Procurement Act 2023 · Central Digital Platform
Central Digital Platform registration for care providers.
How to register on Find a Tender, find your unique identifier, create a share code and use it to bid for council and NHS care contracts. Written for domiciliary care, supported living and care homes.
Example only. Your PPON is on your organisation page under View.
How do care providers register on the Central Digital Platform?
Register free on Find a Tender, the government's Central Digital Platform, using a GOV.UK One Login. Add your organisation, complete your supplier information, accept the declaration and create a share code. The platform gives your organisation a unique identifier, called a PPON, and records your Companies House number with it. When you bid, you give the buyer your share code so they can see your up to date information without asking you for it again.
Your numbers
Three numbers. Three different jobs.
Most confusion about the platform comes from mixing these up. Here is what each one is, where to find it and when a buyer will ask for it.
Unique identifier (PPON)
Your organisation's Public Procurement Organisation Number. The platform gives you one when you register. Open your organisation's record and select View to see it.
When you need it: when a buyer asks for your unique identifier, including on smaller contracts since 1 April 2026.
How to find it on GOV.UKCompanies House number
Your company registration number. You enter it when you register so the platform can recognise your organisation. Charities can use their Charity Commission number instead.
When you need it: once, at registration. Make sure your name and address match Companies House exactly.
Share code
A code that points to one version of your supplier information. Buyers use it to see your answers, so you do not retype them for every tender.
When you need it: every time you bid. Change anything, and create a new one.
GOV.UK walkthroughBefore you start
Gather this first. Then it takes an afternoon, not a week.
Tick off what you already have. The platform asks for all of it, and most delays come from chasing a director's details or last year's accounts.
Step by step
How to register on the Central Digital Platform.
Five steps, in the order the platform asks for them. The screens are illustrations to show you what to expect, not the live service. Each step links to the official guide.
- Step 1
Create your GOV.UK One Login
Go to Find a Tender and select sign in. Create a GOV.UK One Login with your own work email, not a shared inbox. You then choose how to get security codes: a text message to your mobile, or an authenticator app. Text codes expire after 15 minutes. The first person to register your organisation becomes its Administrator.
Registered before 24 February 2025? Register again on the new service.Enter your email addressEmail addressmanager@yourcare.co.ukWe will send a 6 digit code to check it is yours.ContinueIllustration. The live service may look different.
- Step 2
Register your organisation as a supplier
Add your organisation and choose supplier. Enter your Companies House number, or your Charity Commission number if you are a charity. If you have neither, the platform gives you an identifier. Check your legal name and registered address match your Companies House record exactly.
One organisation, one record. If something is wrong, edit it rather than starting a second record.
Does your organisation have a Companies House number?YesCompanies House number12345678NoContinueIllustration. The live service may look different.
- Step 3
Complete your supplier information
This is the longest part. The platform splits it into six sections: basic information, connected persons, qualifications, trade assurances, exclusions and financial information. In law these make up four parts of core supplier information, because qualifications and trade assurances sit inside basic information.
Connected persons include people with significant control, directors and shadow directors, parent and subsidiary companies, predecessor companies, and anyone else with significant influence or control. Financial information covers your two most recent years in business.
Supplier informationBasic informationCompletedConnected personsCompletedQualificationsIn progressTrade assurancesNot startedExclusionsNot startedFinancial informationNot startedIllustration. The live service may look different.
- Step 4
Accept the declaration and get your share code
Read the declaration, then add the name, job title and work email of the person signing it, and your organisation's postal address. Confirm, and the platform creates your share code. You can also download your supplier information as a file, for buyers who ask for that instead.
An Administrator or Editor completes the declaration, so it should be a director or someone authorised to act for the business.
OfficialDeclarations and share codesDeclarationConfirm and get share codeNameSam TaylorJob titleDirectorYour share code•••• ••••Illustration. Your real share code appears in your account.
- Step 5
Use your share code when you bid
Tender portals ask for your share code near the start of the Procurement Specific Questionnaire. Many portals then fill in your platform answers for you and show them as read only. To change one, update your record on the platform, complete the declaration again and paste the new code.
Using a bid writer? Give them the code, or add them to your organisation as a Viewer so they can see it without changing anything.
OfficialHow buyers use the platformProcurement Specific QuestionnaireEnter your Central Digital Platform share code•••• ••••Organisation nameFrom the platformVAT numberFrom the platformConnected personsFrom the platformIllustration based on a typical tender portal.
Keeping it current
When to update your record. There is no yearly deadline, only "up to date".
The rules ask for up to date information when the tender closes, or before award for a direct award. If anything changes before the contract is awarded, you share it again. For a care provider, these are the usual triggers.
Does it apply to my contract?
Check in two taps. Council, NHS, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland.
Adult social care bought by a council falls under the Procurement Act, usually as a light touch contract. Register, complete all of your supplier information and share it with your share code before the tender closes, or before award for a direct award.
GOV.UK light touch guidanceKey dates
Six dates every care provider should know. Five of them landed in 2026.
The Procurement Act 2023
What changed for care contracts. The rules that sit behind the platform.
The Act replaced the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 for procurements starting on or after 24 February 2025. Procurements started before then carry on under the old rules, and older dynamic purchasing systems must close by 23 February 2029.
Three ways to buy
The open procedure, the competitive flexible procedure, and direct award where a legal ground applies. For care, that includes user choice, where the law requires regard to the person’s wishes.The Act, Part 3Light touch for care
Social care is a light touch service. Buyers have more freedom, there is no mandatory standstill period, and award criteria can reflect user choice and how close a service is to people.Light touch guidanceEverything on one platform
Tender, award, contract details and transparency notices are published on Find a Tender, so opportunities and outcomes are in one place.Platform and notices guidanceExclusions and debarment
Buyers check mandatory and discretionary exclusion grounds going back five years, and evidence of self-cleaning counts. The GOV.UK debarment list had no suppliers on it when we checked in November 2026.Debarment list and review service30 day payment, by law
For above-threshold public contracts, payment within 30 days of a valid invoice is written into the contract and into every public subcontract under it, so it protects you when you work under a lead provider.Sections 68 and 73 of the ActSmall contracts count now
Since 1 April 2026, when a council awards a contract from £30,000, or central government from £12,000, it publishes the winner’s unique identifier. Basic registration is enough.Regulation 36AProcurement Act thresholds from 1 January 2026
All values include VAT. They apply to procurements starting on or after 1 January 2026.
| Type of contract | Threshold | Change on 1 January 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Light touch services, including social care | £663,540 | Unchanged |
| Goods and services, councils and other sub-central bodies | £207,720 | Down from £214,904 |
| Goods and services, central government including NHS trusts | £135,018 | Down from £139,688 |
| Works | £5,193,000 | Down from £5,372,609 |
| Small contract notices, councils and other sub-central bodies | £30,000 | Winner’s identifier needed from 1 April 2026 |
| Small contract notices, central government including NHS trusts | £12,000 | Winner’s identifier needed from 1 April 2026 |
Sources: PPN 023, 2026 threshold amounts and below-threshold guidance. Central government includes NHS England, NHS trusts and NHS foundation trusts. ICBs use the £30,000 figure.
Common mistakes
Six ways providers lose time, or a contract.
Plain English
Words you will see in a tender pack.
- Central Digital Platform
- The government’s free online service for public procurement under the Procurement Act. Suppliers use it through Find a Tender.
- Find a Tender
- The GOV.UK website where you register, keep your supplier information and find published notices.
- PPON
- Public Procurement Organisation Number. Your organisation’s unique identifier on the platform.
- Share code
- A code that lets a buyer see one version of your supplier information. Create a new one after any change.
- Core supplier information
- The basic, financial, connected person and exclusion information set out in the Procurement Regulations 2024.
- Procurement Specific Questionnaire
- The standard questions many buyers use with the platform to check suppliers before looking at quality.
- Light touch contract
- A contract for certain services, including social care, that the Act lets buyers run with more flexible rules.
- Standstill period
- A pause of eight working days between announcing who won and signing the contract. It is not mandatory for light touch contracts.
- Transparency notice
- A notice a buyer publishes before making a direct award, so the market can see it.
- Dynamic market
- The Act’s replacement for a dynamic purchasing system: a list of suppliers that buyers can award contracts from.
- Provider Selection Regime
- Separate rules for NHS and public health care services in England. Social care is outside it.
- Debarment list
- A government list of suppliers that must or may be excluded from public contracts.
Watch it done · 6:47
See the whole process in under 7 minutes.
Our video walks you through registration step by step, from creating your One Login to using your share code in a tender.
Questions
Frequently asked questions.
Is registering on the Central Digital Platform free?
Yes. Find a Tender is free for suppliers and buyers, and you should never pay to register or to see opportunities. If someone charges you, they are charging for their help, not for the platform.
How long does Central Digital Platform registration take?
Creating your One Login and registering your organisation takes a few minutes; GOV.UK calls it a short five minute registration. Completing your supplier information takes longer, so gather your connected persons, accounts and qualifications first.
What is my Central Digital Platform unique identifier?
It is the number the platform uses for your organisation, called a PPON (Public Procurement Organisation Number). Open your organisation’s record on Find a Tender and select View to see it. Your Companies House number is recorded alongside it.
Is the share code the same as my PPON?
No. Your PPON identifies your organisation and stays the same. A share code points to one version of your supplier information, so you create a new one whenever your information changes.
Does a share code expire?
GOV.UK does not publish an expiry date. Each code is a snapshot, so create a new one after any change and always give buyers your newest code.
I registered on Find a Tender before 24 February 2025. Do I need to register again?
Yes. The Central Digital Platform launched on 24 February 2025. To get a unique identifier and share code, sign in with a GOV.UK One Login and add your organisation on the new service.
Do I need to register for small council contracts?
If you win a council contract worth £30,000 or more including VAT, or a central government contract from £12,000, the buyer must publish your unique identifier in its contract details notice. You only need basic registration for this, and it can happen after award. Wales has its own rule to the same effect, and Northern Ireland bodies are outside it.
Do NHS contracts need Central Digital Platform registration?
Health care services bought by ICBs, NHS trusts and council public health teams usually fall under the Provider Selection Regime, which does not require platform supplier information. Its notices still appear on Find a Tender, and commissioners can ask for information in their own process. Social care bought by councils falls under the Procurement Act.
Do I need audited accounts?
Only if your company had to have them audited. You give financial information for your two most recent years in business, and if your accounts did not need an audit, unaudited accounts are fine. Newer providers can give other financial information instead.
Who counts as a connected person?
People with significant control, directors and shadow directors, parent, subsidiary and predecessor companies, and anyone else with significant influence or control over your organisation. Sister companies are not connected persons unless they fall into one of those groups.
Can my bid writer use our share code?
Yes. You can give them the code, or add them to your organisation as a Viewer. Viewers can see and download your information and share code, but cannot change it or complete the declaration.
Did the light touch threshold change in January 2026?
No. Most thresholds fell on 1 January 2026, but the light touch threshold that covers social care stayed at £663,540 including VAT.
Does the Procurement Act apply in Scotland?
Not generally. Scottish public bodies follow the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015. The Act applies in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, with Welsh variations and some separate rules for Northern Ireland.
Bidding for a care contract?
Registered is step one. Winning is the rest.
Our tender team writes bids for domiciliary care, supported living and care home contracts. Send us your share code and we start from the information you have already given buyers.
How we checked this
Built on GOV.UK guidance and the law itself.
Prepared by the Care Sync Experts tender team and checked against GOV.UK guidance and legislation.gov.uk on 5 November 2026. Where we describe how tender portals behave, that comes from our own bid work, not from GOV.UK. We update this page when the rules or the platform change.
- GOV.UK: Central Digital Platform factsheet
- GOV.UK: Register your organisation in three steps
- GOV.UK: How to register and find your unique identifier
- GOV.UK: How an administrator completes supplier information
- GOV.UK: Central Digital Platform and publication of information
- GOV.UK: New legislative requirements under the Act
- GOV.UK: PPN 023, 2026 threshold amounts
- GOV.UK: Below-threshold contracts guidance
- GOV.UK: Light touch contracts guidance (PDF)
- GOV.UK: Transitional and saving arrangements
- GOV.UK: Exclusions guidance
- Legislation: Procurement Act 2023
- Legislation: Procurement Regulations 2024, regulation 6
- NHS England: Provider Selection Regime guidance
- Welsh Government: the Welsh Digital Platform
- Northern Ireland: PPON and share codes (Education Authority)