In some cases, the state capital of Mainz has allowed bids and requests to participate in national, formal procurement procedures (public and restricted tenders) to be submitted both in writing and digitally.

In line with the practice in European procurement procedures, from October 1, 2019, only digitally transmitted bids, requests to participate, and expressions of interest will be accepted in national, formal procurement procedures.

What changes will this mean for applicants/bidders?

There will be no changes until the tender or application documents have been downloaded and completed.

Instead of submitting them in writing to the Procurement and Purchasing Department, bidders/applicants must first digitize their completed bid or application documents in a PDF file (for construction work, also in a GAEB file). They then upload these to the subreport ELVIS procurement platform used by the state capital of Mainz before the specified bid deadline expires. You will find the link at the bottom of this page.

The electronic submission of bids or applications is free of charge for the applicant/bidder and does not involve any additional effort, as it is generally only done in text form in accordance with Section 126b of the German Civil Code (BGB). The bidder therefore does not need a costly certificate to create an electronic signature or an electronic seal.

In this context, it should be noted that in the case of construction tenders, bids are no longer opened in the presence of the bidders or their authorized representatives.