GovData Docs

Procurement API Reference

Search UK Find a Tender and Contracts Finder releases for sourcing, market analysis, and supplier due diligence.

Base URL: https://api.govdata.dev/v1

Search notices

GET /v1/procurement/notices returns paginated OCDS releases. Use buyer prefixes and CPV codes to identify opportunities, or supplier numbers to inspect awards.

GET /v1/procurement/notices

Parameters

Name Type Required Default Description
source string No — Source discriminator: fts or contracts_finder.
buyer_name string No — Case-insensitive buyer-name prefix.
cpv_code string No — Exact CPV code.
tag string No — OCDS 1.1 release tag.
notice_type string No — FTS type such as UK4 or UK7.
value_min decimal No — Inclusive minimum in the published currency.
value_max decimal No — Inclusive maximum in the published currency.
date_from date No — Inclusive release date, YYYY-MM-DD.
date_to date No — Inclusive release date, YYYY-MM-DD.
supplier_company_number string No — Exact GB Companies House number.
page integer No 1 One-based page.
per_page integer No 25 Results per page, maximum 100. 
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" "https://api.govdata.dev/v1/procurement/notices?source=fts&buyer_name=Buckinghamshire%20New%20University&cpv_code=71200000&tag=award&per_page=1"

Production response

{"data":[{"ocid":"ocds-h6vhtk-06de7f","release_id":"075023-2026","source":"fts","release_date":"2026-08-06T23:03:55.000Z","tags":["award","contract"],"notice_type":"UK6","title":"Architectural Services - RIBA Stages 3-6","description":"Buckinghamshire New University (\"the University\") intends to directly award a contract for the provision of architectural services to undertake RIBA Stages 3-6 design development for retrofit of the former Uxbridge Central Library.\nThe appointment follows the Supplier's previous delivery of RIBA Stage 1 Building Appraisal & Stage 2 Engagement, Consultation and Concept Design services. The University requires the further input of a multi disciplinary architecture firm for RIBA Stage 3 Developed Design and Tender Documentation and subsequent stages 4-6.","buyer":{"name":"Buckinghamshire New University","identifier":"GB-PPON-PZTZ-8956-MMQT"},"value":{"amount":375000.0,"currency":"GBP"},"cpv_codes":[{"code":"71200000","description":"Architectural and related services"}],"tender_period":{"start":null,"end":null},"procedure_type":"Direct award","awards":[{"id":"1","title":"Architectural Services - RIBA Stages 3-6","status":"pending","value":{"amount":375000.0,"currency":"GBP"},"suppliers":[{"name":"RUFFARCHITECTS LIMITED","company_number":"08951903"}]}],"source_url":"https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/075023-2026"}],"meta":{"api_version":"v1","licence":"Open Government Licence v3.0","dataset_total":158349,"latest_release_date":"2026-08-20T10:58:08.000Z","sources":{"fts":{"name":"Find a Tender OCDS releases","url":"https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/api/1.0/ocdsReleasePackages"},"contracts_finder":{"name":"Contracts Finder OCDS releases","url":"https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Published/Notices/OCDS/Search"}}},"pagination":{"total":2,"page":1,"per_page":1,"total_pages":2}}

A release can have several tags and awards. Amounts are decimal major currency units; the adjacent currency is authoritative.

Show latest release by OCID

GET /v1/procurement/notices/:ocid returns the newest release for a contracting process, useful for current process status and award review.

GET /v1/procurement/notices/:ocid

Parameters

Name Type Required Default Description
ocid string Yes — Open Contracting process identifier in the URL path.
source string No — Optional source discriminator: fts or contracts_finder. 
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" "https://api.govdata.dev/v1/procurement/notices/ocds-h6vhtk-06de7f"

Response

{"data":{"ocid":"ocds-h6vhtk-06de7f","release_id":"075023-2026","source":"fts","release_date":"2026-08-06T23:03:55.000Z","tags":["award","contract"],"notice_type":"UK6","title":"Architectural Services - RIBA Stages 3-6","description":"Buckinghamshire New University (\"the University\") intends to directly award a contract for the provision of architectural services to undertake RIBA Stages 3-6 design development for retrofit of the former Uxbridge Central Library.\nThe appointment follows the Supplier's previous delivery of RIBA Stage 1 Building Appraisal & Stage 2 Engagement, Consultation and Concept Design services. The University requires the further input of a multi disciplinary architecture firm for RIBA Stage 3 Developed Design and Tender Documentation and subsequent stages 4-6.","buyer":{"name":"Buckinghamshire New University","identifier":"GB-PPON-PZTZ-8956-MMQT"},"value":{"amount":375000.0,"currency":"GBP"},"cpv_codes":[{"code":"71200000","description":"Architectural and related services"}],"tender_period":{"start":null,"end":null},"procedure_type":"Direct award","awards":[{"id":"1","title":"Architectural Services - RIBA Stages 3-6","status":"pending","value":{"amount":375000.0,"currency":"GBP"},"suppliers":[{"name":"RUFFARCHITECTS LIMITED","company_number":"08951903"}]}],"source_url":"https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/075023-2026"},"meta":{"api_version":"v1","licence":"Open Government Licence v3.0","dataset_total":158349,"latest_release_date":"2026-08-20T10:58:08.000Z","sources":{"fts":{"name":"Find a Tender OCDS releases","url":"https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/api/1.0/ocdsReleasePackages"},"contracts_finder":{"name":"Contracts Finder OCDS releases","url":"https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Published/Notices/OCDS/Search"}}}}

When an OCID has multiple releases, this endpoint returns the newest by release date and release ID. Use source to disambiguate an OCID present in both feeds.

Errors

{"error":{"code":"invalid_parameter","message":"Dates must be YYYY-MM-DD and values must be non-negative numbers with valid ranges.","documentation_url":"https://docs.govdata.dev/errors/invalid_parameter"}}
{"error":{"code":"not_found","message":"No procurement notice found for ocid missing.","documentation_url":"https://docs.govdata.dev/errors/not_found"}}

Malformed dates, negative values, and reversed ranges return 400. Unknown OCIDs return 404. No request body is accepted, so 422 is not applicable.

Data notes

Coverage and cadence: Both sources receive a 12-month initial load in month-sized checkpoints, then sync daily. The checked-in real-data fixtures contain 121 FTS and 100 Contracts Finder releases. Live volume measurements and their exact windows are recorded below so fixture size is not confused with production coverage.

Source split: fts is the statutory UK Find a Tender service, principally covering higher-value regulated procurement. contracts_finder complements it with England-focused lower-value opportunities and awards; overlap is possible and records remain source-discriminated.

Contracts Finder API: The canonical route is /Published/Notices/OCDS/Search. It uses publishedFrom/publishedTo, a 1–100 limit, and an opaque cursor returned in links.next. The package declares OGL v3. Its documentation specifies HTTP 403 without a Retry-After header when throttled and instructs clients to wait five minutes. Production spaces CF pages by 3.1 seconds and honours that five-minute cooldown, bounded to five retries.

Measured backfill volume: meta.dataset_total counts releases across both source corpora (158,349 on 20 August 2026), while pagination.total counts the current query scope (155,939 for the unfiltered request captured that day). The adjudicated exact production count was approximately 154,615 when checked on 12 August and has since grown with daily releases. Use the supported date_from/date_to filters and the release_date response field for dated checks.

Licence: Open Government Licence v3.0, with Cabinet Office/Find a Tender attribution.

Caveats: missing values remain null; non-GBP currencies are not converted; supplier company links exist only for published GB-COH identifiers. Multiple releases can share an OCID, and search returns releases rather than compiled processes.