Public tenders for consultancies: which turnover requirement and liability may a public body ask for, and may you bid if you helped write the specifications?

A public body that contracts out an advisory assignment must follow the Public Procurement Act (Aanbestedingswet) and the Proportionality Guide (Gids Proportionaliteit). Those rules also protect small firms. A turnover requirement is at most three times the value of the contract, and the public body may not ask for liability without any limit.

Did you help the public body prepare, for example with an exploratory study or a first draft of the specifications? Then you may usually still bid. The public body must take other measures first. Exclusion is only allowed if nothing else works. This article reflects the position on 31 October 2026.

In this article

1. When must a public body put an advisory contract out to EU tender?
2. Which turnover requirement may a public body set for your firm?
3. Do you need professional indemnity insurance to bid?
4. How much liability may a public body ask of you?
5. May you bid if you helped the public body prepare the tender?
6. Can a small firm bid together with others?
7. Why do small firms win less often, and what helps?

When must a public body put an advisory contract out to EU tender?

Above the EU threshold. For services that threshold is € 140,000 for central government and € 216,000 for municipalities, provinces and other local and regional authorities. The amounts exclude VAT and apply from 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2027 (PIANOo, thresholds).

Below the threshold the public body chooses a procedure itself, but even then the requirements must be in proportion to the contract. That is set out in article 1.10 of the Public Procurement Act. The Proportionality Guide works this out. A public body applies the rules in the Guide, or explains in the tender documents why it deviates (article 1.10(4)). The current version is the third revision, amended as of 1 January 2022 (PIANOo, Proportionality Guide).

In a multiple private procedure, where the public body invites a few firms itself, the Guide asks for at least three and at most five bidders (Guide, rule 3.4 B). A good reputation with the buyers in your region therefore counts.

When you bid, you usually fill in the European Single Procurement Document, the ESPD (in Dutch UEA). It is a standard form in which you declare that you meet the requirements. It is mandatory above the EU threshold, and below it if there are exclusion grounds or suitability requirements. You do not have to send the supporting documents straight away (PIANOo, ESPD).

Which turnover requirement may a public body set for your firm?

At most three times the estimated value of the contract. And a turnover requirement is only allowed if the public body justifies it with compelling reasons in the tender documents. That is what article 2.90(3) and (5) of the Public Procurement Actsays.

An example. If a municipality estimates an advisory contract at € 80,000, it may ask for at most € 240,000 in turnover. If the contract is split into lots, three times the value of the lot applies. With a framework agreement, three times the value of the specific contracts carried out at the same time applies.

References have a limit too. The Guide asks for at most one reference per core competence, and a reference project need not be larger than 60% of the estimate (Guide, rule 3.5 G). The public body only asks for an unqualified auditor's report on the annual accounts after the award decision. If your accounts do not have to be audited, a compilation report or review report is enough (rule 3.5 E).

If you think a requirement is too heavy, ask a question during the procedure and cite the article or the rule. The Guide asks the public body to give bidders the chance to propose changes to the draft contract (rule 3.9 B). According to the Guide, imposing a contract without any room for suggestions is in principle not proportionate.

Do you need professional indemnity insurance to bid?

The law does not require it of a management consultant, but a public body may ask for it. Article 2.90(6) of the Public Procurement Act allows the public body to require an appropriate level of professional risk insurance. And you may show your financial standing with proof of such insurance (article 2.91(1)).

Ondernemersplein, the government business portal, lists the insurance as mandatory for accountants, lawyers, architects, financial advisers and notaries, among others. Management consultancy is not on that list. But Ondernemersplein does say that public bodies often require professional indemnity insurance before awarding contracts. Such insurance only covers financial loss, such as loss caused by wrong advice (Ondernemersplein, professional liability).

If the public body uses the central government terms ARVODI-2025, you must be insured in a way that is appropriate and customary by normal standards. On request you provide a statement from the insurer, and the premium is included in your price (ARVODI-2025, article 25). So compare the amount insured on your policy with the liability the public body asks for before you bid.

How much liability may a public body ask of you?

In any case not unlimited. Rule 3.9 D of the Guide says the contracting authority does not require liability that is not limited in any way. When setting the amount, the public body looks at the risks it actually runs, and at what is customary in the sector or for such a contract (Guide, rule 3.9 D).

The Guide itself names advisory contracts as an example. An error in a relatively small advisory contract can have major financial consequences for the public body. Which limit fits therefore differs per contract. The Guide considers liability for an indefinite period disproportionate.

The central government terms set a fixed scale. Unless the parties agree otherwise, liability is limited to four times the contract value per event and six times per contract year, with a maximum of € 3,000,000 per event and € 5,000,000 per contract year. The limit does not apply in cases including death or injury, intent or gross negligence, and breach of rules on personal data (ARVODI-2025, article 19).

For a contract of € 80,000 this means up to € 320,000 per event and € 480,000 per contract year. If your professional liability is insured for a lower amount, your firm bears the difference itself. In that case, ask about the limit during the procedure.

The Guide also says a risk belongs with the party best able to control it (rule 3.9 A). And that not everything can be insured. Guarantees, penalties and indemnities, where you protect the public body against claims from others, are as a rule uninsurable according to the Guide.

May you bid if you helped the public body prepare the tender?

Yes, in most cases. If a bidder advised the public body or was involved in the preparation in another way, the public body must take appropriate measures so that competition is not distorted (Public Procurement Act, article 2.51).

The law names two measures. The public body shares the information you received or provided during the preparation with the other bidders. And it gives everyone enough time to bid. Exclusion is only allowed if there are no other means of treating everyone equally. You first get the chance to prove that your involvement cannot distort competition. The public body records the measures in the official report.

Article 2.87(1)(f) contains the same limit as a ground for exclusion. The public body may exclude you if your earlier involvement has distorted competition and this cannot be remedied with less drastic measures.

What helps in practice? During an exploratory study or preliminary research, record what you produce and to whom you give it. Hand everything you wrote to the public body so that it can share it with all bidders. Ask at the outset whether the public body intends to let you compete for the implementation. Then you know where you stand beforehand.

Can a small firm bid together with others?

Yes. A group of businesses may bid, and the public body may not require a particular legal form for the bid (Public Procurement Act, article 2.52). Only after the award can it ask for a legal form, and only if that is needed to carry out the contract.

A combination does not get heavier requirements than a firm bidding alone (Guide, rule 3.5 H). For services, the public body may ask for the names and professional qualifications of the people who will do the work (article 2.52(2)).

Watch the liability. If two or more parties receive an assignment together, each of them is liable for the whole in the event of a failure, unless it cannot be attributed to them (Civil Code article 7:407(2)). So agree between yourselves who does which part and how you share any loss.

Why do small firms win less often, and what helps?

Small businesses bid less often, have less tendering experience and obtain feedback on their bids less often. That was found in research among 4,567 SMEs that bid for Irish public sector contracts in 2012. Businesses with 1 to 9 employees bid on average 5 times that year, businesses with 10 to 49 employees 11 times and those with 50 to 249 employees 19 times (Flynn, McKevitt and Davis, 2015).

In 73% of the smallest businesses, one person handled the whole bid. They also obtained feedback on a submitted bid less often: 28%, against 41% and 48% for the larger SMEs. This concerns Ireland and shows association, not cause and effect.

A second Irish study, among 3,010 businesses, found that knowledge of the procedures was associated with how often firms bid and how often they won. Good relations with buyers were associated with winning, but not with how often firms bid (Flynn and Davis, 2017). A UK review article on SMEs and public procurement concludes that many barriers for small businesses remain, some for twenty years (Loader, 2013).

For a consultancy this means: choose fewer tenders and do them well. Read the requirements against the law and the Guide, ask questions in time, and ask for an explanation after a rejection. In an EU tender, the public body must give the relevant reasons in the award decision, including the features and advantages of the winning bid (Public Procurement Act, article 2.130).

• Turnover requirement above three times the estimated value, or without justification: ask about it and cite article 2.90.
• Reference larger than 60% of the estimate, or more than one per core competence: cite rule 3.5 G.
• Liability without a limit or for an indefinite period: cite rule 3.9 D, and compare the limit with your policy.
• Involved in the preparation yourself: hand in your documents and ask how the public body applies article 2.51.

Sources

• Public Procurement Act 2012 (Aanbestedingswet 2012), articles 1.10, 2.51, 2.52, 2.87, 2.90, 2.91 and 2.130, version in force from 30 April 2026. wetten.overheid.nl
• Dutch Civil Code Book 7, article 407. wetten.overheid.nl
• Proportionality Guide (Gids Proportionaliteit), 3rd revision, Government Gazette 2021, 41481, rules 3.4 B, 3.5 E, 3.5 G, 3.5 H and 3.9 A to D. officielebekendmakingen.nl
• PIANOo, Proportionality Guide (in Dutch), accessed 31 October 2026. pianoo.nl
• PIANOo, EU procurement thresholds (in Dutch), accessed 31 October 2026. pianoo.nl
• PIANOo, European Single Procurement Document (UEA, in Dutch), accessed 31 October 2026. pianoo.nl
• Prime Minister, Decree adopting the ARVODI-2025 general government terms for services, 17 March 2025, Government Gazette 2025, 10990, articles 19 and 25. officielebekendmakingen.nl
• Ondernemersplein, Professional liability insurance (in Dutch), accessed 31 October 2026. ondernemersplein.overheid.nl
• Flynn, A., McKevitt, D. & Davis, P. (2015). The impact of size on small and medium-sized enterprise public sector tendering. International Small Business Journal, 33(4), 443-461. doi.org
• Flynn, A. & Davis, P. (2017). Explaining SME participation and success in public procurement using a capability-based model of tendering. Journal of Public Procurement, 17(3), 337-372. doi.org
• Loader, K. (2013). Is public procurement a successful small business support policy? A review of the evidence. Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy, 31(1), 39-55. doi.org