A PQQ (pre-qualification questionnaire) is a set of questions a buyer uses to check whether a supplier is suitable before inviting it to submit a full tender. It covers your legal standing, exclusion grounds, financial standing, technical capability and relevant experience. In UK public procurement the PQQ was replaced by the standard Selection Questionnaire (SQ), and under the Procurement Act 2023 the stage is framed as conditions of participation, but many people still call it a PQQ.

Is a PQQ the same as a Selection Questionnaire?

They do the same job. The Selection Questionnaire was introduced as a standardised replacement for bespoke PQQs so that suppliers would face consistent questions. Private sector buyers and some public bodies still use the term PQQ for their own pre-qualification forms.

What changed for PQQs under the Procurement Act 2023?

For procurements started under the Act from 24 February 2025, suppliers register core information such as company details, connected persons and exclusion declarations on the Central Digital Platform and share it with buyers. Buyers set conditions of participation that must be proportionate to the contract, and ask any further procurement specific questions. The Act also introduced a revised set of exclusion grounds and a public debarment list.

Most pre-qualification questionnaires combine pass or fail questions, such as exclusion grounds, insurance levels and financial checks, with scored questions on experience and capability. Scored questions are usually marked on a published scale and weighted. In a competitive procedure, only the highest scoring suppliers may be invited to the next stage.

Do small contracts use PQQs?

Generally less. Rules restrict buyers from running a separate pre-qualification stage for lower value public contracts, so suitability questions often appear inside the main tender instead. Private sector buyers set their own rules and may still use a PQQ for any value.

PQQ Guide: How to Pass Pre-Qualification (UK, 2026)

If you bid for public sector work in the UK, sooner or later you will be asked to pre-qualify. Whether the buyer calls it a PQQ, a Selection Questionnaire (SQ) or conditions of participation, the purpose is the same: to decide which suppliers are suitable before anyone writes a full tender. Fail here and your quality answers and price are never read.

This guide explains what has changed under the Procurement Act 2023, how pre-qualification is scored, what evidence to prepare and how to run a response efficiently. It sits alongside our ITT guide and the wider bid writing guide.

What Is a PQQ?

A pre-qualification questionnaire is a gateway assessment. It does not ask you to price the work or explain how you would deliver it. Instead it checks whether you meet the minimum requirements to be considered:

Legal standing: who you are, who owns and controls you, and whether any exclusion grounds apply
Economic and financial standing: turnover, accounts, insurance and financial stability
Technical and professional ability: relevant experience, references, qualifications, accreditations and resources
Policy areas: health and safety, quality, environmental management, modern slavery, equality and data protection

PQQ, SQ and conditions of participation

Historically every public body wrote its own PQQ, with different formats and requirements, which made pre-qualifying slow and expensive. The Crown Commercial Service introduced the standard Selection Questionnaire as a consistent replacement, and the term PQQ survived in everyday use.

The Procurement Act 2023, which came into force on 24 February 2025, reframes the stage again. For procurements run under the Act:

Suppliers register core supplier information on the Central Digital Platform and share it with buyers, rather than retyping it for every bid.
Buyers set conditions of participation, which must be proportionate to the nature, complexity and value of the contract.
Buyers then ask any further questions specific to the procurement, often called a procurement specific questionnaire.
Exclusion grounds were revised and a public debarment list was introduced.

Procurements that started before 24 February 2025 continue under the old rules, so you may see both formats for some time. Private sector buyers, housing associations using their own processes and many main contractors still issue PQQs in their own formats.

When Will You Face Pre-Qualification?

Competitive procedures with a shortlist. Where a buyer limits the number of bidders (for example a competitive flexible procedure with a selection stage), the PQQ or equivalent is how they choose who goes forward.
Open procedures. There is no separate stage, but conditions of participation are assessed alongside the tender, so the same evidence is needed.
Frameworks and dynamic markets. Joining usually involves a selection assessment. Once appointed, call offs rarely require you to pre-qualify again. See our frameworks and DPS guide.
Lower value contracts. Rules restrict separate pre-qualification stages for lower value public contracts, so expect suitability questions inside the main tender. Our below threshold tenders guide explains the detail.
Private sector and supply chain. Main contractors and private buyers often use PQQs or supplier portals to approve subcontractors.

Anatomy of a Typical PQQ

Part 1: Supplier information

Company details, registration numbers, ownership and connected persons, contact details and, if you are bidding as a group, the role of each member and any subcontractors. Under the Act much of this lives in your Central Digital Platform record, so keep it current.

Part 2: Exclusion grounds

Declarations about matters such as certain criminal convictions, insolvency, tax non-payment, professional misconduct and poor past performance. Some grounds lead to mandatory exclusion and others are discretionary. If something applies, do not hide it: declare it and explain the steps you have taken to stop it happening again (sometimes called self cleaning). Undeclared issues that come to light later are treated far more seriously.

Part 3: Selection questions

Financial standing: accounts, turnover and sometimes ratios. Buyers commonly set a minimum turnover relative to contract value; if you fall short, consider parent company guarantees or a consortium. Our economic and financial standing guide covers the options.
Insurance: employer's liability, public liability and professional indemnity at specified levels, or a commitment to obtain them by contract start.
Experience: usually two or three contract examples with references.
Accreditations and policies: for example ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001, SSIP schemes, Cyber Essentials, a Carbon Reduction Plan for some central government contracts, and modern slavery statements.

How PQQs Are Scored

Pass or fail

Exclusion grounds, insurance levels, financial thresholds and mandatory accreditations are normally pass or fail. One failure can end your bid regardless of everything else, which is why a simple checklist review is so valuable.

Scored questions

Experience and capability questions are usually marked on a published scale (often 0 to 5) and weighted. In a competitive procedure with a shortlist, the top scoring suppliers progress. That means "acceptable" may not be enough; you need to beat the other applicants.

What separates high scores

Contract examples that closely match the scope, value and sector being procured
Quantified outcomes rather than descriptions of activity
Referees who have agreed to be contacted and know what to say
Answers that respond to exactly what was asked, within the word limit

The Most Common Reasons Suppliers Fail

Generic answers that ignore the question. Pasting library text without tailoring it.
Case studies that are not relevant. A £50,000 office clean does not prove you can deliver a £2 million hospital contract.
Not declaring exclusion grounds properly. Omissions are treated as more serious than the original issue.
Turnover gaps. Not addressing a shortfall with a guarantee, consortium or explanation.
Missing or expired certificates. Check expiry dates before you submit, not after.
Format and word count errors. Some portals truncate text beyond the limit.

Sector Checklists

Construction and infrastructure

SSIP accreditation, CSCS compliance, CDM 2015 arrangements, Building Safety Act competence, environmental and waste management, BIM capability and works of similar value. See the construction tender writing guide.

Facilities management

TUPE experience, multi-site mobilisation, CAFM systems, planned and reactive maintenance records, customer satisfaction measures and modern slavery due diligence in cleaning and security supply chains. See the FM tender writing guide.

IT and digital

Cyber Essentials or Cyber Essentials Plus, ISO 27001, data protection compliance, hosting and data residency arrangements, accessibility standards and framework memberships such as G-Cloud. See the IT tender writing guide.

Healthcare and NHS

CQC registration where relevant, the NHS Data Security and Protection Toolkit, clinical governance, safeguarding and DBS procedures, infection prevention and control, and Evergreen sustainability information. See the NHS procurement guide.

Build a Pre-Qualification Library

Most PQQ questions repeat. The fastest bid teams maintain a library containing:

Company information, ownership structure and group details
Three years of accounts and a short financial summary
Current insurance certificates with expiry dates
Accreditations, certificates and policy documents with review dates
Ten to fifteen case studies covering your main service lines, each with scope, value, dates, outcomes and an agreed referee
Standard answers on health and safety, quality, environment, modern slavery, equality and data protection, reviewed at least annually

Pair the library with your Central Digital Platform record so the two never contradict each other. Our guide to building and maintaining a bid library explains how to keep it trustworthy.

A Three Week Response Plan

Week one: assess and plan. Read everything, check every pass or fail requirement against your position, decide whether to bid (our bid or no bid framework helps), identify the case studies you will use and contact referees. Submit clarification questions early. Week two: draft and review. Draft from your library, tailoring every answer. Collect certificates and financial documents. Have someone who did not write the answers check them against the questions and scoring guidance. Week three: finalise and submit. Complete the portal, upload documents in the requested format and submit at least a day before the deadline. Afterwards, record what was asked so your library improves for next time.

How AI Helps With PQQs

Pre-qualification is where AI saves the most time, because so much of it is matching standard questions to approved content. A good tool will pull the questions out of the documents, find the right answers and evidence in your library, and flag anything missing, such as an expired certificate or a question you have not answered. Every answer still needs a human check for accuracy and relevance.

mytender.io extracts every requirement from tender documents, drafts answers from your own content library and checks responses for compliance before you submit. You can also find new opportunities in the free mytender.io tender browser. Request a demo to see it on your next PQQ.