The invitation procedure: contracts without a public tender

What the invitation procedure is

The contracting authority decides which bidders it invites to submit a bid, without a public tender. It prepares tender documents for this and obtains at least three bids where possible. The rule is the same for the Confederation and for cantons and municipalities under the IAPP 2019 (PPA Art. 20 para. 2; IAPP Art. 20 para. 2). For the Confederation, it also invites at least one bidder from another language region of Switzerland if this is possible and reasonable (PPO Art. 5).

The procedure does not have to be announced: the duty to publish on simap.ch applies to the open and selective procedures (PPA Art. 48 para. 1; IAPP Art. 48 para. 1). As a rule, you therefore only learn of a running invitation procedure if you are invited.

Which contracts it covers

The invitation procedure applies to contracts outside the scope of international treaties, according to their value (PPA Art. 20 para. 1; IAPP Art. 20 para. 1). Below the lower value, the contracting authority may make a direct award; from the upper value, the open or selective procedure applies. The law of the canton concerned prevails; more, also on other federal contracting authorities, in the guide “Thresholds and procedures”.

• Federal administration, values for 2026 and 2027: supplies and services from CHF 150,000 to under CHF 230,000, construction works from CHF 300,000 to under CHF 2 million (PPA Annex 4 no. 2).
• Cantons and municipalities, under the IAPP 2019 for the cantons that have joined it: supplies, services and ancillary construction trades from CHF 150,000 to under CHF 250,000, main construction trades from CHF 300,000 to under CHF 500,000 (IAPP Annex 2).

No right to an invitation

Who gets invited is at the discretion of the contracting authority. The Federal Supreme Court has held for the IAPP that there is no legal right to be included in the invitation procedure; a bidder that was not invited cannot appeal against not being invited (BGE 152 II 325 consid. 3.2.2). For the Confederation, the dispatch on the PPA says the same, and also that bidders not invited cannot appeal against the award (BBl 2017 1851, p. 1979).

Procedural principles such as objectivity and equal treatment still apply (PPA Art. 11; IAPP Art. 11). Some bodies have their own requirements: the canton of Schwyz asks its administration to alternate between equally suitable bidders (directive of the cantonal government of 23 August 2022, no. 4.3).

Lists of bidders

Neither the PPA nor the IAPP provides for a Swiss-wide list you can join to receive invitations. A contracting authority may, however, keep a list of qualified bidders; for cantons and municipalities, the competent authority may do so too (PPA Art. 28 para. 1; IAPP Art. 28 para. 1). The source of the list, the criteria and the conditions for inclusion must then be on simap.ch (PPA Art. 28 para. 2; IAPP Art. 28 para. 2).

Lists under other law can be tied to invitations too: in September 2026, Azienda Elettrica Ticinese put out to tender on simap.ch, in a selective procedure, a permanent list of fuel suppliers who may take part in simplified invitation procedures. According to the notice, the earlier agreement of 1994/2001 applies, not the IAPP 2019. Neither the PPA nor the IAPP mentions a right to an invitation for listed bidders.

How to make yourself known

There is no guarantee: those the contracting authority knows and considers suitable get invited. These steps are tips, not rules of law.

• Find the bodies that award contracts in your service. Published awards name the contracting authority and the winner; TEXFY shows them by service and canton. Look at awards from invitation procedures too: the PPA and the IAPP do not require them to be published, but simap.ch regularly shows such awards.
• Look at direct awards. The Confederation generally publishes them from the threshold of the open or selective procedure (PPA Art. 48 para. 1), cantons and municipalities for contracts within the scope of international treaties (IAPP Art. 48 para. 1).
• Read the federal contracts. Federal contracting authorities report at least once a year on their contracts from CHF 50,000, including the procedure (PPO Art. 27). You find the lists of the central federal administration in TEXFY under Federal contracts, with a filter by procedure, when you are signed in.
• Introduce yourself. Write briefly to the procurement office or the specialist department about what you offer, in which region and with which references, private ones included. Ask how it chooses bidders and whether it keeps a list.
• Bid in open procedures: the body gets to know you even without an award. Respond to every invitation: submit a bid or decline in good time.
• Be careful with preparatory work. A bidder that took part in preparing a procedure can be excluded if the advantage gained cannot be offset (PPA Art. 14 para. 1; IAPP Art. 14 para. 1).

If you are invited

The contracting authority contacts you directly and gives you the documents. The deadline is as a rule at least 20 days; for largely standardised services it can be cut to no less than 5 days (PPA Art. 46 para. 4; IAPP Art. 46 para. 4). For the Confederation, the contracting authority can do without eligibility criteria, because it chooses who takes part (guide to the invitation procedure of the Federal Office for Buildings and Logistics, version of 17 April 2025, chapter III.1). The participation conditions still apply (PPA Art. 26 para. 1; IAPP Art. 26 para. 1).

For cantons and municipalities, at least two representatives open the bids and keep a record, which you can inspect on request after the award at the latest (IAPP Art. 37). For the Confederation, the law mentions opening by two representatives only for the open and selective procedures (PPA Art. 37 para. 1). The law does not say whether a record is needed in the invitation procedure; the guide recommends one (chapter III.4).

Award and appeal

The contracting authority notifies the award by publication or individual notification (PPA Art. 51 para. 1; IAPP Art. 51 para. 1). For the Confederation, in the invitation procedure it is notified in writing to the participating bidders (dispatch on the PPA, BBl 2017 1851, p. 1969). If you first receive only an informal message, for example by e-mail, the 20-day appeal period does not run yet (PPA Art. 56 para. 1); you can then request a decision that can be appealed, within the period set in the message (guide, chapters III.6 and III.8).

For the Confederation, an appeal in the invitation procedure is only admissible for supplies and services, and outside the scope of international treaties it can only establish that a decision violates federal law (PPA Art. 52 paras. 1 and 2). For cantons and municipalities, it is admissible before the cantonal administrative court at least from the threshold of the invitation procedure (IAPP Art. 52 para. 1).

If you find a defect in the documents, for example in the weighting of the criteria, you cannot appeal against the invitation itself under the IAPP. You raise the defect in the appeal against the next decision that can be challenged, usually the award (BGE 152 II 325 consid. 3.3.2). This differs for a public tender (IAPP Art. 53 para. 2). Still, flag your concerns early and in writing: the Federal Supreme Court reserves the principle of good faith (consid. 1.1.3 and 3.4.2).