OpenStage · tender 41 days to close

LEGISLATION PRINT PUBLISHING CONTRACT

Business ServicesCPV 79800000

Value£3,500,000

Deadline30 Oct 2026

Published18 Sept 2026

RegionNationwide

£3,500,000 — stated in the notice

Timeline

Published 18 Sept 202641 days leftCloses 30 Oct 2026

Who to contact

procurement@nationalarchives.gov.uk

The procurement contact named on the official notice.

How to submit

Submissions are to be sent to procurement@nationalarchives.gov.uk The National Archives' website address is www.nationalarchives.gov.uk

The submission route named on the official notice.

Contract value in context

£3.5mtotal contract value

median £66k

this tender£0£3.8m

This is a large award for Business Services — above three-quarters of comparable contracts. Based on 57,319 valued Business Services tenders in our corpus.

When this comes round again

The National Archives publishes Business Services work continuously — 67 notices, roughly one every 6 days. This is a stream to watch, not a cycle to wait for.

36% of The National Archives’s awards go to a supplier it has used before.

Which is the argument for getting on the list rather than winning this one. The incumbent is rarely the last winner — it is the roster. See the retention odds by category →

Match for your company

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The brief

The purpose of this Procurement Process is for The National Archives (TNA) to select a Print Publishing Supplier to deliver its Legislation Print Publishing Contract.

The intention is to award the Contract for an initial period 2 years, with options to extend for three further periods of up to twelve months each (2+1+1+1).

The attached Invitation to Tender document gives an overview of the print publishing requirements and should be read in conjunction with Annexes 1 - 4, which provide more information about what is printed and why.

If you require access to them, please contact us at procurement@nationalarchives.gov.uk We estimate the maximum contract value over the whole contract term (i.e.

5 years) to be circa £4,200,000 (inc.

VAT).

The Print Publishing Supplier will operate the print publishing of legislation, associated documents, annual bound volumes of legislation and legislative effects, Chronological Tables and correction slips.

The Print Publishing Supplier is responsible for all aspects of print production.

The Print Publishing Supplier will make sure that all printed items are made available for sale and deliver all aspects of order fulfilment and customers services related to the printing and sale of legislation items, including taking payment, handling enquiries and complaints, despatch and record keeping.

Printing legislation is a statutory requirement - the Print Publishing Supplier must provide a print publishing service that meets exacting quality standards and specifications, and that prints legislative items to prescribed and non-negotiable deadlines.

In addition, government departments pay a publishing fee for online publishing.

The Print Publishing Supplier is not responsible for online publishing but is responsible for the financial administration of the publishing charges made to government departments.

This involves invoicing departments for the correct publishing fees and ensuring that invoices are paid in a timely manner, including chasing where invoices have not been paid.

The Print Publishing Supplier then transfers the publishing fees to The National Archives on a quarterly basis.

The Print Publishing Supplier needs to inform The National Archives of any overdue outstanding departmental invoices.

Requirements

What the notice asks for

The purpose of this Procurement Process is

The purpose of this Procurement Process is for The National Archives (TNA) to select a Print Publishing Supplier to deliver its Legislation Print Publishing Contract.

4, which provide more information about what

4, which provide more information about what is printed and why.

The Print Publishing Supplier is responsible

The Print Publishing Supplier is responsible for all aspects of print production.

The Print Publishing Supplier will make sure

The Print Publishing Supplier must provide

the Print Publishing Supplier must provide a print publishing service that meets exacting quality standards and specifications, and that prints legislative items to prescribed and non-negotiable deadlines.

Sentences from the notice that state an obligation, surfaced automatically and shown in the order they appear. Not an exhaustive list — always confirm against the tender documents.

What it takes to bid this

25–40 daysof bid-team effort

£17.1k–£27.4kat typical UK bid-team rates

Typical UK bid effort for the £1m–£10m band — an estimate, not a quote.

Qualify & bid/no-bid ~10% · SQ / PQQ ~20% · Written response ~55% · Review & presentation ~15%

Typical for this category — confirm against the ITT pack

Hold at bidProfessional indemnity insurance
Show at bidNamed engagement team with CVs
Show at bidComparable references / case studies
Hold at bidFinancial standing (accounts, often ~2× contract value turnover)
Hold at bidInsurance cover (PL / EL, often PI)
Show at bidSocial value commitments

Hold at bid = pass/fail conditions of participation. Show at bid = scored in the quality response. Plan for delivery = contract obligations from day one.

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Free to start. Named contacts come from published notices; the strategy is generated from the buyer’s news, accounts and people.

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Source & provenance