Denmark has no standing central vendor registry and no single mandatory bidding portal. Contract notices are published on the national portal Udbud.dk (operated by KFST) and, for contracts above the EU thresholds, also in the EU-wide Tenders Electronic Daily (TED). Tender documents are downloaded and bids submitted electronically through whichever commercial e-tendering system the individual contracting authority uses - commonly Mercell, EU-Supply (Ethics) or Comdia - so a foreign supplier typically creates a free account on the specific platform named in the notice. Qualification is assessed per tender via the European Single Procurement Document (ESPD), a standardised electronic self-declaration; only the intended winner must supply the underlying certificates. EU/EEA-established firms compete on equal, non-discriminatory terms and no Danish company or local establishment is required to bid.
Udbud.dk (national publication portal, operated by KFST) + TED for above-threshold notices; bids are submitted through the commercial e-tendering system chosen by each contracting authority (e.g. Mercell, EU-Supply/Ethics, Comdia)
Konkurrence- og Forbrugerstyrelsen (KFST - Danish Competition and Consumer Authority): responsible for procurement legislation, guidance and the udbud.dk portal. Klagenaevnet for Udbud (Complaints Board for Public Procurement): disputes.
Foreign companies eligibleNo local entity required to bid
No Danish subsidiary, branch or local establishment is required to bid. As Denmark is an EU member state applying EU 2014/24/EU, contracting authorities must treat suppliers established outside Denmark equally and without discrimination. Foreign companies bid on the same terms as Danish companies and use documents/certificates issued by their home-country authorities. A practical nuance: foreign companies cannot obtain the Danish 'serviceattest' (service certificate) that Danish firms use to prove absence of exclusion grounds - instead they must present equivalent extracts, certificates or documents from the competent authorities of their home country, and the e-Certis database identifies which documents each country accepts. Third-country (non-EU/EEA) suppliers' access is governed by EU-level rules (e.g. WTO GPA); ordinary EU procurement rights are guaranteed for EU/EEA firms.
As an EU/EEA-established company you have the right to compete for Danish public contracts on equal, non-discriminatory terms with Danish companies, and no local Danish entity is required. Determine which regime applies to the buyer and contract: Udbudsloven (most public authorities, above EU threshold and certain below-threshold contracts), the Tender Act (Tilbudsloven) for below-threshold works, the utilities regime, concessions, or defence/security. KFST publishes guidance and operates the portal.
Search the national portal Udbud.dk, which lists Danish public tenders (open and awarded). For contracts above the EU thresholds, notices are also published in the EU-wide Tenders Electronic Daily (TED). Below-threshold contracts with a clear cross-border interest must also be advertised on Udbud.dk. Search by CPV (Common Procurement Vocabulary) codes and set up monitoring so you do not miss notices. There is no formal pre-registration required merely to view most notices.
Each notice states which electronic tendering system must be used to obtain the tender documents and submit the bid. Denmark uses several commercial platforms rather than one state system - most commonly Mercell, EU-Supply (marketed as Ethics/CTM) and Comdia. Register (normally free for suppliers) on the specific platform named in the notice to download the full tender documents and gain access to the submission functions. Because different authorities use different systems, you may need accounts on more than one platform over time.
For above-threshold tenders the European Single Procurement Document (ESPD) is the standard preliminary self-declaration: it declares that the company is not subject to exclusion grounds and meets the suitability (economic/financial and technical) requirements set in the notice. In Denmark the ESPD is completed electronically (via the tender system or the EU ESPD service) and submitted with the bid. It is preliminary evidence only - you do not attach the underlying certificates at this stage (and the ESPD does not need to be signed). Fill in current turnover, reference projects and insurance/qualification data as required by the individual tender.
Follow the specific instructions in the tender documents for that procurement (technical proposal, price, requested forms). Submit the complete bid, including the ESPD, electronically through the designated e-tendering system before the stated deadline. Late bids are rejected. Bids may be submitted in Danish; some authorities accept English - check the individual tender.
Before award, the contracting authority must verify that the winning tenderer is not subject to exclusion and meets the suitability requirements, by obtaining the actual documentary evidence behind the ESPD. Danish companies use a 'serviceattest' (service certificate) from the Danish Business Authority; foreign companies cannot obtain a serviceattest and must instead provide equivalent extracts/certificates issued by the competent authorities of their home country (e.g. proof of tax and social-security compliance and absence of relevant convictions). Use the EU e-Certis database to identify which documents each country accepts.
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Create free accountNo state registration fee: viewing Udbud.dk and creating a supplier account on the e-tendering platforms is normally free for bidders. Commercial tender-monitoring/subscription services and some premium platform features carry vendor fees not quantified by official sources. Obtaining home-country certificates for the award stage may incur small administrative fees in the supplier's own country.
Varies per tender — not a fixed registration time.
Udbudsloven (Danish Public Procurement Act), Act No. 1564 of 15 December 2015, in force 1 January 2016, as amended - transposing EU Directive 2014/24/EU on public procurement. Below-threshold works are covered by Tilbudsloven (the Tender Act); utilities by the Utilities Directive regime; concessions by the Concessions Directive regime; defence/security by the Defence and Security Directive regime. The ESPD is governed by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/7. Oversight by KFST; disputes before Klagenaevnet for Udbud (Complaints Board for Public Procurement), whose decisions are appealable to the ordinary courts within eight weeks.
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This guide is grounded in official sources, last verified 2026-07-21.