On 7 February 2017 the federal economics ministry published a 54-section procurement code in the Bundesanzeiger, and on that day it bound no one. The Unterschwellenvergabeordnung, the UVgO, says so in its own announcement: it takes effect only when the federal government rewrites its administrative provisions on § 55 of the Federal Budget Code (BHO), and in each federal state only when that state issues rules of its own. For a supplier invited by a Landkreis to bid in a “Beschränkte Ausschreibung nach UVgO”, the rules that apply depend both on the UVgO and on what her state has made of it.
Short answer: The UVgO governs how public contracts for supplies and services below the EU thresholds are awarded in Germany. It replaced the VOL/A and follows the structure of the VgV, which applies above the thresholds. It has applied to the federal government since 2 September 2017 and to the states through their own budget or procurement rules. Saxony still uses the older VOL/A, and Bremen’s procurement act no longer requires the UVgO since 2 October 2026. Construction work falls under the VOB/A.
The UVgO covers supplies and services below the EU thresholds
§ 1 UVgO covers public supply and service contracts and framework agreements whose estimated value, excluding VAT, is below the thresholds set in § 106 of the Act against Restraints of Competition (GWB). Above those thresholds, Part 4 of the GWB and the VgV take over. The UVgO replaced the VOL/A of 2009 and is modeled on the structure of the VgV of April 2016, so a bidder who knows the VgV will recognize framework agreements, eligibility criteria and the rules on unusually low bids.
The GWB review procedure before the public procurement chambers, the Vergabekammern, does not carry over: it is laid down in § 155 GWB, inside Part 4 of the act, and Part 4 does not reach the contracts the UVgO covers. Some states provide their own bidder information and review below the thresholds.
The UVgO only applies once budget law says so
The UVgO is a procedural code, not a statute. It takes effect only through an instruction in budget law. For the federal government that instruction came with a finance ministry circular amending the administrative provisions on § 55 BHO, which took effect on 2 September 2017. Each state followed on its own schedule, by decree, by administrative provision or by statute, and several attached conditions. Hamburg, for instance, has required the UVgO by statute only from a contract value of 100,000 euros since December 2023, and a simplified procedure under the Hamburg procurement guideline covers smaller contracts. The amendment of § 2a HmbVgG by the fifth amending act of 7 October 2026 enters into force on 1 December 2026. From then on the UVgO applies in Hamburg only where an administrative provision says so.
For a Landkreis or a municipality, state law decides whether the UVgO applies: usually the rules on local government budgets, in Saxony-Anhalt the procurement act. Brandenburg binds its municipalities to the UVgO in § 28(3) of its municipal budget regulation. In Saxony-Anhalt the procurement act applies directly to the state, the municipalities and the Landkreise. Bavaria’s interior ministry only recommends the UVgO to municipalities.
Saxony never adopted the UVgO, and Bremen no longer requires it
Most states adopted the UVgO between October 2017 (Hamburg) and March 2023 (Saxony-Anhalt). Several have since changed their rules again, some of them in the autumn of 2026. The dates concern the instruction for the federal and state administrations. Whether it also binds Landkreise and municipalities, each state decides for itself.
| State | UVgO applies since | Instrument | Position on 13 October 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Federal government | 2 September 2017 | Administrative provisions on § 55 BHO | UVgO applies; direct awards up to 50,000 euros since 1 July 2026 |
| Baden-Württemberg | 1 October 2018 | VwV Beschaffung of 24 July 2018 | VwV Beschaffung of 23 July 2024 (guidance on the VwV Beschaffung, May 2026) |
| Bavaria | 1 January 2018 | VVöA of 14 November 2017 | VVöA of 2020, applying the UVgO as it stood on 31 December 2024 |
| Berlin | 1 April 2020 at the latest | Implementing provisions (AV) on § 55 LHO | AV on § 55 LHO as of September 2026, with direct awards up to 75,000 euros |
| Brandenburg | 1 January 2019 | Finance ministry decree of 12 November 2018 | Administrative provisions on § 55 LHO of June 2025 |
| Bremen | 19 December 2017, from 50,000 euros | Act of 12 December 2017 amending the TtVG | Act of 29 September 2026: since 2 October 2026 the Bremen TtVG no longer requires the UVgO (the former § 7(1) has been replaced), for procedures started from that date; direct awards up to 100,000 euros; supplies and services above 100,000 euros are to follow procedural rules issued by the Bremen senator for economic affairs, with transitional rules until then that had not been published by 8 October 2026 |
| Hamburg | 1 October 2017 | Third act of 18 July 2017 amending the HmbVgG | UVgO from 100,000 euros; under the fifth amending act of 7 October 2026 it applies from 1 December 2026 only where an administrative provision says so |
| Hesse | 1 September 2021 | Vergabeerlass of 10 August 2021 | § 12(4) HVTG and Vergabeerlass of 12 June 2026 |
| Lower Saxony | 1 January 2020 | Act of 20 November 2019 amending the NTVergG | UVgO applies in its 2017 version |
| Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania | Tariftreue- und Vergabegesetz of 18 December 2023 and procedure regulation | UVgO applies, with eased procedure rules since 3 March 2026 | |
| North Rhine-Westphalia | 9 June 2018 | Finance ministry circular of 11 May 2018 | Provisional provisions on § 55 LHO since 1 October 2026; direct awards up to 50,000 euros |
| Rhineland-Palatinate | 7 September 2021 | VV Öffentliches Auftragswesen of 18 August 2021 | UVgO applies, with higher value limits since 1 January 2025 |
| Saxony | Does not apply | Saxon Procurement Act of 14 February 2013 | VOL/A, section 1, in its 2009 version |
| Saxony-Anhalt | 1 March 2023 | TVergG LSA of 7 December 2022 | UVgO applies; act amended in 2025 |
| Schleswig-Holstein | 1 April 2019 | Vergabegesetz Schleswig-Holstein of 8 February 2019 | UVgO applies |
| Thuringia | 1 December 2019 | Act of 30 July 2019 amending the ThürVgG | UVgO applies |
§ 8 UVgO leaves the buyer a free choice between two procedures
§ 8 UVgO names three types of award: the Öffentliche Ausschreibung (public tender), the Beschränkte Ausschreibung (restricted tender) with or without a call for competition, and the Verhandlungsvergabe (negotiated award) with or without a call for competition. The buyer may choose freely between the public tender and the restricted tender with a call for competition. A restricted tender without a call for competition is allowed only if a public tender produced no economic result, or if a public tender or a restricted tender with a call for competition would impose costs on the buyer or the bidders out of proportion to the value of the contract. A negotiated award requires one of the 17 grounds in § 8(4), among them a value limit set by a federal or state ministry. Above the thresholds the names change to the EU procurement procedures, such as the open and the restricted procedure.
The federal government loosened these rules on 1 July 2026. Under administrative provisions published on 18 June 2026, federal buyers may choose a negotiated award without a call for competition up to 100,000 euros excluding VAT, and one with a call for competition up to the EU threshold, without citing a ground from § 8(4). Federal ministries can no longer set general value limits under § 8(4) no. 17, except for missions abroad. These provisions lapse once a new version of the UVgO is announced. Brandenburg has allowed negotiated awards and restricted tenders without a call for competition up to the EU threshold since 17 June 2025. North Rhine-Westphalia has allowed negotiated awards with a call for competition up to the EU threshold since 1 October 2026.
How a Beschränkte Ausschreibung works under the UVgO
A Beschränkte Ausschreibung without a call for competition follows § 11 UVgO. The buyer invites several companies, as a rule at least three, without a public call, and should rotate the companies it invites. In the variant with a call for competition under § 10, any interested company may first apply to take part, and only those the buyer then invites may bid. Where the buyer cannot conclusively establish eligibility beforehand, it may ask for proof of eligibility together with the invitation or afterwards. Bids are not negotiated: the buyer may ask for clarification of eligibility or of the bid, but talks about changing bids or prices are not allowed. In a restricted tender without a call for competition, § 38(4) UVgO does not require the buyer to prescribe electronic submission, so the invitation states the form. With a call for competition and above 25,000 euros, the buyer must prescribe it. State law can differ, as Berlin does in no. 8.2 of its AV on § 55 LHO. A bid sent by post must be signed and arrive in a sealed envelope, and changes to the tender documents are not allowed. For eligibility, the buyer as a rule asks for self-declarations. In a negotiated award, by contrast, everything in the bid can be negotiated except the minimum requirements and award criteria set by the buyer. In a Beschränkte Ausschreibung the price in the bid is the final price.
Budget rules have overtaken the direct award limit in § 14 UVgO
§ 14 UVgO allows a direct award without any procedure up to an estimated contract value of 1,000 euros excluding VAT, provided the buyer acts economically and efficiently; the buyer should also rotate between suppliers. That figure is still in the text, but federal and state budget rules now set far higher limits. Since 1 July 2026, § 55(2) BHO has allowed federal buyers to award directly up to 50,000 euros excluding VAT. North Rhine-Westphalia has applied 50,000 euros for supplies and services since 1 October 2026. The limit is 100,000 euros in Bavaria and Brandenburg, 75,000 euros in Berlin under its provisions as of September 2026, and 100,000 euros in Bremen since 2 October 2026.
The UVgO itself is due to be rewritten. The federal economics ministry put a draft of a new UVgO out for comment; the deadline was 28 August 2026.
Under the UVgO, bidders learn the result after the award
Above the thresholds, § 134 GWB requires the buyer to tell unsuccessful bidders, before the contract is concluded, who is to win and why their bid was rejected. Under § 46 UVgO the buyer reports only after the award. A bidder who asks then has to be told, within 15 days of the request, the main reasons for the rejection, the features and advantages of the winning bid and the winner’s name.
State law can require more. In Saxony-Anhalt, under § 19 TVergG LSA, the buyer must inform unsuccessful bidders below the thresholds at least seven calendar days before the contract is concluded where the value of supplies and services exceeds 40,000 euros, and bidders can then apply for a review. In Thuringia, under § 14 ThürVgG, the buyer must inform bidders at least seven calendar days before the contract is concluded where supplies and services exceed 50,000 euros. In Thuringia, if the buyer does not remedy a complaint, it must inform the review authority, the Vergabekammer at the Landesverwaltungsamt.
Last fact-checked: 14 October 2026