CPV code

The CPV code (Common Procurement Vocabulary) is Europe's classification system for public contracts. Every type of work — from software development to construction to cleaning — has an eight-digit code, such as 72000000 for IT services.

Authorities must state the matching main CPV in the contract notice, often supplemented by additional codes. For bidders, CPV codes are the most important structured filter: knowing your codes surfaces relevant tenders without keyword guessing.

A practical caveat: CPV assignments are not always precise — some authorities classify coarsely. Good monitoring therefore combines CPV filters with keywords and semantic scoring, as BidPilot24 does automatically.