Prior Information Notice (PIN)

A Prior Information Notice is a voluntary (or in some cases mandatory) advance publication used by contracting authorities to signal upcoming procurement activity. In the EU, PINs can serve two distinct purposes: as a general market intelligence tool alerting suppliers to forthcoming contracts, or as a call for competition in restricted procedures (PIN used as a call for competition, reducing minimum time limits for the subsequent ITT stage).

Publishing a PIN allows the authority to reduce minimum tender periods in the subsequent procedure, because suppliers have already had advance notice. For example, if a PIN is published at least 35 days in advance, the ITT minimum can be reduced to 15 days. This makes PINs valuable for authorities with tight timelines who want to maintain competition.

For vendors, PINs are an important early-warning signal. A PIN for a contract in your sector indicates a live opportunity 3 to 12 months out — enough lead time to begin pre-positioning: building relationships with the authority, gathering relevant references, preparing consortium arrangements, or influencing technical specifications through market engagement. Monitoring PINs as part of a 12-month pipeline view is a mark of a mature public-sector sales function.