What a PQQ actually is in 2026
A PQQ is a shortlisting tool. Before a client issues full tender documents, it checks whether you are financially stable, legally compliant, safe and experienced enough for the work. Most sections are scored pass or fail. Only a few carry marks.
In the public sector, the PQQ was formally replaced in 2016 by the Standard Selection Questionnaire (SQ). Since the Procurement Act 2023 came into force in February 2025, buyers assess suppliers against 'conditions of participation', and your core company information sits on the Central Digital Platform. Most people in the industry still call all of this the PQQ. Private clients and main contractors use their own versions, and they often base them on PAS 91 or the Build UK Common Assessment Standard.
What evaluators check, section by section
The questions are fairly predictable. Firms that fail usually do so because an answer is incomplete, out of date or doesn't match the evidence, not because they couldn't do the work.
- Financial standing: two or three years of filed accounts. A common rule of thumb is that your annual turnover should be at least twice the yearly contract value, though public buyers are told not to apply this too rigidly.
- Insurance: employer's liability is typically £5m to £10m, public liability £5m to £10m, and professional indemnity £1m to £5m if you carry design responsibility. Check the figure in the questionnaire, as it depends on the scope.
- Health and safety: your policy, your RIDDOR record and accident frequency rate over three years, CDM 2015 competence, and SSIP membership or a Common Assessment Standard certificate.
- Quality and environment: ISO 9001 and ISO 14001, or documented equivalent procedures. Many central government contracts also ask for a Carbon Reduction Plan.
- Technical capability: usually three relevant contracts from the last three to five years, with values, dates and a referee who will actually answer the phone.
- Mandatory and discretionary exclusions: past convictions, insolvency and poor performance. Under the new Act these are also checked against the debarment list.
Why capable firms fail
Most fails trace back to four problems. The first is a certificate that expired between drafting and submission. The second is a case study that doesn't match the sector or value being procured, such as a £400k fit-out offered as evidence for a £3m education framework. The third is a policy signed by a director who has since left. The fourth is an answer that says 'yes, we comply' but attaches no evidence.
Scored questions are usually marked 0 to 5 against published criteria. Evaluators score what is written down, not what they know about you. Vague answers that say 'we pride ourselves on quality' score poorly. Specific ones score well: name the project, the problem, what you did and the measured result.
Building a PQQ library that saves time
Firms that tender often keep a controlled library of approved answers, current certificates and case studies. It should be reviewed every quarter by a named person. That way a PQQ takes a day to adapt rather than a week to write from scratch.
Keep case studies consistent everywhere they appear. Evaluators and main contractors' supply chain teams regularly check your website, and it harms your credibility when a project listed in the submission is missing online, or the figures don't match. A projects page with values, sectors, clients and outcomes backs up what you submit.
It is also worth registering with Constructionline and holding an SSIP or Common Assessment Standard certificate. Many main contractors use these to filter their supply chain before any questionnaire is sent.