Germany is the EU’s biggest public market - and one of its most rule-bound. You buy in through portals, not pitches. Here’s how it works, the route for each level of government, and how to get listed.
Selling to the German public sector means navigating a decentralised, German-language, heavily regulated system spread across the federation, 16 states and thousands of municipalities. You buy in through the right portal, not a pitch. This guide covers how German public procurement works now, the named portals for each level of government, the credentials you’ll need, and how Sales Source gets you registered and bidding.
A portal or framework is the compliant route a public body uses to buy. Get registered on the right one and you become buyable; rely on relationships alone and you may never even be invited to bid.
Every country runs its own system. Here’s the lay of the land in Germany, then the named route for each sector.
The right route depends on what you sell and who you’re selling to. Choose your sector to see the named portals and frameworks, exactly how to register, the credentials buyers expect - and a direct link to each official site.
Getting registered is only half the battle - you then have to win business. We do both: we map the right route for your offer, get you registration- and bid-ready, and put a local team on the competitions and call-offs.
We identify the portal, framework or panel that fits your product and sector - no wasted bids.
We help line up registration and the credentials each route demands, so you’re eligible to bid.
Our local team supports the tender or application so you actually secure the route to market.
A local, native-speaking rep works the call-offs and competitions, turning your place into pipeline.
Book a discovery call and we’ll map the exact routes for your product, and show you how we’d get you registered and selling in Germany.
Register on the right e-procurement portal - e-Vergabe for federal contracts, DTVP for most state and municipal buying - set alerts for your category, and submit electronic bids in German with the required ESPD/EEE declaration.
Yes. Notices, the European Single Procurement Document and your bid are almost always required in German, and a credible German-language presence is effectively a requirement rather than a nicety.
e-Vergabe is the federal procurement platform; DTVP is the most widely used portal across the 16 states and municipalities; TED is the EU-wide journal where every German contract above the EU threshold must also be advertised.
Pre-qualification registers (PQ-VOL for services, PQ-VOB for construction) let you prove your eligibility once and reuse it across tenders, rather than re-submitting the same evidence for every bid.
We know the portals, the credentials and the buyers in Germany. Book a discovery call and see how we’d get you registered and selling.