The pause between decision and contract
The Standstill Period Explained (and What to Do)
The standstill period is the mandatory pause between a buyer telling you who won and the buyer actually signing the contract. It exists for one reason: to give unsuccessful bidders a window to understand the decision and, if something looks genuinely wrong, to act before the contract is locked in. For most suppliers it is a few quiet days. For the occasional bid where the result looks off, it is the most important week in the whole process.
Under the Procurement Act 2023, the standstill is generally eight working days. Knowing what that period is for - and what arrives at the start of it - turns it from an anxious wait into a useful checkpoint. This guide explains the mechanics, what your assessment summary tells you, and the calm, sensible things to do in the window.
What the standstill is and how long it lasts
When a buyer running a competitive procurement under the Act decides who to award to, it must tell all bidders and then wait before signing. That wait is the standstill, and for procurements under the Procurement Act it is a minimum of eight working days from when the award decision is communicated. The contract cannot be signed during it.
The purpose is transparency and accountability. The pause means a flawed award can, in principle, be stopped before it becomes a signed contract - which is far harder to unwind. It is not an invitation to complain about losing; it is a structured opportunity to check that the process was run properly and to raise a genuine problem in time for it to matter.
Two practical points about the eight days. They are working days, so weekends and bank holidays extend the calendar window - a standstill that starts on a Thursday before a bank holiday weekend runs well into the following week. And not every procurement carries a standstill: some lawful routes, such as certain direct awards, follow different transparency steps rather than a competitive standstill. For the ordinary competitive tender most SMEs bid on, though, the eight-working-day pause is what you should expect after the decision lands.
Read your assessment summary first
At the start of the standstill you should receive an assessment summary: your scores against each criterion, and information about the winning tender, including the reasons your bid did not come out on top. This document is the single most useful thing you will get from a lost bid, and the standstill is precisely the time to read it carefully rather than bin it in frustration.
- Your score on each criterion, so you can see where the marks were actually lost
- Information about the winning bid and the relative advantages that decided it
- Enough detail to tell whether you lost on price, on quality, or on a specific weak answer
- The factual basis you would need if you ever did decide the process looked wrong
- A genuine, free improvement plan for the next bid - most losses are about a handful of fixable answers
What to do in the eight days
For the overwhelming majority of bids, the right action is calm and constructive. Read the assessment summary line by line and work out exactly where you fell short. If anything in it is unclear, ask the buyer for clarification within the window - a polite, specific question often resolves a misunderstanding and always sharpens your next bid. This is debrief time, and a good debrief is worth more than the bid you lost.
If, and only if, the summary reveals something that looks genuinely wrong - an obvious scoring error, a criterion applied that was never published, a winner who appears not to have met a mandatory requirement - then the standstill matters in a different way, and the clock becomes urgent.
If something looks genuinely wrong
The remedies that can actually stop an award are strongest while the contract is unsigned, which is why the standstill window is so significant. Raising a well-founded concern during standstill preserves the most options; once the contract is signed, the practical remedies narrow sharply. Separately, the general time limit for starting a court challenge is short - around 30 days from when you knew, or should have known, of the problem - so delay is costly.
None of this is a reason to challenge every loss; the vast majority of losses are fair, and the right response is a better next bid. But if you have a real, evidence-based concern, take proper advice fast. This is one of the very few places in procurement where a matter of days genuinely decides the outcome. Our Procurement Act guide covers conditions of participation and the wider regime that sits behind these rights.
Frequently asked questions
How long is the standstill period under the Procurement Act 2023?
Generally a minimum of eight working days from when the buyer communicates the award decision. The contract cannot be signed during that period, which is what gives unsuccessful bidders a window to review the decision.
What is an assessment summary?
The document a buyer sends unsuccessful bidders showing your scores against each criterion and information about the winning tender, including why it came out ahead. It is your debrief and, if needed, the factual basis for raising a concern.
How long do I have to challenge a procurement decision?
The general limit for starting court proceedings is short - around 30 days from when you knew, or should have known, of the problem. Acting within the standstill preserves the strongest remedies, because they are far more limited once the contract is signed. Take advice quickly if a challenge is genuinely on the table.
Lose better, win the next one
BidSquirrel scores your draft the way a panel would before you submit, so fewer losses come as a surprise and your assessment summaries hold fewer shocks. We score and guide your answers; the words are always yours.