurance and certificates, and on Pro drafts answers from your facts. Each weekday morning you get the few notices in your field, with a verdict: worth a bid, a stretch, or not this one. Drafts use only what you have told Bidlark. Anything missing stays in brackets for you to fill. You check every answer, tick that they are true, and submit on the buyer’s portal yourself. Bidlark does not write, review or submit bids, and it does not give legal or procurement advice.
The PQQ supplement is where many packs are won or lost before the “real” bid starts. Get the bar in view first. Then write only if you clear it.
To see how many notices in your field would have reached you, use the free count. No account needed.
Questions people ask
What does PQQ mean in procurement?
PQQ means pre-qualification questionnaire. In UK public buying it is the selection stage: a form that checks whether your firm is eligible and capable before the buyer reads a full tender. You may also see it called a selection questionnaire or SQ.
What is a PQQ supplement in a tender pack?
A PQQ supplement is the extra, contract-specific questions that sit on top of the standard PQQ or selection questionnaire. It often asks for case studies, named people, a set insurance limit, or a certificate such as Cyber Essentials. Read it before you fill the standard form.
Is a PQQ the same as a selection questionnaire?
They do the same job. Cabinet Office policy under the old rules steered buyers towards a standard selection questionnaire instead of a unique PQQ each time. Packs still use both names. Under the Procurement Act 2023, much core information sits on the Central Digital Platform, and extra tests appear as conditions of participation.
Do sole traders still have to complete a PQQ?
Yes, if the buyer runs a selection stage. Being a sole trader or a micro firm does not skip the form. Some contracts are reserved for small firms and charities, which can help on size, but you still have to meet the stated insurance, certificates and experience. If a minimum is beyond what you hold, it is usually better not to bid.
What if I cannot meet a PQQ insurance minimum?
Under section 22(3) of the Act a buyer cannot require contract insurance to be in place before award, but it can require the level at contract start, with evidence such as a broker's letter. Check whether you can meet that level. If you cannot, do not write the rest of the pack in the hope it will be overlooked. A buyer may exclude a supplier that acted improperly, for example by giving incomplete, inaccurate or misleading information, and so put itself at an unfair advantage (Schedule 7, paragraph 13).