How are working days counted?

The planner skips Saturdays, Sundays and England and Wales bank holidays, and starts counting on the day after the notice is sent. Bank holidays are built in for 2026 and 2027 only. Confirm the count against the buyer's own dates and the official GOV.UK list, because a single day can matter.

Does every contract have a standstill?

No. A mandatory standstill is not expected for every route, for example direct awards and some below-threshold contracts, and framework call-offs depend on the framework and the way the call-off is run. Use the tick boxes to match your tender notice, and check the notice or ask the buyer if you are unsure.

What is the minimum tender period?

The planner deliberately does not state a number. Minimum periods depend on the procedure, the notice and whether the contract is above or below threshold, and the buyer must in any case allow enough time for suppliers to prepare tenders. The period that applies to you is in your tender documents and notice, so treat those as the source.

What can an unsuccessful supplier do during standstill?

A supplier who thinks the award was unlawful can start a claim in court. Doing so can trigger an automatic suspension, which stops the buyer signing the contract until the court decides or lifts the suspension. Time limits for claims are short, so anyone considering a challenge should take legal advice straight away. This planner is not legal advice.

What is a last safe day to submit?

It is your own internal target, the deadline minus a buffer you choose. Portals can be slow, uploads can fail and log-ins can lock, and buyers may refuse a late tender. A buffer of one working day is common. The default here is one calendar day, and you can change it in step 3.

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Tender deadline and standstill planner: work out every date, backwards and forwards

Enter your deadline to see your last safe day to submit, the standstill period, the earliest contract signature and when each bid task must happen.

Free, no sign-up Procurement Act 2023 standstill Nothing leaves your device

1. Dates

Notice or tender published

Submission deadline

Deadline time

Award decision notice date (optional)

2. Procedure

Above-threshold contracts awarded by competitive tendering are subject to a mandatory standstill period under section 51.

3. Your buffers

Clarification cut-off (days before deadline)

Safety buffer (days before deadline)

4. Bid tasks (working days, editable)

Kick-off and read the documents
Bid / no-bid decision
Raise clarification questions
First draft of all answers
Review and rework
Final sign-off
Submit on the portal

Time to deadline

Enter a deadline

Key dates timeline

Minimum tender period

This tool does not calculate one. The minimum depends on the procedure and the notice, and the buyer must allow enough time to prepare a tender. Check your tender documents. You have an unknown number of days from publication to deadline.

What the challenge window means

During standstill, an unsuccessful supplier can ask the court for an automatic suspension of the award by starting a claim, which stops the contract being signed until the court decides. If you win, this is why signing cannot happen earlier. If you lose, get legal advice quickly: the window is short.

Back-planner: when each task must happen

Tasks run on working days and finish before your last safe day to submit.

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How the tender timeline works under the Procurement Act 2023

A tender has two clocks. The first runs from publication to the submission deadline, and it is the one you control. The second starts when the buyer sends its contract award decision notice, and it ends when the standstill period does. Section 51 sets that standstill at a minimum of 8 working days.

Before the deadline

Minimum tender period. Not calculated here. It varies by procedure and notice, so check the tender documents.
Clarification cut-off. Buyers often stop answering questions some days before the deadline. The planner defaults to 10 days before, which you can edit. Use the date in your documents where it differs.
Last safe day to submit. Your deadline minus a buffer. Portal failures are the commonest way to lose a good bid.

After the deadline: standstill and signature

When the buyer picks a winner it sends a contract award decision notice and assessment summaries. The standstill then runs for at least 8 working days, skipping weekends and England and Wales bank holidays. The contract cannot be signed until it has ended. If an unsuccessful supplier starts a court claim in that time, it may trigger an automatic suspension, and signing waits for the court.

Not every route has a standstill, so the planner lets you switch it off for below-threshold contracts, direct awards and call-offs where your notice says so. If you are unsure, ask the buyer or take legal advice.

The back-planner

The task list works backwards from your last safe day to submit, in working days: sign-off, review, first draft, questions, bid or no-bid, and kick-off. Change any duration to fit your team. If the kick-off date is already in the past, the plan tells you. Once the schedule is tight, a faster first draft is the biggest saving, and our AI bid writing is built for that. The tender scoring calculator shows where the marks are worth chasing, and you can browse live UK tenders to find the next bid.

Sources: Procurement Act 2023, section 51; UK bank holidays (GOV.UK). This planner is indicative and is not legal advice. The buyer's notice and documents always win.

Deadline and standstill FAQs

What is the standstill period under the Procurement Act 2023?
It is a pause between the buyer telling suppliers who has won and the contract being signed. Section 51 sets a minimum of 8 working days, starting after the contract award decision notice and assessment summaries are sent. It gives unsuccessful suppliers time to review the decision and, if they wish, start a court challenge before the contract is entered into.
How are working days counted?
The planner skips Saturdays, Sundays and England and Wales bank holidays, and starts counting on the day after the notice is sent. Bank holidays are built in for 2026 and 2027 only. Confirm the count against the buyer's own dates and the official GOV.UK list, because a single day can matter.
Does every contract have a standstill?
No. A mandatory standstill is not expected for every route, for example direct awards and some below-threshold contracts, and framework call-offs depend on the framework and the way the call-off is run. Use the tick boxes to match your tender notice, and check the notice or ask the buyer if you are unsure.
What is the minimum tender period?
The planner deliberately does not state a number. Minimum periods depend on the procedure, the notice and whether the contract is above or below threshold, and the buyer must in any case allow enough time for suppliers to prepare tenders. The period that applies to you is in your tender documents and notice, so treat those as the source.
What can an unsuccessful supplier do during standstill?
A supplier who thinks the award was unlawful can start a claim in court. Doing so can trigger an automatic suspension, which stops the buyer signing the contract until the court decides or lifts the suspension. Time limits for claims are short, so anyone considering a challenge should take legal advice straight away. This planner is not legal advice.
What is a last safe day to submit?
It is your own internal target, the deadline minus a buffer you choose. Portals can be slow, uploads can fail and log-ins can lock, and buyers may refuse a late tender. A buffer of one working day is common. The default here is one calendar day, and you can change it in step 3.

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