Procurement glossary · Writing and evaluation
Clarification questions
Questions a bidder submits to the contracting authority during a defined window, asking it to clarify the documents. Answers are normally published to all bidders anonymously. The window closes before the submission deadline, and after it you are interpreting the pack rather than confirming what it means.
Also called CQs, Supplier questions.
What it means in practice
The clarification deadline is the real first deadline on most procurements and it is the one suppliers miss. It typically sits one to three weeks before submission, and everything ambiguous has to be resolved inside it.
Answers go to every bidder, which makes suppliers reluctant to ask in case they reveal their thinking. That caution is usually misplaced. A question about scope, evidence requirements or a contradiction between documents reveals nothing, and the answer binds the authority. A question that genuinely would expose your approach is rare and you will recognise it.
Read the published answers to other bidders' questions carefully and repeatedly, including for procurements you are mid-way through writing. They frequently change the effective requirement, and a supplier who stops checking after submitting their own questions writes to a specification that has since moved.
Where suppliers get caught
Discovering the ambiguity after the clarification window has closed. It is almost always found while writing, which is after most suppliers have stopped thinking about clarifications. Read the whole pack properly in the first two days, specifically hunting for contradictions, and ask everything at once.
Common questions
Will other bidders see my clarification question?
Normally yes, anonymised, along with the answer. Authorities publish clarification logs to all bidders to keep the competition fair.
What happens if I spot a problem after the clarification deadline?
You interpret the documents and state your assumption in the response. That is weaker than a confirmed answer and it carries risk, which is the reason the window matters more than its position in the timetable suggests.
Related terms
If a tender in front of you turns on this, send us the documents and the deadline and we will tell you honestly whether it is worth bidding. Call 020 3668 5488, or read the rest of the UK procurement glossary.