Reform of the UVgO: BMWE draft to accelerate procurement

On 1 July 2026, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE) published a draft for a revised UVgO. The reform is intended to accelerate, simplify and digitalise sub‑threshold procurement in the area of supply and service contracts and framework agreements. With the Act to Accelerate Public Procurement, which already entered into force on 1 July 2026, the Federal Government had taken the first step towards simplifying public procurement law and speeding up procurement procedures.

Overview: objectives od the UVgO reforms

The revision of the UVgO is intended to implement one of the stated objectives of the Federal Modernisation Agenda. This agenda provides for the revision of the UVgO, in cooperation with the Länder, by 31 December 2026. A central aspect of the published draft is the shortening and simplification of procurement procedures under the UVgO. This is already reflected in the considerable reduction in the number of provisions from 54 to 24. The focus of the draft is expressly on strengthening procedural efficiency (§ 3 para. 2 UVgO new version), without neglecting in particular the aspects of competition and transparency (§ 3 para. 1 UVgO new version). Several of the proposed amendments are modelled on the Act to Accelerate Public Procurement.

The reform introduces the following key changes:

Increase of threshold values for direct awards under § 2 UVGO new version

The threshold for direct awards will be raised from EUR 1,000 to EUR 50,000 (§ 2 para. 2 UVgO new version). For such procedures, in which a direct award is permissible, this substantially restricts transparency and competition. In order to at least partly offset this reduction in transparency, the draft provides for a post‑award notice for all contracts with a contract value of EUR 25,000 or more (§§ 2 para. 3 no. 4, 21 para. 1 sentence 1 UVgO new version).

Emergency procurement in crisis situations without thresholds

In addition, the draft introduces the possibility of a direct award in times of crisis (§ 2 para. 4 UVgO new version). Such crises include natural and environmental disasters, pandemics, specific threat situations or other emergencies. No threshold value is envisaged for such emergency procurement.

Digitalisation of procedures

Under the draft, procedures pursuant to the UVgO shall be conducted electronically (§ 4 para. 2 UVgO new version). This will be supported by the creation of the “Marktplatz Deutschland” and the “Datenservice öffentlicher Einkauf” (DÖE). The former is intended to be a yet to be established digital infrastructure platform which, through automated and AI supported functionalities, will simplify procurement procedures for contracting authorities. The “Datenservice öffentlicher Ein-kauf” is intended to collect contract notices and thus provide a central search function for economic operators. The BMWE expects that this will reduce the effort for economic operators and thereby foster competition.

Types of procedures under § 6 UVgO new version

The draft further provides for only four types of procedures (§ 6 para. 1 UVgO new version). These comprise the already known open procedure, negotiated procedure with prior call for competition and negotiated procedure without prior call for competition. In addition, the new type of public negotiated award has been introduced.

Reducing bureaucracy fort he contracting authorities

Finally, the procedural simplifications on the side of contracting authorities are intended to lead to a reduction in bureaucracy. In particular, the duty to document has been restricted so that only the “essential information and decisions” must be recorded (§ 5 para. 1 UVgO new version). The provisions on time limits have been considerably shortened; under the draft, they must in particular be “appropriate” (§ 13 para. 1 sentence 1 UVgO new version). With regard to framework agreements, the UVgO will additionally allow the circle of contracting authorities entitled to call‑off under the framework to be extended at a later stage (§ 8 para. 4 no. 2 UVgO new version). Furthermore, undertakings shall be required to submit evidence of suitability to a contracting authority only once. If such evidence of suitability has already been provided to that contracting authority within the previous two years in connection with a comparable contract, undertakings may refer the contracting authority to that previous evidence instead of submitting it again (§ 15 para. 2 UVgO new version). In the context of the digitalisation of procurement procedures, an exception to the four‑eyes principle for the opening of requests to participate and tenders will apply where a “revision‑proof electronic procurement system” is used (§ 18 para. 2 sentence 3 UVgO new version).

Procedural simplifications for undertakings

Moreover, various procedural simplifications and reductions in the length of procedures are envisaged. For example, the majority of information will no longer have to be included in the contract notice but only be set out in the procurement documents (§§ 10 para. 1, 12 UVgO new version). This is meant to provide potential tenderers with a concise overview of the contract in the contract notice. For communications, either text form or electronic form is envisaged, and communication by e‑mail is generally permitted (§ 13 para. 3 UVgO new version). Oral communication is also allowed with respect to “formal, procedural or organisational questions” (§ 13 para. 5 UVgO new version). Further procedural simplifications concern the submission of evidence of suitability, the use of quality marks, reliance on the capacities of other entities and the possibility of variant bids (§§ 10 para. 5, 15 paras. 1, 3, 5 UVgO new version).

Final Assessment and Outlook

This draft for a reform of the UVgO forms an integral part of the broader agenda to modernise public procurement law and is clearly driven by the objectives of acceleration, simplification and digitalisation of sub‑threshold procurement. The considerable increase in threshold values and the introduction of emergency procurement widen the scope of discretion for contracting authorities, while raising concerns regarding the preservation of competition and transparency. At the same time, the reduction of bureaucratic requirements, the electronic conduct of procedures and the numerous procedural simplifications for undertakings offer an opportunity to make procurement processes more practicable and economically efficient. Whether the draft will achieve these goals in practice will largely depend on how the Federal Government and the Länder implement the new provisions – and on any amendments that may result from the consultation process up to 28 August.