Award decision

Award decision (tildelingsbeslutning) is the word used in practice for the contracting authority's choice of who gets the contract, and for the message to the suppliers about that choice. The word does not appear in the Public Procurement Act (anskaffelsesloven) or the Public Procurement Regulations (anskaffelsesforskriften). The Regulations call the choice the decision on the choice of supplier (beslutningen om valg av leverandør) and the message the notification of the choice of supplier (meddelelse om valget av leverandør). The § references on this page are to the Regulations unless another act is named.

The rules on the notification are in Part II (§ 10-1), Part III (§ 25-1) and, for health and social services from NOK 8.7 million, Part IV (§ 30-8) of the Regulations. Part II covers contracts from NOK 1.3 million up to the EEA thresholds (except health and social services), and special services (særlige tjenester) from NOK 1.3 million with no upper limit; Part III covers supply, service and works contracts at or above the EEA thresholds. Before the contract is concluded, the contracting authority must notify the suppliers concerned of the choice, in writing and at the same time. The notification must give reasons and state the standstill period (karensperiode). The reasons must contain the name of the selected supplier and an explanation of the characteristics and relative advantages of the selected tender, in line with the award criteria. According to DFØ (the Norwegian Agency for Public and Financial Management), the notification must be given directly to each supplier, so publishing the reasons is not enough, and the contracting authority must state unambiguously when the standstill period ends, typically with a date and time.

The suppliers concerned are all who have submitted a tender, and according to DFØ this includes a supplier whose tender has been rejected. In a two-stage competition, those who have asked to take part are also concerned, unless they have been told that their request has been rejected or dismissed (§ 4-5 letter f).

In Part III and Part IV, the contracting authority may leave certain information out of the reasons where releasing it would impede law enforcement or otherwise be contrary to the public interest, harm the legitimate commercial interests of particular undertakings, or harm fair competition between suppliers. DFØ writes that these exceptions must be interpreted narrowly. Part II has no such rule, but the rules on confidentiality in the Public Administration Act (forvaltningsloven) apply in all procurements (§ 7-4).

In Part I, from NOK 500,000 up to NOK 1.3 million and for health and social services below NOK 8.7 million, the Regulations have no rule on notification of the choice of supplier. The contracting authority must still keep documentation sufficient to justify important decisions (§ 7-1 (1)), and according to DFØ it must give reasons for the choice of supplier in Part I too. According to DFØ, the reasons must make it possible to judge whether the award followed the rules of the competition, and their content must be proportionate to the value of the procurement.

The award decision is not the contract. In Parts II to IV, the contract is deemed concluded when both parties have signed it, and until then the contracting authority can reverse the choice if it breaches the Regulations. According to DFØ, the notification does not reject the other tenders either. They remain binding until the tender validity period (vedståelsesfrist) expires or the contract is signed.

Read the reasons against the award criteria in the tender documents, one criterion at a time. According to DFØ, they must be specific: they must show how the selected tender was assessed under each criterion, and briefly what set it apart from the others. Points alone are not enough, and neither is simply attaching a table of scores, DFØ writes. According to DFØ, KOFA (the Complaints Board for Public Procurement) has said several times that the scores show the result of the evaluation but not the reasons for it, and has criticised reasons that are too short or use general words without elaboration. DFØ also writes that the requirement is stricter the more discretionary a criterion is and the higher the value of the contract, but that brief reasons can be enough, and that the contracting authority can send the same reasons to everyone. Also check that the winner is named, that the criteria and weightings are the ones in the tender documents, and that you can see exactly when the standstill period ends.

Time is short. In Part III and Part IV, the standstill period is at least 10 days from the day after the notification was sent, or 15 days if the contracting authority has made an exception from electronic communication (§ 25-2 and § 30-9). In Part II, the contracting authority sets a reasonable standstill period (§ 10-2), but for special services above NOK 8.7 million, § 25-2 applies. According to DFØ, the standstill period runs even if you believe the reasons are inadequate. If the reasons are thin, you can ask for further explanation. The Regulations give you no right to it, but the contracting authority can provide it. According to DFØ, it is settled KOFA practice that it is the reasons in the notification that are assessed, not a later and fuller explanation. A good answer afterwards therefore does not change the assessment of whether the duty to give reasons was breached. At the same time, request access to the procurement record and the tenders, because once the choice has been made, the exemption for them in the Freedom of Information Act (offentleglova) no longer applies (§ 23 (3)). Information subject to a duty of confidentiality, such as business secrets, is still exempt (Freedom of Information Act § 13). If you find errors in the evaluation, you can ask the contracting authority to reverse the choice. How you can stop the contract is explained on the pages on the standstill period and KOFA. Since 1 July 2026, only undertakings established in Norway or another EEA state, or in a state that is party to the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA) or another agreement binding Norway, have rights under the Act and the Regulations, and the latter only to the extent that agreement gives them rights (Public Procurement Act § 3). Other undertakings may take part in competitions but cannot rely on those rights.

If you have won, you do not have the contract yet. The contracting authority can reverse the choice until both parties have signed, but only if the choice breaches the rules. According to DFØ, the contracting authority must then send a new notification with reasons and a new standstill period. Advice: read the reasons carefully even when you have won. They show what earned you points, and what a competitor can attack.

A municipality holds an open procedure for cleaning schools and kindergartens worth NOK 9 million, with price weighted at 40% and quality at 60%. The value is above NOK 2.5 million, which is the EEA threshold for municipalities, so Part III applies. The notification is sent on Thursday 5 November 2026 and states that the standstill period ends on Monday 16 November at 23:59. The reasons give the winner 9.2 points on quality and you 7.8, and say that the winner had the lowest price, but not what earned more points on quality. The same day, you request access to the procurement record and the winner's tender, and ask the municipality what set the tenders apart. The municipality replies that the winner offered permanent cleaners in each building and a more detailed start-up plan. The answer explains more, but according to DFØ it is settled KOFA practice that it is the reasons in the notification that are assessed if the case goes further. You use the days up to 16 November to assess whether quality was evaluated as the criterion said, and whether to ask the municipality to reverse the choice or to petition the district court for interim measures (midlertidig forføyning).