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Central portal — register once as a vendor

How to register as a government contractor in United Kingdom

Since 24 February 2025, the Procurement Act 2023 introduced a single Central Digital Platform, delivered through an enhanced Find a Tender service, where suppliers register once and store their commonly-used organisational information for reuse across bids. A supplier creates a GOV.UK One Login, registers the organisation (using its Companies House number or an equivalent, or is issued a unique identifier if none applies), inputs core details, then generates a 'share code' to give chosen contracting authorities their information at bid time. There is no separate per-portal registration for high vs low value: Find a Tender is the central platform for both above-threshold (higher-value) and regulated below-threshold notices; Contracts Finder continues only for procurements still running under the old rules during transition. Registration is not required until the point a supplier wants to bid.

Central portal — register once as a vendor
This country runs a single national portal where you register as a vendor. That registration is your standing qualification to bid.

Official portal

Find a Tender (the Central Digital Platform) / Supplier Registration Service

Cabinet Office (Government Commercial Function)

Go to portal ↗

Who can register

Foreign companies eligibleNo local entity required to bid

No UK legal entity is required to register or bid. The Supplier Registration Service explicitly allows entry of a non-UK address, and organisations without a Companies House number can register using an equivalent identifier or be issued a unique identifier. Under the Procurement Act 2023, 'treaty state suppliers' (suppliers entitled to the benefit of an international agreement in Schedule 9, e.g. WTO GPA and UK-EU TCA parties) must not be discriminated against relative to UK suppliers for covered above-threshold procurement. Suppliers from countries with no such agreement can still register and bid but are not guaranteed the same non-discrimination protection.

Step-by-step: registering in United Kingdom

1

Create a GOV.UK One Login and register your organisation on the Central Digital Platform

The designated administrator creates a GOV.UK One Login account, then registers the organisation on the Central Digital Platform via Find a Tender. You must have the organisation's Companies House number or an equivalent (e.g. a Charity Commission number) and the registered address to hand; you may enter a non-UK address. If no such identifier applies, the platform generates a unique identifier for the organisation.

official link ↗

Required:
  • GOV.UK One Login account
  • Companies House number or equivalent (e.g. Charity Commission number) — or none, if a unique identifier will be generated
  • Registered organisation address (may be a non-UK address)
2

Enter your supplier details

Complete the supplier information stored once for reuse across bids: basic information (name, address, Companies House/equivalent number, VAT number if applicable, SME/VCSE/public-mutual status), connected persons and their details, qualifications and trade assurances, exclusion information (grounds under the Procurement Act schedules), and financial information for recent years. It is the supplier's responsibility to ensure the data shared is accurate; the platform does not verify it before sharing.

official link ↗

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3

Declare and share (generate a share code) — per tender

Read and agree to the declaration (providing your name, job title, email and postal address), then generate a share code (or download your information file) to submit to the contracting authority as directed in the tender documents. This is how qualification works per tender: there is no standing EU-style ESPD; instead the supplier shares its stored self-declared information and exclusion data via the share code, and the contracting authority conducts its own due diligence and any tender-specific conditions of participation. Registration/details can be reused across multiple bids.

official link ↗

🔒 Sign up to see the 2 required document(s) for this step.

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Cost, timeline & legal basis

Cost

Not documented — verify on the official portal.

Typical timeline

Varies per tender — not a fixed registration time.

Legal framework

Procurement Act 2023 (c.54) and the Procurement Regulations 2024, in force from 24 February 2025; the Central Digital Platform is provided for under the Act. See https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54 and https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/procurement-act-2023-short-guides/central-digital-platform-factsheet-html

Common pitfalls & restrictions

Registration is not required until the point of bidding, so suppliers sometimes leave it too late before a deadline. There is no data verification by the platform — inaccurate self-declared information is the supplier's responsibility. Suppliers wrongly assume separate registrations are needed for high vs low value: Find a Tender is the single central platform, though procurements started under the old (pre-24 Feb 2025) rules may still run on Contracts Finder during transition. Scotland (Public Contracts Scotland) and Wales (Sell2Wales) run devolved arrangements to check separately.

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Sources & verification

This guide is grounded in official sources, last verified 2026-07-20.

Central Digital Platform launched 24 Feb 2025; legal basis Procurement Act 2023; suppliers register once and store reusable info; share code mechanism; supplier responsible for accuracy; info shared only with chosen authorities — https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/procurement-act-2023-short-guides/central-digital-platform-factsheet-html
Three-step supplier registration (GOV.UK One Login + organisation registration; enter details incl connected persons/exclusions/financials; declare and share); Companies House number or equivalent or unique identifier; non-UK address option — https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/procurement-act-2023-short-guides/suppliers-how-to-register-your-organisation-and-first-administrator-on-find-a-tender-in-three-easy-steps-html
Supplier Registration Service now directs users to Find a Tender as the central digital platform since 24 February 2025 — https://supplierregistration.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/
Find a Tender is the central platform for above- and regulated below-threshold notices; Contracts Finder is the older portal largely replaced, used during transition; thresholds — https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/procurement-act-2023-guidance-documents-define-phase/guidance-thresholds-html
Treaty state suppliers (Schedule 9 agreements incl WTO GPA and UK-EU TCA) must not be discriminated against relative to UK suppliers — foreign eligibility — https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/part/7/data.html
Find a Tender central digital platform search / registration entry point — https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/
This guide summarizes official requirements for general information and can change. Always confirm current requirements on the official portal before acting. GlobalGov is not affiliated with any government procurement authority.