European Single Procurement Document (ESPD)
A single tool facilitating participation in public procurement across the EU
When is this solution for you?
You are a public administration body engaging in public procurement.
You are a company participating in a tender.
What can we offer you?
The ESPD is a tool that makes it easier to participate in public procurement. It is a single self-declaration form of suitability, financial status and abilities of a company used as preliminary evidence in all public procurement procedures in the EU above the EU threshold. The ESPD enables the participating companies to declare that:
- They are not in a situation in which they have to/may be excluded from the procedure.
- They meet the selection criteria.
The advantage of the ESPD is that only the winner will have to submit the certificates requested as evidence by public buyers. This significantly reduces the administrative burden related to proving the eligibility of participants and simplifies cross-border access to business opportunities. According to the new public procurement directives, the ESPD is provided exclusively in electronic form (eESPD). To allow for the transition in all EU countries, both electronic and paper versions may co-exist until 18 April 2018.
Our solution at a glance
Get started
There are four possibilities of using the electronic ESPD:
- The free eESPD service that is provided by the European Commission.
- The ESPD data model, enabling integration of the eESPD service into national e-procurement tools.
- An Open source version of the eESPD service, which is compatible with the ESPD data model. Some of its elements can be adjusted to take national requirements into account.
- The Virtual Company Dossier, which allows buyers to handle eESPDs, and tenderers to benefit from the automated completion of the eESPD.
Is this solution open source?
Yes
Any questions?
Contact the e-procurement team at the European Commission.
Contact the Interoperability Unit of DG Informatics (please use the subject line ‘European Single Procurement Document’).
More detailed information
Read more about the ESPD on the DG GROW's website.
Visit the ESPD page on Joinup.
Visit the ISA2 action page on ESPD and other e-Procurement activities.
Who is already using this solution?
The electronic ESPD has been used across the EU since new public procurement directives entered into force in April 2016. Funding from CEF (Connecting Europe Facility of the European Commission) has been granted to providers of e-tendering services to support integration of the ESPD data model into their solutions. Check the CEF website for updates on forthcoming calls for proposals.
The new Spanish Law 9/2017, on Procurement in the Public Sector established the ESPD for affidavits on 8 November. On the other hand, it is used by the Official Registry of Classified Tenderers and Companies for the Public Sector (ROLECE):
- Spanish Law 9/2017, 8th of November, on Procurement in the Public Sector (BOE)
- Official Registry of Classified Tenderers and Companies for the Public Sector (ROLECE user manual)
Key facts and figures
The ESPD is available in all 24 EU languages.
In September 2018, up to 9,000 unique visitors per day used the ESPD service. The service is mostly used in Spain, Bulgaria and Romania.