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The competitive flexible procedure, explained

Since the Procurement Act 2023 came into force in February 2025, a big public tender in England, Wales and Northern Ireland is run either as an open procedure or as a competitive flexible procedure. The second one can have several stages, and that changes which date matters.

The short version: in an open procedure everyone sends a full bid by one deadline. In a competitive flexible procedure the buyer designs its own steps, often a questionnaire first and the full tender later for a shortlist. Before you plan your time, find the description of the stages in the notice or its documents, and work out which deadline belongs to which stage.

1. How common it is

Of the 8,330 tenders in my data from Find a Tender since June 2026, 1,353 (16%) used the competitive flexible procedure. The open procedure was the most common, and most smaller tenders below the thresholds use a simple open competition.

2. What "flexible" means

The buyer decides the steps and must describe them in the tender notice or the documents. Common designs are:

Questionnaire, then tender. Firms fill in a procurement specific questionnaire (PSQ). The buyer checks who meets its conditions and invites only those firms to tender. This works like the old restricted procedure.
Tender, then talks. Everyone tenders, then the buyer negotiates or asks for presentations from the best few before final offers.
One combined stage. Some buyers ask for the PSQ and the tender together, so it works much like an open procedure.

3. The PSQ

The procurement specific questionnaire covers the questions about your firm for this tender: exclusion grounds and the buyer's conditions of participation, such as insurance, financial standing or experience. Your basic company details sit on the government's Central Digital Platform, so register your firm there once and share your details with each buyer. The PSQ, explained. The buyer's documents say whether a PSQ is due before, or with, the tender.

4. Reading the dates on the notice

A tender notice can show more than one date: an enquiry deadline (the last day to ask questions), a date for requests to participate, and a tender submission deadline. In a multi-stage tender, the first stage can close weeks or months before the last date on the notice. If the gap between the dates is long, assume the early one matters until the documents say otherwise. Read the documents, not just the notice.

5. What to do

Register on the buyer's portal early and open the documents. Find the description of the stages.
Diary every stage date, not just the final one.
If a stage is a questionnaire, treat it like a test: answer every question, and say "none" rather than leaving a blank.
Unsure which date applies? Ask the buyer through the portal before the enquiry deadline. They have to answer every bidder the same way.

Not sure which stage a tender is at? Send me the link. I'll read the notice and tell you which deadline matters and what's due by when. It's free.

Email [email protected] · Writing an expression of interest · Bid or no bid checklist

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Scotland has its own procurement rules, and each tender's own documents set its stages.