Procurement German made simple: the beginner glossary
Essential terms with plain explanations and the next practical action.
After this guide, you can …
- Distinguish common terms
- Read documents and status messages more confidently
- Ask the right question when uncertain
1. The people and the contract
These explanations help reading but do not replace the procedure’s own definitions. A procurement office may organise buying for a contracting authority; its contact is not automatically authorised to agree every contract change. Check the stated communication route and responsibilities. One service may publish a notice while submission takes place on another portal.
- Auftraggeber: the buyer or contracting authority.
- Bieter: a business submitting a bid. Bewerber: an applicant requesting participation first.
- Los: a separately described lot; check permitted combinations and limits.
- CPV: a classification code for purchases, useful for searching but not admission.
2. Documents and requirements
Distinguish statements about your business, what you must deliver and how bids are compared. Mixing these levels can leave essential evidence missing or an evaluation question unanswered. A source-linked checklist is often more helpful in your first procedure than trying to memorise every abbreviation.
- Vergabeunterlagen: the procurement pack containing procedure details, requirements, forms and contract terms.
- Leistungsbeschreibung: the specification of what is required; a Leistungsverzeichnis may itemise it.
- Eignung: whether the business meets the stated suitability criteria.
- Zuschlagskriterien: the published award criteria used to compare bids.
- EEE / ESPD: a preliminary self-declaration within its scope, not general official admission.
3. The route to submission
Portal registration gives technical access only. The procedure may require a separate participation application or an immediate bid. Use dates and times from current documents. Your own task or calendar reminder helps organisation but does not change the official deadline. Interpret portal status labels together with that operator’s help.
- Teilnahmeantrag: an application for selection into a later procedure stage.
- Bieterfrage: a clarification question through the designated channel.
- Nebenangebot: a variant or alternative solution; submit only under the procedure’s permitted conditions.
- Eingangsbeleg: submission receipt; check identifier, timestamp and version.
- Bindefrist: the period for which the offer remains binding under the applicable requirements.
4. Understand the result
A result status needs to be understood in its procedural context. Read communications fully and separate potential legal issues from your internal learning review. Clarify whether a message announces an intention or contains a binding declaration. None of these terms promises that a bid will succeed.
- Nachforderung: a request for supplementation within permitted limits, not an automatic second chance.
- Zuschlag: acceptance of the successful bid; check its effect and procedural context.
- Rahmenvereinbarung: a framework for future purchases, not automatically guaranteed call-off volume.
- Aufhebung: cancellation of the procedure without the intended award.
You do not need to know every term. You need a clear next step and the relevant original source.
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Editorially checked on 27 October 2026. The current original documents of your procedure govern.
- GWB § 122 — EignungBundesamt für Justiz / Gesetze im Internet
- VgV — insbesondere §§ 29 und 47: Unterlagen und EignungsleiheBundesamt für Justiz / Gesetze im Internet
- VgV § 53 — Form und Übermittlung der AngeboteBundesamt für Justiz / Gesetze im Internet
- VgV § 56 — Prüfung und NachforderungBundesamt für Justiz / Gesetze im Internet
- VgV § 58 — Zuschlag und ZuschlagskriterienBundesamt für Justiz / Gesetze im Internet
- Your Europe — Search and bid for a public contractEuropäische Union / Your Europe