Selection Questionnaire Procurement Act 2023: 7 SME Steps

By Aoba Works · Published October 19, 2026 · 9 min read

How this guide was made: drafted with AI assistance from the official sources linked below, then passed an automated editorial check before publishing. Our process

Under the Procurement Act 2023, which came into force on 24 February 2025, the Standard Selection Questionnaire (SQ) has been replaced by the Procurement Specific Questionnaire (PSQ). Most of your company details now sit on the free Central Digital Platform (Find a Tender). The PSQ itself covers only the parts that change from one tender to the next: exclusion grounds, associated subcontractors and the buyer's "conditions of participation". To get ready, register once on Find a Tender, fill in your supplier information, create a share code for each bid, and then answer the PSQ questions for that specific contract.

Which option is right for you?

Begin wherever your current situation fits. This table shows the first move for each case.

Here's why each pick makes sense. Registration comes first because every PSQ asks you to confirm it. Sole traders and charities can register because the platform accepts a Charity Commission number or issues a unique identifier if you have no registration number. Wales has its own WPSQ variant.

What actually changed from the old SQ

The main change is where your answers live. Under the old rules you filled in a long SQ for every tender. Now your standing information is held centrally, and the PSQ only collects what is specific to each contract.

The government's e-learning says the information formerly collected in the SQ now comes from "the Supplier Information System on the central digital platform", plus separate conditions of participation. Find a Tender is free to use, and if you used it before the Act you need to register again.

Other changes that matter to small suppliers:

• The Act gives SMEs legal protections. A buyer may not require audited annual accounts unless you are legally required to have them audited under Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. It also cannot require contract insurance to be in place before award. Companies that qualify as small can claim exemption from audit under section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 (see GOV.UK's audit exemption guidance for the current conditions), so this removes a common blocker for many small firms.
• Buyers must accept equivalents. A buyer cannot insist on a particular qualification without allowing equivalents. It also cannot require you to have held a contract with that specific authority before.
• Conditions must be proportionate. Buyers must consider the "nature, complexity and cost" of the contract. They also must have regard to the barriers SMEs face.
• Exclusions are checked first. Authorities assess exclusion grounds "as the first step", before they evaluate tenders.

How the PSQ is structured

The PSQ is usually split into three parts. Buyers adapt the numbering, so always read the version in your tender pack. In the common layout:

• Part 1: you confirm that you have registered on the platform and shared your core supplier information.
• Part 2: covers associated persons and their exclusion information, and your intended subcontractors (Tussell).
• Part 3: covers the conditions of participation, such as financial standing, insurance commitments and contract examples. Central government buyers may add extra questions (Executive Compass).

Strictly speaking the PSQ is a template, not a legal requirement. However, central government and many other bodies use it for above-threshold contracts. Below-threshold buyers may ask for some or all of it.

Conditions of participation vs exclusion grounds

These two tests ask different questions. Conditions of participation ask whether you can do the job. Exclusion grounds ask whether something in your past makes you unsafe to hire.

Mandatory vs discretionary grounds

A mandatory ground makes you an "excluded supplier". A discretionary ground makes you "excludable", which means the buyer decides. According to the official exclusions guidance, mandatory grounds include fraud, corporate manslaughter, labour trafficking, tax evasion and criminal cartels. Discretionary grounds include insolvency, professional misconduct, breach of contract, poor performance and environmental convictions.

The guidance also says this: you only become excluded or excludable if the circumstances are continuing or likely to occur again. You must also be given a reasonable opportunity to make representations. That is why self-cleaning evidence matters. Buyers also check the central debarment list, which is set up under section 62 of the Act; debarment investigations are handled by the Procurement Review Unit.

How to answer the new-style questionnaire: 7 steps

You do steps 1 to 3 once and then keep them up to date. You repeat steps 4 to 7 for every tender.

1. Create your sign-in. Go to Find a Tender and select "Create your Gov.UK One Login". Use your work email, enter the 6-digit security code, set a password, choose text or an authenticator app, then accept the privacy policy (GOV.UK).
2. Register your organisation. Select "Register an organisation" and choose "Supplier". Enter your Companies House number, Charity Commission number or equivalent. Then add your registered name, a shared organisational email and your registered address.
3. Complete your supplier information. Click "Complete Supplier Information" and work through the six sections: Basic Information, Connected Persons, Qualifications, Trade Assurances, Exclusions, Financial Information. GOV.UK suggests having two years of accounts and details of connected parties ready.
4. Create a share code for the tender. Select "Share my information", then "Create a share code", fill in the declaration (name, job title, work email, postal address) and click "Confirm and get share code". Enter the code in PSQ Part 1. If the buyer prefers a file, you can download your supplier information instead.
5. Declare associated persons and subcontractors. List everyone you rely on to meet a condition of participation, plus any intended subcontractors the buyer asks about. If one of them triggers an exclusion ground, you must be given the chance to replace them. Connected persons such as directors and parent companies cannot be swapped out.
6. Answer each condition of participation with evidence. Match every answer to the exact threshold in the tender documents. For example, if the buyer asks for annual turnover of twice the contract value and you are short, offer a parent company guarantee or a consortium partner, which section 22(8)–(9) allows. For insurance, confirm you will have the cover by contract start. You do not need it before award.
7. Check before you submit. Read every pass/fail question twice. Confirm your share code is the latest one, and make sure any information you've updated on the platform since your last bid is reflected.

Common mistakes and fixes

• Mistake: buying insurance early "to be safe". Fix: the Act means the buyer can only require cover to be in place after award. Get a quote now and buy the cover once you win.
• Mistake: answering "no audited accounts" as a fail. Fix: if your company is audit-exempt, say so and offer management accounts or a bank reference instead. If a PSQ demands audited accounts, raise a clarification question citing section 22(3)(a).
• Mistake: hiding an old issue. Fix: check the date first, because events over five years old don't count. For anything more recent, disclose it and attach evidence of the steps you've taken. Future promises must be SMART, because the guidance says commitments alone are not enough.
• Mistake: stale platform data. Fix: update Connected Persons and Financial Information whenever directors or year-end figures change, then create a new share code.
• Mistake: copying old SQ answers word for word. Fix: rewrite the case studies so they meet this buyer's technical condition, such as similar scale, sector or service.

Answering exclusion questions honestly

Answer every exclusion question truthfully and support it with evidence. The guidance says "it is for the supplier to demonstrate it has self-cleaned", to the buyer's satisfaction.

Useful self-cleaning evidence usually covers four things:

• how serious the event was;
• what has already changed, for example new controls, staff training or removing the people involved;
• dated future commitments;
• how much time has passed.

For example, a small contractor whose earlier contract was terminated for late delivery could show its new project-scheduling process, the date it started, and on-time delivery on later jobs. It's an illustration only. What counts as enough is up to the buyer.

If you think a debarment decision about you is wrong, the Procurement Review Unit runs a Debarment Review Service. For competition-law exclusions specifically, the CMA has published supplier guidance.

Next steps

You can do the core setup yourself at no cost. How long it takes depends mainly on how quickly you can gather your accounts, director details and certificates.

Do today:

1. Register on Find a Tender using the GOV.UK three-step guide. Registration costs nothing.
2. Gather your last two years of accounts, the names of your directors or trustees, and your certificates, then fill in all six supplier information sections.
3. Download the PSQ template from Procurement Pathway and draft three short contract examples you can adapt for each bid.

If you'd rather not do it yourself:

• Free official training. The government's Procurement Act e-learning (Module 6: Supplier selection) suits beginners who want to understand the rules. It won't write your answers for you.
• Paid bid writer or reviewer. One UK consultancy lists SQ/PQQ support at £500–£2,500 and bid reviews at £400–£950 (as of October 2026; check the official page). This can make sense if you bid often or have a large contract at stake. It is poor value for a single small below-threshold quote. A writer also can't fix a missing capability, and you are still legally responsible for every declaration.

Related guides on this site: this is the first guide published on Standstill UK Tenders, so there are no related guides to link to yet.

FAQ

Is the selection questionnaire still used under the Procurement Act 2023?

Not in its old form. The Standard SQ has been replaced by the PSQ. Your core details now come from the Central Digital Platform through a share code.

Do I need to register on the Central Digital Platform to bid?

For tenders run under the Act, yes. PSQ Part 1 asks you to confirm your registration and share your information. Registering on Find a Tender is free.

Can a sole trader complete the PSQ?

Yes. If you have no Companies House or Charity Commission number, the platform generates a unique identifier for you. A buyer also cannot demand audited accounts from you if you aren't legally required to have them.

How far back do exclusion grounds go?

Five years. Events older than that cannot trigger exclusion. More recent events only lead to exclusion if the circumstances are continuing or likely to happen again.

Is the PSQ used for contracts below threshold?

Not always. Some below-threshold buyers still ask for it, so keep your platform profile current either way.

Sources

• Procurement Act 2023, section 22 – legislation.gov.uk
• Procurement Act 2023, section 12 – legislation.gov.uk
• Procurement Act 2023, section 62 – legislation.gov.uk
• Companies Act 2006, section 477 – legislation.gov.uk
• Audit exemptions for private limited companies – GOV.UK
• The Procurement Act 2023: a short guide for suppliers – GOV.UK
• Suppliers: how to register on Find a Tender in three steps – GOV.UK
• Module 6: Supplier selection – GOV.UK e-learning
• (PA 2023) Procurement Specific Questionnaire – Procurement Pathway
• Procurement Act 2023 guidance: exclusions – GOV.WALES
• WPPN 002: Wales Procurement Specific Questionnaire – GOV.WALES
• Exclusion and debarment on competition grounds – CMA blog
• The PSQ explained – Tussell
• Decoding the PSQ – Executive Compass
• Exclusion grounds guidance – Ward Hadaway
• Bid writing fee guide 2026–2027 – Tsaks Consulting
• Find a Tender

Spotted something out of date or wrong? Tell us at shigoto.ai.note@gmail.com. Guides are re-checked against official sources on a rolling schedule.