CPV stands for Common Procurement Vocabulary. It is a single classification system used for public procurement in the EU, designed to standardize the terms used by contracting authorities to describe the subject of their contracts.

The Structure of a CPV Code

A CPV code consists of a main vocabulary of 8 digits, and a supplementary vocabulary for further qualitative details. The first two digits identify the general divisions (e.g., 72 for IT services), and subsequent digits provide increasing levels of specificity.

Why Accuracy Matters

Contracting authorities often choose codes that are too broad or slightly off-target. This is why TenderDetect's AI scanning is so critical—we look beyond the assigned code to the actual text of the tender to ensure you don't miss opportunities that were "misclassified" by a human officer.