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As a subcontractor you work on public contracts without submitting your own bid; this is how it works and what the rules say.
Checked on 15-09-2026
Not every company has to bid itself to earn from public work. A subcontractor performs part of the contract on behalf of the bidder, the main contractor. The government signs the contract with the main contractor, and you sign your contract with that main contractor. For a company with no tendering experience, this is a way to get to know public work without writing a bid yourself.
The rules leave room for this role. PIANOo summarises the case law as follows: a contracting authority may not prohibit the use of subcontractors, as long as it can assess the subcontractors against the suitability requirements and the bidder relies on their references, experience or resources. According to that case law, an authority may also not require the bidder to perform a minimum percentage of the work with its own resources; PIANOo refers to the Wrocław judgment.
In the European Single Procurement Document (ESPD, in Dutch UEA), subcontracting is covered in part II D. According to PIANOo, that part only needs to be completed if the tender documents explicitly ask for it. If the main contractor relies on your company to meet the suitability requirements, for example on your references, that is reliance on a third party and your company also submits its own ESPD.
There is a limit as well. According to PIANOo's overview, a subcontractor has no greater legal protection than the main contractor. Your position therefore runs through the main contractor: you agree price, planning, payment and liability with them, not with the government.
What this means for you: look for the companies in your region and trade that regularly carry out public contracts and offer them a clearly defined part that you do well. The notices on TenderNed show which contracts in your field are coming to market; that gives you a concrete reason to approach a possible main contractor before the closing date. When you agree to work together, ask whether your company will be named in the bid and which information you need to supply for it.
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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