What is a PQQ (pre-qualification questionnaire)?
A PQQ, or pre-qualification questionnaire, is the stage before tendering where a buyer checks whether a supplier is fit to bid at all: financial standing, insurance, health and safety record, quality management and the accreditations relevant to the work. Pass it and you are invited to price the job. Fail it and you never see the specification.
PQQ is industry shorthand, not a legal term, and the paperwork behind it keeps changing name. In public procurement it has been the Selection Questionnaire; under the Procurement Act 2023 the same ground is covered by supplier information registered once on the central digital platform, plus a Procurement Specific Questionnaire. Private buyers still call it a PQQ, and so does most of the supply chain.
- A PQQ decides whether you can bid, not what you would charge. Price comes later, at ITT.
- Most PQQ failures are administrative: a lapsed certificate, a policy dated four years ago, a number that does not match the register.
- Give registration and certificate numbers, not scans. Numbers can be checked on a public register and do not go stale.
- The Procurement Act 2023 has applied to new public procurements since 24 February 2025.
- For regulated below-threshold public contracts, buyers generally may not screen tenders on supplier suitability at all.
What a PQQ actually asks for
The same handful of areas turn up in almost every PQQ.
- Company and financial standing - registration details, accounts, turnover, sometimes a credit score.
- Insurance - employer's liability, public liability and product liability, with the limit of indemnity on each.
- Health and safety - policy, arrangements, competent advice, accident and enforcement history, and an SSIP member scheme assessment or equivalent.
- Quality and environment - ISO 9001 and ISO 14001, or the equivalent arrangements written out.
- Sector qualification - whichever rail, utilities or construction register the buyer works from.
- Policies - modern slavery, equality, anti-bribery, data protection, environmental, increasingly carbon reduction.
- References - contracts of comparable size and type.
Stable enough to be worth keeping as a standing answer set rather than rewriting each time.
Why PQQs get failed
Rarely on substance. Almost always on the file.
- A certificate that expired between the last bid and this one.
- A policy with a review date in the past, or no named signatory.
- A registration number that does not resolve on the issuing body's register.
- An ISO certificate from a body that is not UKAS-accredited. Some buyers reject those outright.
- An answer written to the wrong test. CDM 2015 asks for skills, knowledge and experience and, for organisations, organisational capability.
If you are the buyer, ask for numbers rather than PDFs. An identifier can be checked against the issuing body's register in a minute and shows current status. A scan shows only what was true on the day it was made.
PQQs in public sector procurement
The rules changed on 24 February 2025, when the Procurement Act 2023 took over from the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 for new procurements.
- Suppliers register core information once on the central digital platform, the Find a Tender service, and share it by code rather than retyping it into every bid.
- Buyers set conditions of participation, and many now issue a Procurement Specific Questionnaire in place of the old Selection Questionnaire.
- Section 85 of the Act prohibits restricting the submission of tenders for regulated below-threshold contracts by reference to an assessment of a supplier's suitability, subject to exceptions including works contracts above set values and awards under frameworks.
- For construction works, public sector buyers may continue to use industry pre-qualification questionnaires such as the Common Assessment Standard, provided they meet the requirements of the Act. It is permitted, not mandated. PAS 91, the old BSI prequalification questionnaire, has been withdrawn.
What checkable evidence looks like - our own, as a worked example
As an illustration of the format rather than a claim about what any PQQ requires, these are the identifiers TES answers with: ISO 9001 certificate 1214, held continuously since 8 March 2000; ISO 14001 certificate 2100; ISO 45001 certificate 2101, all issued by AUVA, a UKAS-accredited body. Constructionline Associate registration 1309949. RISQS-registered supplier, ID 10079. FORS fleet ID 001657, FORS-accredited since September 2014 and at Silver since September 2025. Achilles BuildingConfidence. BSIF Registered Safety Supplier.
Every one is a number a buyer can look up rather than a document a buyer has to trust.
Common questions
What is the difference between a PQQ and an ITT?
A PQQ decides who is allowed to bid; an ITT asks those suppliers for a price against a specification. PQQ questions are about the organisation - finances, insurance, safety record, accreditations. ITT questions are about the offer - products, standards, lead times and rates. Passing a PQQ carries no volume commitment.
How long does a PQQ take to complete?
The first one is the slow one. Expect several days of gathering certificates, insurance schedules, policies and accounts if none of it is held centrally. After that the same evidence answers most questions in most PQQs, and a maintained answer set turns a multi-day job into a few hours of tailoring.
Do I need SSIP to pass a PQQ?
Often for construction and infrastructure work, but not always. Health and safety questions can be answered by an SSIP member scheme assessment, by ISO 45001 certification, or by setting out your arrangements directly. Ask the buyer which of those they will accept before paying for an assessment you may not need.
Can a buyer use a PQQ for a small public contract?
Generally not for regulated below-threshold contracts. Section 85 of the Procurement Act 2023 prohibits a contracting authority from restricting tender submissions by reference to an assessment of a supplier's suitability to perform the contract, with exceptions including works contracts above stated values and awards under frameworks. This is general guidance, not legal advice.
Related
Back to the Procurement & compliance glossary · All glossary terms
Need this checked against a real specification?
Definitions only get you so far. Send us the actual requirement - a PPE schedule, a fixings list, a PQQ question or a marking you cannot make sense of - and the TES team will come back with what matches it. Trade pricing is on the B2B portal.