Qualification requirements are minimum requirements for suppliers, such as finances, experience and authorisations. If you fail one, you must be rejected.
In Norwegian: Kvalifikasjonskrav
Definition
Qualification requirements (kvalifikasjonskrav) are minimum requirements the contracting authority sets for you as a supplier, to make sure you can perform the contract. The directive calls them selection criteria. They may concern, for example, turnover and financial strength, experience from similar contracts, staffing, certifications or authorisations. The requirements concern the supplier, not the tender. If you do not meet a qualification requirement, the contracting authority must reject you (§ 9-5 and § 24-2 of the Public Procurement Regulations (anskaffelsesforskriften); the § references on this page are to the Regulations). The contracting authority has no duty to set qualification requirements, but if it sets them, they must be met.
Three types of requirement must be kept apart. The qualification requirements decide whether you are qualified to deliver. The requirements in the technical specifications concern what is to be delivered, and a tender with material deviations from them must be rejected (§ 9-6 and § 24-8). The award criteria decide how good the tender is, and give points instead of pass or fail. The rules differ between the parts of the Regulations. In competitions under Part III, which applies at or above the EEA thresholds for supply, service and works contracts, qualification and award are two separate assessments. Experience and competence can then give points only where they concern the staff who will perform the contract, and the quality of those staff has a significant impact (§ 18-1 (3) letter b; DFØ (the Norwegian Agency for Public and Financial Management)). In competitions under Part II, from NOK 1.3 million up to the EEA thresholds (except health and social services), and for special services (særlige tjenester) from NOK 1.3 million with no upper limit, the same topic may be used both as a qualification requirement and as an award criterion, if it is linked to what is to be delivered (§ 5-1 and § 8-11 (3)).
In competitions under Part III, qualification requirements may only concern registration and authorisations, economic and financial standing, and technical and professional ability. They must be related and proportionate to what is to be delivered, and must be stated in the contract notice together with the documentation requirements (§ 16-1). The documentation the contracting authority may require is also regulated: for technical and professional ability, the contracting authority may only require the documents listed in § 16-6, while the list for economic and financial standing in § 16-4 is only examples (§ 16-1 (2); DFØ). A requirement for annual turnover must not be higher than twice the estimated value of the contract, unless the contracting authority has objective grounds and states them in the procurement documents (§ 16-3). The contracting authority may ask for a list of contracts from the last three years for supplies and services and the last five years for works, and may accept older ones where needed to ensure competition (§ 16-6).
In Part II the limits are wider. The contracting authority may set requirements for, among other things, finances and professional qualifications, as long as the requirements are related and proportionate to what is to be delivered and are relevant. The requirements and the documentation requirements must be stated in the procurement documents (§ 8-7). From NOK 500,000 up to NOK 1.3 million (Part I), the Regulations have no rules of their own on qualification requirements, but the contracting authority must follow the requirements it has set itself (DFØ). Health and social services follow only Part I below NOK 8.7 million. At or above NOK 8.7 million they follow Part IV, where the contracting authority may take the special features of the service into account also when setting qualification requirements, for example the users' need for continuity, competence and experience (§ 30-1 (3)).
Why it matters for suppliers
As a starting point, the requirements must be met at the tender deadline, unless the tender documents say otherwise. In a restricted procedure, qualification is assessed earlier, when the contracting authority selects who may submit a tender. Practice from KOFA (the Complaints Board for Public Procurement) and the courts suggests that a requirement that was not met then cannot be met later. What you may be allowed to do is submit documentation afterwards showing that the requirement was already met. The details are in the questions below. Advice: check the qualification requirements first, so that certifications, references and agreements with partners are in place before you submit.
In competitions under Part III, you submit the European Single Procurement Document (ESPD) with your tender or your request to participate. The form is preliminary confirmation that you meet the qualification requirements and any criteria for limiting the number of candidates (utvelgelseskriterier), and that there are no grounds for rejecting you, which the directive calls exclusion grounds (§ 17-1). You answer the qualification requirements in Part IV of the ESPD (DFØ). The contracting authority may ask for the documentation at any time during the competition if that is needed to conduct the competition properly, and before the contract is awarded it must require the selected supplier to submit up-to-date documentation without delay. The latter does not apply when a contract is awarded under a framework agreement without a renewed competition. In Part II, the contracting authority may require a self-declaration, either the ESPD or a form of its own (§ 8-10; DFØ). Advice: have the documentation ready before you confirm in the form that you meet the requirements.
In competitions under Part III, if you lack the turnover or experience yourself, you may rely on other companies, for example a parent company, a sister company or a subcontractor, or submit a tender jointly with others as a group (§ 16-10 and § 16-11). You must show that you actually have the resources at your disposal, and the other company must itself meet the relevant requirements. If you rely on others' education, professional qualifications or experience, they must perform that part of the work. If you rely on others' finances, the contracting authority may require you to be jointly liable. In Part II this is not regulated in the Regulations, but KOFA has found that relying on others is possible there too. What you must state in the ESPD is set out in the questions below.
Legal basis
Public Procurement Regulations (anskaffelsesforskriften) § 5-1, § 8-7, § 8-10, § 8-11, § 9-5, § 9-6, § 16-1 to § 16-12, § 17-1, § 18-1, § 23-1, § 23-5, § 24-2, § 24-8 and § 30-1
Example
A municipality advertises an open procedure for IT operations with an estimated value of NOK 6 million. That is above NOK 2.5 million, so Part III applies. The qualification requirements are an annual turnover of at least NOK 8 million and three reference contracts from the last three years. The turnover requirement is within the limit of twice the estimated value.
Your company has a turnover of NOK 10 million, but only two references. You rely on a sister company that has a third relevant contract, state this in Part II of the ESPD, attach the sister company's own ESPD and a written commitment (forpliktelseserklæring), and the sister company will perform the part of the operations the experience relates to.
You are selected, and the municipality asks you to submit your annual accounts and list of references without delay. The list lacks the value of one of the contracts. The municipality may ask you to supplement the list, because the contract was performed before the tender deadline. What the municipality may not do is let you obtain a new reference after the deadline.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between qualification requirements and award criteria?
Qualification requirements concern you as a supplier and are pass or fail: if you do not meet them, you must be rejected. Award criteria concern the tender and give points, and the best tender wins. Meeting the qualification requirements by a wide margin does not in itself give you more points. In competitions under Part III, the contracting authority cannot give points for the supplier's general experience, only for the experience and competence of the staff who will perform the contract, where it has a significant impact (§ 18-1 (3) letter b; DFØ). The same documentation, for example CVs, may be used in both assessments if what is assessed is different (§ 16-6 (5)). In competitions under Part II, the same topic may be used in both places (§ 8-11 (3)).
When must the qualification requirements be met?
As a starting point at the tender deadline, unless the tender documents say otherwise (DFØ). In a restricted procedure, qualification is assessed earlier, when the contracting authority selects who may submit a tender. The contracting authority must also check qualification before the contract is awarded, and in an open procedure it may evaluate the tenders first (§ 23-1). In grand board case 2020/515, an open national tender competition (tilbudskonkurranse) under Part II, KOFA found that dialogue after the deadline cannot be used to meet a requirement that was not met when the tender deadline expired. Eidsivating Court of Appeal reached the same result in the same case (LE-2022-19926). DFØ gives the same starting point, that the requirement must be met at the time of the tender, for competitions under Part III too.
Can I submit documentation for qualification requirements after the deadline?
The contracting authority may ask you to, but as a main rule has no duty to. The principle of equal treatment may in some cases mean that the contracting authority must, for example when the lack of clarity comes from the tender documents, and if the contracting authority has let one supplier correct an error, the others must be given the same opportunity (DFØ). In competitions under Part III, the contracting authority may ask you in writing to submit, supplement, clarify or complete information and documentation within a short time limit, as long as the tender is not improved (§ 23-5). It must concern matters that objectively existed before the tender deadline (Court of Justice of the EU, case C-336/12 Manova; DFØ). At the qualification stage, the scope for this is wide (DFØ). Even so, in case 2022/1593 KOFA found that documentation could not be obtained when neither the tender nor the ESPD contained anything showing that the requirement was met. In Part II, the contracting authority may have a dialogue with you about the documentation (§ 9-3), but there too a requirement that was not met at the deadline cannot be met later (DFØ). If the documentation is missing, the contracting authority has the right, but not the duty, to reject. The duty applies when the requirement itself is not met (DFØ).
Can I rely on other companies to meet the requirements?
Yes. In competitions under Part III, this applies to requirements for economic and financial standing and for technical and professional ability, whatever the links between you (§ 16-10). Requirements for registration and authorisations cannot be met this way; KOFA found so in case 2022/549. You must show that you have the resources at your disposal, for example with a written commitment, and the other company must meet the relevant requirements, have no grounds for rejection and submit its own ESPD (§ 17-1 (6)). State in your ESPD that you rely on others. In LE-2021-130025, Eidsivating Court of Appeal found that a written commitment could not be submitted afterwards when the original tender did not show that the supplier intended to rely on the other company. In Part II, relying on others is not in the Regulations, but KOFA has found that it is possible there too, as long as you can show that you have the capacity at your disposal (DFØ).
What do I do if a qualification requirement is unclear or seems too strict?
Ask the contracting authority before the deadline for questions. A qualification requirement is interpreted objectively, by how a reasonably well-informed and normally diligent supplier understands it. In HR-2022-1964-A (Flage Maskin), the Supreme Court of Norway found that some requirements are inevitably discretionary, and that the contracting authority then has room for judgement within the limits the requirement sets (DFØ). A requirement that is not linked to what is to be delivered, or not proportionate to it, may be unlawful, and the same applies to requirements that favour local suppliers without the contract calling for it (DFØ). If you believe a requirement is unlawful, you can ask the contracting authority to change it, and otherwise complain to KOFA or bring the case before the district court (tingretten); see the page on 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.
In Tendline
Tendline puts every qualification requirement in a requirements matrix, so you see what is missing before we write →Sources
- Lovdata: Public Procurement Regulations (anskaffelsesforskriften), § 5-1, § 8-7, § 8-10, § 8-11, § 9-5, § 9-6, § 16-1 to § 16-12, § 17-1, § 18-1, § 23-1, § 23-5, § 24-2, § 24-8 and § 30-1 (Norwegian)
- DFØ: Guide to the Public Procurement Regulations, chapter 22 Qualification requirements and documentation requirements (Norwegian)
- DFØ: Guide to the Public Procurement Regulations, chapter 25 The European Single Procurement Document (ESPD) (Norwegian)
- DFØ: Guide to the Public Procurement Regulations, chapter 34 Submitting and clarifying documentation afterwards (Norwegian)
- DFØ: Guide to the Public Procurement Regulations, chapter 11 Planning and advertising, on Part II (Norwegian)
- DFØ: Guide to the Public Procurement Regulations, chapter 12 Conducting the competition, on Part II (Norwegian)
- EUR-Lex: Directive 2014/24/EU on public procurement, Articles 56, 58, 59, 63, 65 and 67 (English terminology)
Last checked against the sources: 14 October 2026