PQQ stands for pre-qualification questionnaire. It is a set of questions a buyer asks suppliers before inviting them to bid for a contract, or before admitting them to a framework. The buyer uses the answers to decide who is capable, reliable and properly set up to do the work. Only the suppliers who pass go on to the next stage.
That is the short answer. If you have just been sent a PQQ, or seen the term in a tender notice and wondered what it means, this guide explains it in plain English: what a PQQ is for, what it usually asks, how it differs from the tender that follows, and what you can do to get ready. It is written for suppliers who are new to the process. If you already know the basics, our fuller guides to what a PQQ is, pre-qualification questionnaires and PQQ answers go further.
PQQ: Breaking Down the Three Words
Each part of the name tells you something useful.
- Pre: it comes before the main event. The PQQ is a filter that sits ahead of the detailed tender or the award of a place on a framework.
- Qualification: the buyer is checking whether you qualify. Are you a legitimate business, financially stable, properly insured, and experienced enough for this kind of work?
- Questionnaire: it is a structured list of questions, usually with set answer formats, word limits and required attachments.
Put together, a pre-qualification questionnaire is the buyer's way of asking, before they read anyone's full proposal, which suppliers are worth considering at all.
Practical rule: a PQQ is mostly about who you are and what you have done. The tender that follows is mostly about what you will do on this particular contract.
Why Buyers Use a PQQ
Imagine a council wants to appoint a contractor and receives interest from a large number of suppliers. Reading a full technical proposal and pricing schedule from every one of them would take a long time, and many of those suppliers might not meet basic requirements anyway. A PQQ lets the buyer narrow the field first.
It serves a few purposes:
- Screening out suppliers who cannot meet minimum requirements. If a contract needs a certain level of insurance or a particular accreditation, there is little point evaluating a full bid from someone who does not have it.
- Checking risk. Buyers spending public money want reassurance that a supplier is financially sound, has no relevant exclusion issues, and manages health and safety, quality and data properly.
- Comparing experience. Scored questions and case studies let the buyer see which suppliers have done comparable work.
- Saving suppliers effort. In principle, a supplier who would not qualify finds out early, before writing a long proposal.
For suppliers, that last point is worth remembering. A PQQ can feel like paperwork, but it is also a fairly cheap way to find out whether you are in the running.
PQQ, SQ, RFI and the Other Names You Will See
One of the confusing things about public procurement is that the same idea goes by several names. You may see:
- PQQ: pre-qualification questionnaire, still widely used, especially in construction and in the private sector.
- SQ: selection questionnaire. Many UK public buyers have used this term for the standardised version of the pre-qualification stage.
- Supplier questionnaire or supplier pre-qualification: a general description, common with larger private companies vetting their supply chain.
- RFI: request for information. This is usually broader and earlier, a way for the buyer to learn about the market, though some buyers use it loosely.
- DDQ: due diligence questionnaire, common in financial and corporate settings, and overlapping heavily with a PQQ in the sort of evidence it asks for.
The labels matter less than the content. Whatever the document is called, read what it actually asks for. Our guide to DDQs, PQQs and RFIs sets out the differences in more detail, and the rules on how public buyers run selection have been changing under the Procurement Act 2023. The buyer's own documents always tell you which approach applies to a particular opportunity.
Where the PQQ Sits in the Process
Every procurement is set up differently, but a common pattern for a two-stage process looks like this:
- The buyer publishes a notice on a portal such as Find a Tender or Contracts Finder, or one of the national portals in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.
- Interested suppliers register on the buyer's e-tendering system and download the documents.
- Suppliers complete the PQQ and submit it by the deadline.
- The buyer evaluates the PQQs, applying pass or fail checks and scoring the scored questions.
- A shortlist is invited to tender, receiving the full invitation to tender with the specification and pricing documents.
- The shortlisted suppliers submit tenders, which are evaluated, and the contract is awarded.
Not every procurement has a separate PQQ stage. In an open procedure, the selection questions and the tender questions may arrive together in a single pack. Frameworks often rely heavily on the qualification stage because the buyer is deciding who can be called on repeatedly, not just for one job. Our guides to the tender process and framework agreements explain those routes.
What a PQQ Usually Asks
The exact questions vary by buyer, sector and contract, but most PQQs cover similar ground. Here is what to expect, section by section.
Company information
The basics: your registered name and number, registered address, VAT number, directors, group structure if you are part of one, and a named contact for the bid. Sometimes the buyer asks whether you are an SME. These answers are simple, but they should match your official records exactly. Inconsistencies here make an evaluator wonder how carefully the rest was prepared.
Declarations and exclusion grounds
Most public sector PQQs ask you to confirm that none of a list of exclusion grounds applies to your business. These cover matters such as certain criminal convictions, insolvency, failure to pay tax, and serious past failures on contracts. A director should read and confirm these personally. They are statements the business is signing up to, not boilerplate.
Financial standing
Buyers want to know you will still be trading and able to resource the work. Expect requests for your accounts, turnover figures, and sometimes a minimum turnover in relation to the value of the contract. These questions are often pass or fail.
Insurance
Usually a statement of the levels of cover required, such as employer's liability and public liability, and sometimes professional indemnity. You either confirm you hold that cover or confirm you will obtain it before the contract starts, depending on what the buyer allows. Our guide to insurance requirements covers the common types.
Health and safety
Particularly detailed in construction and facilities work. Buyers typically ask for your health and safety policy, how you manage risk, who provides competent advice, your accident record, and how you manage subcontractors. See our guide to health and safety compliance.
Quality and environmental management
Whether you hold recognised certifications, and if not, how your systems work. Our ISO certification guide explains the standards buyers commonly mention, and environmental compliance covers the environmental side.
Experience and case studies
Often the scored heart of a PQQ. You will usually be asked for examples of comparable contracts, with details such as client, value, dates, scope and outcomes, and sometimes for referees who can confirm what you did. Our guides to writing case studies and managing references are worth reading before you start.
Policies
A list of policies the buyer expects you to have: equality and diversity, modern slavery, anti-bribery, data protection, safeguarding where relevant, and others. Each should be current, signed and dated.
Specialist requirements
Depending on the contract, there may be questions on information security, such as Cyber Essentials, on social value, or on sector-specific registrations. See our guides to Cyber Essentials and social value questions.
Pass or Fail Questions and Scored Questions
PQQ questions generally come in two kinds, and it helps to know which is which before you start writing.
| Type | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Pass or fail | A mandatory requirement. Fail one and you may be removed from the process regardless of your other answers. | Check every one carefully. If you cannot meet it, consider whether bidding is realistic. |
| Scored | Your answer earns marks against published guidance, often with a weighting. | Follow the scoring guidance, give evidence, and put more effort where more marks are available. |
| Information only | Details the buyer needs but does not score, such as contact information. | Answer accurately and consistently. |
The buyer's documents normally say which questions fall into which group, along with any minimum score you need to reach. Read the evaluation guidance alongside the questions. Our guide to tender evaluation criteria and scoring explains how evaluators work through answers.
How a PQQ Differs From a Tender
New suppliers sometimes treat the PQQ as the bid itself. It is not, and the distinction changes how you write.
- The PQQ looks backwards. It asks about your business as it is: your track record, systems, finances and policies. Evidence is what scores.
- The tender looks forwards. It asks how you will deliver this specific contract, for this buyer, at this price. Method, resourcing and commercial terms come in here.
- The PQQ is about eligibility and capability. The tender is about choosing the best offer from the suppliers who qualified.
In practice, that means a PQQ answer should describe what you actually do and prove it, rather than making promises about the future. If you want to see how the two stages fit, our guides on what a tender bid is and tenders versus bids may help.
Common Mistakes First-Time Suppliers Make
Most PQQs that fail do not fail because the supplier cannot do the work. They fail on detail. The same few problems come up again and again.
Missing a mandatory requirement
An accreditation not held, an insurance level not met, a turnover threshold too high. Check pass or fail requirements before investing time in the scored questions.
Out-of-date documents
An expired insurance certificate, a policy with a review date long past, or a policy signed by a director who has left. Evaluators notice. Our guide to certification tracking covers keeping dates under control.
Answers that assert rather than evidence
Saying you are committed to quality earns little. Describing how you check work, who does it, how it is recorded and giving an example earns more. Evaluators score what you demonstrate.
Not answering the question asked
Pasting in a general answer from an old bid that covers a slightly different question. Follow the buyer's sub-questions and use their language.
Ignoring word limits and formats
Text beyond a limit may not be read. Attachments in the wrong format, or not named as instructed, cause problems.
Leaving submission to the last hour
Portals have file size limits and technical quirks. Submitting late leaves no time to recover if an upload fails.
Practical rule: before you submit, read the whole PQQ end to end once. Sections drafted separately often contradict each other, and a single reader catches it.
How to Prepare Before a PQQ Arrives
The best time to prepare for a PQQ is before you see one. Most of what a PQQ asks for already exists somewhere in your business. The work is finding the current version, checking it is still true, and presenting it in the form the buyer wants.
- Gather your core documents in one place. Company details, accounts, insurance certificates, accreditations, policies and CVs for key people.
- Write up a few case studies. Pick contracts that show the kind of work you want more of, and record the facts while they are fresh. Ask clients whether they would act as referees.
- Check your policies. Make sure each one is signed, dated and within its review period, and that it describes what you actually do.
- Know your numbers. Have turnover and accident figures ready, drawn from your records rather than estimated.
- Give each item an owner. Renewals and reviews should not depend on someone remembering.
If you work in construction, our PQQ checklist for public construction frameworks and the guide to PQQs in construction go into much more detail. If you are unsure whether you are ready to bid at all, Bidwell's free tender readiness checker is a 90-second self-assessment that points at the two or three things holding you back, and the framework eligibility tool suggests which UK public sector frameworks you could realistically apply to, with the documents you would need to gather.
Should You Complete Every PQQ You Find?
No. A PQQ takes time, and time spent on a contract you cannot win or would not want is time taken from one you could. Before you start, ask a few questions:
- Do you meet every mandatory requirement, or can you realistically meet them by the deadline?
- Is the contract the right size and type for your business?
- Do you have relevant case studies and willing referees?
- Can you resource the work if you win?
Our guide to bid/no-bid analysis sets out a way to make that decision deliberately. If you want to understand what a response costs you in people's time, the cost-to-respond estimator works it out, including bid writer time, subject expert time and the people pulled in for review.
Why PQQs Feel Repetitive, and What to Do About It
Once you have completed two or three PQQs, you will notice that many questions repeat in slightly different words. Health and safety, quality, environmental management, equality, data protection, complaints and supply chain management come up again and again. That is not a coincidence. Buyers are asking about the same underlying risks.
It means the second PQQ should be easier than the first, provided you kept your answers somewhere you can find them. Many small suppliers do not. Each PQQ is written from scratch, often in evenings and weekends, from documents spread across old emails and shared drives. Rewriting the same answers every time adds risk rather than quality, because each rewrite is a fresh chance to introduce an error or drop evidence that scored well before.
This is the problem Bidwell is built for. You drop in your past responses, accreditations, case studies, policies and team CVs, or point it at your website, and it builds a knowledge base of your own answers, organised by the questions tenders actually ask. That part is free and stays free, with no card and no time limit. When a new PQQ arrives, you drop it in and Bidwell answers every question from that knowledge base, in your words, citing the document each answer came from. Your job becomes reviewing and tailoring, not writing from a blank page. The PQQ use case shows how that looks.
It will not invent an answer you have no evidence for. If your knowledge base has nothing on a subject, there is nothing to draft from, and that tells you where the real work lies. Bidwell drafts, you review and approve every word, and a human always signs the bid before it goes out.
Practical rule: if an answer cannot tell you which document it came from, you have to verify it from scratch, and you have saved nothing.
Quick Answers to Common Questions
What does PQQ stand for?
Pre-qualification questionnaire.
Is a PQQ the same as a tender?
No. A PQQ checks whether you qualify to bid. The tender is the detailed proposal and price for the contract itself. Sometimes the two arrive in one pack, but they ask different kinds of questions.
Is a PQQ only used in the public sector?
No. Public buyers use them widely, but larger private companies, main contractors and housing associations also use PQQs to vet suppliers and subcontractors.
Do I need certifications to pass a PQQ?
It depends on the buyer. Some make particular certifications mandatory, others accept a description of your systems instead. The PQQ documents will say.
How long does a PQQ take to complete?
It varies with the length of the questionnaire and how organised your evidence is. A supplier with current documents and existing answers will finish far faster than one starting from nothing.
What happens after I submit?
The buyer evaluates the responses and tells suppliers whether they have been shortlisted or admitted. If you are unsuccessful, ask for feedback. Our guide to debriefing meetings explains how to get value from it.
Bidwell turns your past bids, policies, case studies and accreditations into a knowledge base of your own answers, then drafts new PQQs and tenders from it, citing the source document for every answer so you can check it before you submit. Building the knowledge base is free, with no card and no time limit. Visit Bidwell to see how it fits your first PQQ.
