This guide covers selling directly to the EU institutions themselves (European Commission, EU agencies and bodies) — NOT procurement run by individual EU member states, which is separate and organised per-country under national portals. For the EU institutions, an economic operator registers ONCE on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal Participant Register and receives a single 9-digit Participant Identification Code (PIC) used across all EU calls. Mid- and higher-value tenders from the EU institutions are published on Tenders Electronic Daily (TED) and are searchable via the Funding & Tenders Portal; most bids are self-declared using the European Single Procurement Document (ESPD) and submitted electronically via eSubmission. There is no single EU-wide vendor registry for member-state procurement — that is handled country by country.
EU Funding & Tenders Portal (Participant Register / eSubmission) with TED eTendering
European Commission (and other EU institutions, agencies and bodies)
Foreign companies eligibleNo local entity required to bid
No EU-based legal entity is required to register for a PIC or to bid; the Participant Register is used by organisations worldwide participating in EU calls. Specific tenders may impose eligibility/access restrictions or origin rules for security-sensitive procurements, and third-country participation can be limited in certain programmes — always check the individual contract notice and tender documents.
Before you can register your organisation you must have a personal EU Login user account (the European Commission's authentication service). 'If you do not have a user account (EU Login), you will first need to create one.' This account is personal to the individual acting for the organisation.
Search the Participant Register first to avoid creating a duplicate. Go to 'How to Participate > Participant Register > Search a PIC'. If your organisation is already registered, reuse the existing 9-digit PIC rather than creating a new one.
Access the wizard at 'How to Participate > Participant Register > Register your organisation'. 'The Registration wizard will guide you step-by-step through the process' (a 6-step process). You enter the organisation's legal/administrative data (legal name, legal form, registration and address details, VAT information, and a contact person). Registrations can be saved and resumed later via 'My Organisations > Continue Registration'. On completion the organisation receives its 9-digit Participant Identification Code (PIC), initially in provisional (declared / non-valid) status.
The PIC starts as provisional. Formal validation is required for procurement Contractors (and for grant Beneficiaries/Affiliated Entities). The Central Validation Service contacts the self-registrant to upload official supporting documents (via the 'My Organisations' page) and clarify details. Documents typically prove: legal existence and legal personality; VAT documents, registration extracts and establishment statutes; and financial/operational capacity. Validation of the organisation is a prerequisite for appointing the LEAR. For procurement, contractors are validated at the appropriate stage (e.g. when identified as the successful tenderer).
Only one person per organisation, the Legal Entity Appointed Representative (LEAR), maintains the organisation's administrative and financial (legal entity) data in the Portal. Validation of the organisation is a prerequisite for the LEAR appointment. The LEAR manages roles and keeps organisation data current for all future EU calls.
EU institutions and bodies publish their calls for tenders on TED (Tenders Electronic Daily) via the TED eTendering platform; TED is the online Supplement to the Official Journal of the EU. The Funding & Tenders Portal lets you search all Commission calls for tenders currently published on TED. Registering lets you save personalised searches and set up email alerts. Mid- and higher-value tenders (above EU thresholds) appear here; lower-value procurements may follow lighter procedures.
Most EU tenders use the European Single Procurement Document (ESPD) — a standardised self-declaration that the business has the professional and financial capacity to implement the contract and is not subject to exclusion grounds. You complete it once; supporting certificates are normally submitted only if your bid is successful. e-Certis helps identify which certificates a contracting authority may request.
For EU-institution calls, tenders (each member of the group for a joint tender) must be submitted electronically via the eSubmission application reachable from the TED eTendering page named in the Contract Notice and Invitation to Tender. 'Tenders for Open calls must be submitted exclusively via the electronic submission system (eSubmission).' Each participating economic operator must be registered in the Participant Register and hold a PIC. Respect the minimum submission deadlines set in the notice (e.g. at least 30 days for an open procedure).
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Create free accountNo fee to register for a PIC or to bid on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal / TED (registration and portal access are free).
Varies per tender — not a fixed registration time.
Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 September 2024 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union (the EU Financial Regulation, recast), applicable since 30 September 2024 — Title VII (Procurement and Concessions) and Annex I govern procurement by the EU institutions. See https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32024R2509
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This guide is grounded in official sources, last verified 2026-07-20.