PRACTICAL GUIDE
Bid/no-bid checklist for a UK tender
A bid/no-bid decision is an allocation of business time and risk. Check disqualifying constraints before comparing attractive features of the opportunity. A strong preference score cannot make an unmet mandatory condition disappear, and a planning score is not a probability of winning.
Start with the actual tender
Confirm the bidder entity, lot and applicable participation conditions.
Record pass, unresolved or fail against each mandatory requirement.
Check evidence owners and the time needed to obtain missing proof.
Confirm delivery capacity and the commercial assumptions with decision owners.
Choose go, clarify or no-go, and record who approved the decision.
Eligibility is not the quality score
Cabinet Office guidance treats conditions of participation separately from award criteria. For your decision worksheet, distinguish an eligibility gate from a preference such as geographic convenience. Check when each condition must be satisfied: the authority may permit some conditions to be met later in the procedure, before award. Do not assume every item is due at submission. Identify the actual tender rule and seek competent advice where its application is uncertain.
Cabinet Office: conditions of participation ↗ — Procurement Act procurements; check the authority and transitional rules.
Use clarify as a real decision
A missing insurance instruction or ambiguous delivery boundary is not automatically a pass. Set an owner and resolution deadline. Decide what happens if clarification does not arrive in time; otherwise an unresolved issue can quietly become a promise inside the final response.
Printable go / clarify / no-go worksheet
Use one record for each relevant item. Keep unknowns and approvals visible rather than filling them with assumptions.
| Field | What to record |
|---|---|
| eligibility | Quote the requirement and evidence needed, not an assumed pass. |
| capacity | Identify operational and bid-writing capacity separately. |
| evidence | List available, missing and disputed proof. |
| deadline | Record the portal cutoff, question deadline and the required assessment stage for each participation condition. |
| commercial fit | Record costs, dependencies and decision assumptions. |
| decision owner | Name the person authorised to accept the risk. |
Fictional worked example
Fictional teaching example: an attractive local contract requires evidence the bidder cannot obtain by the buyer specified participation-assessment stage. Record clarify while checking whether the instructions permit alternative evidence or a later stage. If the required condition cannot be met at the applicable stage, no-go is a defensible decision; a favourable internal score cannot override it.
No real customer, live opportunity or contract outcome is described. Do not submit this example as your own evidence.
Common mistakes
- Treating a weighted worksheet as a win-rate prediction.
- Starting drafting before checking a mandatory gate.
- Recording unclear evidence as an automatic pass.
Questions about this guide
What does a go decision mean?
It means your business has approved investing in the response on stated assumptions. It does not promise eligibility, acceptance or an award.
Can I score mandatory requirements?
Keep mandatory gates visibly separate. A high score elsewhere should not compensate for a condition the actual tender requires you to meet.
Who decides no-go?
The authorised commercial decision-maker, with input from delivery and evidence owners. Record the decision and its reasons rather than leaving it with a writing tool.
Source notes and limits
Cabinet Office: devolved contracting authorities ↗
Different devolved arrangements and cross-border exceptions require checking the actual authority. England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland are not interchangeable regimes.
Source accessed 2026-10-13.
Cabinet Office: transitional and saving arrangements ↗
Procurements commenced under the previous legislation continue under the applicable saved regime. Identify when and under which regime the procurement commenced; current guidance does not replace legacy rules.
Source accessed 2026-10-13.
Cabinet Office: conditions of participation ↗
Participation requirements and award criteria are distinct; tender-specific evidence matters. Procurement Act procurements; check the authority and transitional rules.
Source accessed 2026-10-13.
The checklist, worksheet and fictional examples are original planning aids, not government forms or prescribed submission formats.
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