Contracts Finder vs Find a Tender: which one to search
Two free government services list UK public sector tenders, and since February 2025 they're split differently from before. The short answer: for new tenders in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, search Find a Tender. Use Contracts Finder for procurements that started under the old rules and for looking up past contracts.
What changed on 24 February 2025
The Procurement Act 2023 applies to procurements in England, Wales and Northern Ireland that started from 24 February 2025. Find a Tender says that from that date, both above and below threshold notices about new UK procurements are published on its service, except below threshold notices in Scotland.
GOV.UK's below-threshold guidance says the requirement to publish below-threshold notices on the Central Digital Platform, which is Find a Tender, replaces the old requirement to publish them on Contracts Finder.
Side by side
| Find a Tender | Contracts Finder | |
|---|---|---|
| What it lists | Above and below threshold notices for new procurements from 24 February 2025 (not below threshold in Scotland), and above threshold notices for older ones | Smaller contracts from procurements that started before 24 February 2025: over £12,000 for central government, or £30,000 for other buyers. Plus past contracts. |
| Best for | New tenders, early engagement notices, frameworks and dynamic markets | Older procurements still running, and who won past contracts |
| Cost to search | Free | Free |
| Email alerts | Sign in, save a search and choose to get emails | Create an account for email updates and saved searches |
Why you might still check Contracts Finder
- Older procurements. A procurement that started before 24 February 2025 stays under the old rules, so its smaller notices are on Contracts Finder rather than Find a Tender.
- Award history. GOV.UK says you can use Contracts Finder to look up details of previous tenders and contracts.
- Volume. In our count, Contracts Finder still had about 51 new transport opportunities a month between July and October 2026.
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
For smaller contracts from older procurements, Find a Tender points to Public Contracts Scotland, Sell2Wales, and eSourcing NI and eTendersNI. Scotland has its own procurement rules, and smaller Scottish notices aren't on Find a Tender.
A note on the figures you'll see
GOV.UK's start pages for both services still say larger contracts are usually above £139,688. For procurements starting from 1 January 2026, the threshold for goods and services is £135,018 for central government and £207,720 for other buyers such as councils. Our procurement thresholds guide lists them all.
Questions
Is Contracts Finder still used?
Yes, for procurements that started before 24 February 2025 and for looking up past contracts. New procurements in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are published on Find a Tender.
Do I need to search both Contracts Finder and Find a Tender?
For new opportunities, Find a Tender covers both larger and smaller notices outside Scotland. Checking Contracts Finder as well catches older procurements still running and shows who won similar work.
Are Contracts Finder and Find a Tender free?
Yes. Both are free to search, and both let you save searches and get email alerts with a free account.
Want a shortlist done for you?
UK Tender Desk, from Your Evenings Ltd (that's us), is a done-for-you tender shortlist for small businesses in construction trades, training, transport, care, cleaning and catering. We look at live tenders on Find a Tender and Contracts Finder and pick the ones that suit a business your size. See how UK Tender Desk works
Sources
- Find a Tender home page, About Find a Tender (read 31 October 2026)
- Find a Tender: search (filters, procurement stages, notice types and saved searches; read 31 October 2026)
- GOV.UK: Contracts Finder (read 31 October 2026) and Contracts Finder
- GOV.UK: Find a Tender (read 31 October 2026)
- GOV.UK: Guidance: Below-Threshold Contracts (updated 13 July 2026; read 31 October 2026)
- GOV.UK: Guidance: Thresholds (read 31 October 2026)
- Our counts: Contracts Finder open data (OCDS), counted by Your Evenings Ltd on 30 October 2026, as published in our transport tenders guide.
This guide summarises the official sources above. It isn't legal advice. Check the notice and tender documents for each contract.
Written with AI assistance by the Your Evenings team at Your Evenings Ltd. Last updated 31 October 2026.