Knowledge base › Submitting, award and objections
What to arrange in advance to bid digitally, why the deadline is absolute and who may sign on behalf of your company.
Checked on 15-09-2026
Tenders are submitted digitally, through TenderNed or the platform named in the contract notice. To bid through TenderNed as a Dutch company you need eHerkenning, the Dutch business login; TenderNed accepts assurance levels EH2+, EH3 and EH4. You obtain eHerkenning from an accredited provider, listed at eherkenning.nl. You then register your company on TenderNed, or register yourself as a user of a company that is already registered.
When submitting in TenderNed you check your organisation details, answer the requirements, complete the ESPD where needed and add other documents. Standard documents can be uploaded in advance in the tender dashboard; the authority only sees them after submission. A single file may be up to 2,000 MB. If you want to change something after submitting, you first withdraw the tender through the dashboard and then submit it again.
The deadline is absolute. A tender received after the closing time is late. If a technical failure occurs just before the deadline, TenderNed advises contacting the contracting authority immediately, for example by e-mail as proof of your timely attempt, and reporting the failure to the TenderNed service desk.
Pay attention to signing as well. TenderNed lists as a common mistake that the signatory is not authorised according to the Chamber of Commerce (KVK) register, for example because two directors must sign jointly or because the contract value exceeds an agent's authority. Such a defect cannot be remedied afterwards with a ratification statement (District Court of The Hague, 2023).
What this means for you: arrange eHerkenning and your TenderNed registration before you have a specific tender in view. Check in your Chamber of Commerce extract who may sign on behalf of your company and up to what amount. Plan submission well before the closing time, have a second person review the complete tender and keep the confirmation of submission.
These articles explain how public tendering works; they are not legal advice. If you are unsure about a specific tender, ask your question through the clarification round or consult a lawyer.
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