RFP meaning: request for proposal
RFP stands for request for proposal: a document a buyer issues to invite suppliers to propose how they would meet a need, and at what price. UK public buyers mostly call the same thing an invitation to tender — it appears 17 times as often in the titles of their notices.
771,568 UK notices read · 9 Oct 2026
Which document is it?tap to compare
Request for proposal
- Asks for
- Your proposed approach, team, experience and price.
- Used when
- The buyer knows the outcome it wants, not the best way to get there.
- You send back
- A proposal, scored on quality and price.
UK notice titles using “request for proposal”156
Invitation to tender
- Asks for
- Answers to set quality questions, plus a price against a defined specification.
- Used when
- The formal tender stage of most UK public-sector competitions.
- You send back
- A tender, scored against published award criteria.
UK notice titles using “invitation to tender”2,658
Request for quotation
- Asks for
- A price for a fully specified requirement.
- Used when
- Goods and simple services, usually lower value, where price decides.
- You send back
- A quotation.
UK notice titles using “request for quotation”1,761
Request for information
- Asks for
- What you can do — capability, approach, rough cost.
- Used when
- Before a procurement, to shape it. Nothing is awarded from an RFI.
- You send back
- Information. Often the first sight of an opportunity.
UK notice titles using “request for information”1,139
01/ What it contains
What’s in an RFP
Names differ; the parts don’t. Whether the buyer calls it an RFP or an ITT, the document tells you what they need, what you must answer, and how they will score it.
- 01
Background and scope
Who the buyer is, what they need and why — the outcome, not always the method.
- 02
Conditions of participation
Pass/fail tests: insurance, accreditations, financial standing, past experience.
- 03
Questions and weightings
The questions you must answer, word limits, and how much each is worth.
- 04
Evaluation method
How quality and price combine into a score, and how ties are broken.
- 05
Commercials
The pricing schedule, contract terms and the draft contract you would sign.
- 06
Timetable and instructions
Clarification deadline, submission deadline, portal, format and any presentation stage.
02/ Side by side
RFP, ITT, RFQ, RFI: which is which
Four documents a buyer can send you, and what each one wants back. Tap a name to spotlight its column.
| Attribute | RFPRequest for proposal | ITTInvitation to tender | RFQRequest for quotation | RFIRequest for information |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The buyer asks | How you would meet an outcome, and at what price | A tender against a set specification and published criteria | A price for a fully specified requirement | What the market can do — before any competition |
| You send back | A proposal | A tender | A quotation | Information |
| How it's judged | Quality and price, against stated weightings | Published award criteria — usually quality and price, often social value too | Mostly or wholly on price | Not scored for an award |
| Ends in a contract? | Yes, if you win | Yes, if you win | Yes, if accepted | No — nothing is awarded from an RFI |
| Where you'll see it | Private sector, international buyers, some UK public bodies | Most UK public-sector competitions | Lower-value goods and simple services | Before a procurement, as market engagement |
| UK notice titles using it | 156 notices | 2,658 notices | 1,761 notices | 1,139 notices |
Last row: UK notices whose title contains the full phrase, all years, read 9 Oct 2026.
03/ The UK record
In the UK, an RFP is usually an ITT
Of 771,568 UK public notices, 2,658 carry “invitation to tender” in their title — where the buyer names the document. Only 156 say “request for proposal”. Search UK notices for “RFP” and you will miss most of them.
Notice title contains the full phrase (singular or plural). Acronyms are not counted — “ITT” also means Initial Teacher Training. Find a Tender and Contracts Finder notices, all years.
04/ Who says RFP
The buyers who still say RFP
126 buyers have used “RFP” or “request for proposal” in 343 notice titles. The eight below account for 42% of them: the term clusters in a few organisations rather than across the public sector.
Notice title contains “RFP” or “request for proposal”, grouped by buyer as published.
05/ Where it’s used
Where you’ll meet an RFP
01
Private sector
RFP is the everyday word. The company's own purchasing policy sets the process, nothing has to be published, and the buyer can invite only the suppliers it chooses.
02
Public sector
The same stage is usually called an invitation to tender. Above the procurement thresholds, it must follow a procedure under the Procurement Act 2023 and be published on Find a Tender, where anyone can see it.
03
Charities and social enterprises
Often run RFPs for significant purchases and follow public-sector practice voluntarily. Where the organisation is itself a contracting authority, or the money comes with procurement conditions, the public rules can apply.
06/ UK public sector
RFPs under the Procurement Act 2023
Since 24 February 2025, a new public procurement above the thresholds that goes to competition is run as one of two competitive tendering procedures. Neither is called an RFP; both do the RFP’s job. (Devolved Scottish authorities follow Scotland’s own procurement rules.)
Single stage
Open procedure
The buyer publishes a tender notice and any supplier may submit a tender. Closest to a classic ITT: one round, scored against the published criteria.
Buyer-designed
Competitive flexible procedure
The buyer designs the stages — shortlisting, negotiation, presentations, refined tenders. This is where RFP-style dialogue about the approach fits.
| Contract type | Threshold including VAT |
|---|---|
| Goods and servicesCentral government | £135,018 |
| Goods and servicesOther contracting authorities | £207,720 |
| Goods and servicesDefence and security | £415,440 |
| Goods and servicesUtilities | £415,440 |
| Light-touch servicesSuch as some health, social and education services | £663,540 |
| ConcessionsAny contracting authority | £5,193,000 |
| WorksAny contracting authority | £5,193,000 |
Thresholds in force 1 Jan 2026 to 31 Dec 2027, including VAT. Source: Cabinet Office thresholds guidance, checked 10 Sept 2026. Below them, lower-value contracts have their own lighter rules.
07/ Recent
RFPs published lately
The most recent UK public notices with RFP in the title. Each opens the full notice.
08/ Responding
How to respond to an RFP
- 01
Decide to bid
Read the scope, the evaluation criteria and the conditions of participation first. If you can't meet a pass/fail condition, stop here.
- 02
Ask early
Send clarification questions before the deadline the RFP sets for them. Answers usually go to every bidder, so ask what everyone needs to know.
- 03
Plan to the weightings
Give each question time in proportion to its marks. A 30% question deserves more of the team than a 5% one, however easy the 5% one is to write.
- 04
Write to the scoring
Answer each question in the order and at the length asked, using the words of the criterion. Evaluators score what is on the page, not what they know about you.
- 05
Prove it
Back each claim with evidence the evaluator can check: a named contract, a result, a person, a method. Unsupported adjectives score nothing.
- 06
Price last, check twice
Build the price from the scope you've described, then check every mandatory document, signature and format before you submit.
09/ After you submit
What happens next
In UK public procurement, the Procurement Act 2023 fixes what every bidder is told.
01
Scoring
Every compliant response is scored against the published criteria. The buyer may send clarification questions or invite a shortlist to present.
02
Assessment summary
Under the Procurement Act 2023, each supplier whose tender was assessed is told its score and the reasons, alongside the winning tender's.
03
Standstill, then contract
The buyer publishes a contract award notice and, for most contracts, waits a standstill period of eight working days before signing — the window in which a decision can be challenged.
10/ Questions
RFP, answered
11/ Method
How this page is made
Live figures
Phrase counts: every UK notice in the RFP Quest record — Find a Tender and Contracts Finder, all years — whose title contains the full phrase “invitation to tender”, “request for quotation”, “request for information” or “request for proposal”, singular or plural. The title is where a buyer names the document, and it can be counted exactly and quickly; descriptions mention the phrases far more often, so full-text counts would be larger. Acronyms are not counted: ITT also means Initial Teacher Training.
Buyers and recent notices: the same titles, matching “RFP” or “request for proposal”, grouped by buyer as published. Counts are cached for up to 24 hours; the date at the top of the page says when they were read.
Thresholds: RFP Quest's thresholds table, where every row carries the page it was taken from and the date it was checked.
Outside sources
- Cabinet Office, Procurement Act 2023 thresholds guidance — the thresholds table, checked 10 Sept 2026.
- Procurement Act 2023 — the two competitive tendering procedures, assessment summaries and the standstill period.
- Find a Tender and Contracts Finder — every notice counted on this page, used under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Compare
RFP vs tender
The same competition under two names — where the differences actually are.
Compare
RFI vs RFP
Market research versus a live competition, and what to send for each.
Framework
G-Cloud 15
The cloud framework's lots, dates and named suppliers, read from the award notice.
Live
Every open UK tender
Search today's notices, categorised and filterable, free.
Free to start · no card
Every UK RFP, whatever it’s called
RFP Quest reads every notice — ITT, RFQ, RFI or RFP — and tells you which ones fit your business, free.
RFP Quest reads every notice on Find a Tender and Contracts Finder. Counts on this page are read from that record and dated at the top.