Contract award notice

When the authority has selected its intended supplier, it publishes the award information before entering the public contract. Under the Procurement Act 2023, a contract award notice is part of the pre-contract transparency sequence and is generally followed by a standstill period before the authority can enter the contract, subject to the regime and any exceptions. Older PCR 2015 procurements use their own award-notice rules.

What suppliers should check

If you bid, compare the published result with the award decision, your score or feedback and the notice’s stated dates. Check the proposed supplier, contract value, lots, framework or direct-award basis and the date on which the authority expects to enter the contract. If you believe there is an error, use the procurement’s stated contact and obtain specialist advice quickly because challenge time limits are short and regime-specific.

Keep it distinct from contract details

A CAN signals the intended award before the contract is entered. A contract details notice is the later post-award publication about the contract and its performance information. For example, an authority may publish a CAN naming Supplier A, observe the applicable standstill, then sign the contract and publish a details notice. Finding Supplier A in a CAN does not mean the contract has already been executed, and finding an award record does not remove the need to read any correction or termination notices.