How to find and follow a public tender on MTender: a beginner’s guide

Ministries, town halls, schools and hospitals buy goods, services and works every day through public procurement procedures. Many are small procurements: laptops, food, repairs. For a small business, the first obstacle is usually not the price, but not knowing where tenders are published, how to read a procedure and what documents need to be prepared. This guide explains the basic steps in the MTender electronic public procurement system, as it operates in November 2026.

Step 1. Find tenders without an account

MTender is the official electronic public procurement system, administered by the Ministry of Finance through the Centre for Information Technologies in Finance. It consists of a public portal and a network of accredited private platforms. On the public portalanyone can view procedures without registering.

The list of tenders has a search field for titles, descriptions or procedure codes, as well as filters. The most useful ones for beginners are:

• Procedure type: low-value procurement, request for quotations or open tender. Smaller procedures generally have simpler documentation and shorter deadlines.

• Procedure status: “Clarification request” and “Bid submission” mean you can still participate. “Qualification of bidders”, “Procedure completed” or “Procedure cancelled” mean it is too late.

• CPV code: the European classification system for goods, services and works. Find out the CPV codes for your products from the outset. Authorities publish procedures under these codes.

• The contracting authority, region and estimated value (“from” and “to”).

Pay attention to the value: the estimated value in the contract notice is stated without VAT, according to responses published by MTender.

Step 2. Read the procedure notice

Each procedure has a unique code, in the format “ocds-b3wdp1-MD-…”. The code appears in all documents and you use it when communicating with the authority. Check the following on the notice, in this order:

• What is being purchased and whether the procedure is divided into lots. You can bid for a single lot, but you must offer all items within a lot.

• The estimated value of each lot.

• The clarification period and the bid submission deadline, including the date and time.

• The documentation: the contract notice, procurement documents, terms of reference (technical specifications) and ESPD form. Standard templates are published on MTender in the Documents.

• Qualification criteria: similar experience, turnover, certificates, guarantees. According to MTender, the minimum required turnover should not exceed twice the estimated value of the contract, except in well-justified cases.

• Responses to clarification questions asked by other participants. These may change the requirements.

Step 3. Follow new tenders

The platforms connected to MTender offer notification services. On achizitii.md, for example, the “Subscriptions” service sends new procedures by email three times a day, filtered by CPV codes, contracting authority (name or IDNO), keywords and region. According to the platform, the service costs 10 lei per month, including VAT. You can also save procedures you are interested in under “Favourites”.

Follow new tenders on COMUNICA.MD

The Public Procurement section of COMUNICA.MD uses MTender open data (the OCDS standard) and updates it several times a day. The time of the last synchronisation is displayed on the page. How to use it:

• Search by procurement subject, authority or company, for example “laptop”, “repair” or the name of the town hall in your locality.

• Open the procedure notice. You will see the authority, CPV code, estimated value, bid submission deadline and a direct link to the notice on MTender.

• Click “Follow”. The procedure will appear on the For me page, under “What I follow”, while recorded changes will appear under “What has changed”. Your preferences are saved on your device. If you sign in, they are synchronised with your account.

Documents, clarifications and bids are viewed and submitted only on MTender and accredited platforms. Before making a decision, check the deadline on the official MTender notice.

Step 4. Register on a platform

To ask clarification questions, submit bids and participate in the electronic auction, you need an account on an accredited platform. According to the MTender portal, three platforms are connected: achizitii.md, e-licitatie.md and yptender.md. Resident and non-resident legal entities, as well as individuals, may participate, but only as bidders.

On achizitii.md, the platform describes the process as follows. Create a user account and complete your organisation’s profile using the information in its extract from the State Register. Then electronically sign the contract with the platform operator through the government MSign service. Verification is carried out on working days, between 9:00 and 17:00. The registration request expires after 14 days if it is not completed. Platforms charge a participation fee. According to MTender, the fee is calculated based on the value of the lot, not the value of your bid.

An electronic signature is mandatory: all bid documents must be signed electronically. MTender recommends checking the signature on msign.gov.md, in the “Verify” section. The words “digitally signed” in a PDF are not sufficient proof.

Step 5. Prepare your bid

• ESPD (European Single Procurement Document): a declaration on your honour that you meet the qualification criteria. Use the form required by the authority for that procedure. An ESPD used previously can be reused if the information is still correct and relevant.

• Technical proposal: respond point by point to the terms of reference.

• Financial proposal: the unit price and total, both excluding and including VAT, for each item and each lot. The price entered in the system must match the price in the forms.

• Bid security, if required. It must be submitted with the bid in the form specified in the procurement documents. According to MTender, a bid without the required security is rejected.

• Supporting documents (tax certificate, register extract, proof of experience). The authority generally requests these from the bidder ranked first, but may request them at any point during the procedure.

If anything in the procurement documents is unclear or seems to favour a particular supplier, ask during the clarification period. The authority’s response becomes public. During the clarification period, only the authority can amend the procurement documents. During the bid submission period, only bidders can upload their documents.

Step 6. Electronic auction, result and contract

In some procedures, bid submission is followed by a three-round electronic auction in which bidders can lower their prices. The minimum reduction increment is set by the authority. At present, MTender applies a single award criterion—the lowest price—according to responses published on the portal.

After the evaluation, the authority informs all bidders of the result. Under Law No. 20/2026, the contract may be signed only after an 11-day standstill period from the electronic notification of the result. The main exception is when you were the only bidder. The contract must also be signed electronically, through MSign.

Deadlines to remember

• The minimum bid submission periods, according to MTender, are 7 days for requests for quotations for goods and 12 days for services and works. For open tenders, the periods are 20 or 35 days, depending on the value.

• If the authority responds to a clarification request after the clarification period has ended, the bid submission deadline is extended by the number of days of delay.

• Appeals to the ANSC: within 10 days from the day following publication of the contested act in the system, or within 15 days if the act was communicated to you by other means. The deadline cannot be reinstated.

• ANSC resolves an appeal within 20 working days, with a possible extension of no more than 10 working days.

Common mistakes made by beginners

• You submit your bid in the last hour. The system does not accept bids after the deadline, and a problem with your electronic signature or internet connection can exclude you from the procedure.

• Documents that are not electronically signed or are signed by a person without a power of attorney.

• You use a different ESPD form from the one required. According to MTender, this is grounds for disqualification.

• A required document is missing. The contracting authority may request clarifications only for incomplete or incorrect information, not for a document that is entirely missing.

• You bid for only some of the items in a lot.

• You bid above the estimated value without asking first. This is allowed in requests for quotations and open tenders, but the contracting authority may cancel the procedure if the bids exceed the estimated value by 30%. It is not allowed for low-value procurements.

• You do not follow clarifications published after you have downloaded the procurement documents.

• You miss the deadline for filing an appeal, which starts running from the publication of the act in the system, not from when you read it.

What changes in 2027

The new Law No. 325/2025 on Public Procurement was published in the Official Gazette on 12 February 2026 and replaces Law No. 131/2015 as of 1 January 2027. The Government also amended the Regulation on Low-Value Procurement (Decision No. 312/2026). According to the Ministry of Finance, the regulation raises the thresholds for direct contracts and requires contracting authorities to publish a contract notice in the electronic system for low-value procurements exceeding 400,000 lei for goods and services and 600,000 lei for works. Most provisions apply from 1 January 2027.

On 18 March 2026, the Government approved the concept for the new e-Achiziții information system, which is set to replace MTender. The decision provided for its launch on 1 January 2027. In October 2026, the Ministry of Finance submitted for public consultation a draft that postpones the deadline to 1 January 2028. As of the date of this guide, we have not found a final Government decision. The financial thresholds that determine the type of procedure will change along with the new law. Check the current version before each procedure.

Where to get help

• The support service of the platform where you are registered: for your account, signing the contract, submitting a bid and subscriptions.

• MTender information line: 022 822 038. The portal also has answers to frequently asked questions.

• The Public Procurement Agency (tender.gov.md): methodology, standard documents and online training seminars for economic operators.

• ANSC: appeals concerning public procurement procedures.

• Open data: MTender procedures can be downloaded in OCDS format and analysed using the Open Contracting Partnership’s BI tool, presented on the MTender open data page.

This material is for informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. The exact requirements are those set out in the documents for each procedure and in the legislation in force on the date of the procedure. For specific situations, consult the Public Procurement Agency, ANSC or a lawyer specialising in this area.

Frequently asked questions

• Can I participate as an individual? Yes. According to MTender, an individual can register only as a bidder.

• Can I change my bid after submitting it? Published documents cannot be deleted. According to MTender, mark the incorrect document as “cancelled” and publish the correct document again before the deadline.

The information was verified on 2 November 2026.

Sources

• MTender (Ministry of Finance / CTIF), MTender Public Portal – list of procurement procedures

• MTender, Frequently Asked Questions (accessed on 2 November 2026)

• MTender, About the MTender SIA RSAP – connected platforms

• MTender, Documents – standard forms, including the ESPD

• MTender, Open Data and For Civil Society (OCDS)

• achizitii.md, Instructions for registering as a Supplier (updated on 12 August 2026)

• achizitii.md, Account and how to use it (Supplier) – the “Subscriptions” service

• ANSC, Overview – legal framework (Law No. 20/2026)

• Law No. 20 of 26 February 2026, on remedies and appeals in the award of public and sectoral procurement and concession contracts (Articles 19–22, 28; text consulted on bizlex)

• Ministry of Finance, Regulation on low-value public procurement adjusted to the new legislative framework (12 June 2026)

• Ministry of Finance, Government approves the Concept for the new “State Register of Public Procurement” Information System (e-Achiziții) (18 March 2026)

• Contabilitate.md, Public procurement: update to the regulations (Law No. 325/2025)

• Contabilitate.md, e-Achiziții: launch of the system postponed by one year (9 October 2026)

• Open Contracting Partnership, OCP Data Registry – Moldova: Ministry of Finance (MTender data)