Find a TenderPast planning noticePreliminary market engagement notice
Published 17 Jul 2025, 15:39 BST

Official UK procurement notice

DVSA Publishing Services with The Highway Code and The Highway Code for Northern Ireland

Official notice

Authority: Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (Central government)

ServicesOpen procedureAbove thresholdConcessionSME suitableVCSE suitable
Concession value (operator's revenue)£40,000,000operator revenue, not the authority's budget · 2 value updates
Tender notice expected 10 Apr 2026from the planned procurement notice
Contract term 5 yrsends 6 Jan 2032 · up to 6 Jan 2034 with extensions · starts 7 Jan 2027

What is being bought

Published requirement description

The contract assigns the winning bidder as the Official Publisher of DVSA’s commercial publishing products including apps, e-learning, books/e-books.

We are allowed to do this under a Delegation of Authority to manage Crown copyright assets from the Keeper of the Public Record at The National Archives.

The contract covers DVSA’s statutory duty to Publish the Official Highway Code in print, as well as commercial publications. These are the definitive guides that support industry and the general road-using public in meeting and maintaining DVSA’s standards.

The contract will support the Department for Infrastructure in Northern Ireland and – new to this retender – the Department for Transport publications stemming from Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions. This brings all the source materials for UK driving theory under one contract.

The parties will work together to innovate new products to inform, educate and advise, promoting positive behaviour change and compliance that goes beyond the Highway Code and drivers and riders. We aim also to reach MOT testers, dangerous goods drivers and managers, commercial operators and employers of drivers to realise commitments in the DVSA Vision to 2030 and create new income streams.

The contract value is based on the total income generated over the maximum 7 years.

CPV: Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security · Publishing services

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · no lot value published
Lot #1PlannedRenewal 5 yrsSMEVCSE
Contract period: 7 Jan 2027 – 6 Jan 2032 (5 yrs) · up to 6 Jan 2034 with extensions
Delivery: UKEligibility: SME eligibleVCSE eligible
Extensions: Extension options published

Procedure terms & legal framework

From the official record
Procedure method
Open procedure
Legal basis
UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
Procurement category
Services
Notice status
Past planning notice
Procurement threshold
Above threshold (FTS publication)
Regulatory regime
Concession
Commercial structure
Stand-alone contract (no framework)
Competition type
Competitive procedure
GPA / WTO covered
Unspecified in notice
Recurring procurement
Unspecified in notice
First published
17 Jul 2025, 15:39 BST
Last source update
9 Mar 2026, 14:36 GMT
Authority reference
T280022361
FTS notice number
2026/S 000-020958
Latest notice
Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
Classification (CPV)
Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and securityPublishing services
Delivery area
UK
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-056178 Find a Tender

How it was run

Official notice
Submission deadline
—

Timeline

17 Jul 2025 → 7 Jan 2027 · 5 dates
  1. Planning notice published
    17 Jul 2025, 15:39 BST
  2. Latest notice published232 days ago
    9 Mar 2026, 14:36 GMT
  3. Market engagement223 days ago
    18 Mar 2026, 23:59 GMT

    The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) will be holding an online Microsoft teams pre-market engagement webinar on 18th March 2026, from 2:00PM - 3:00PM.

    The webinar is aimed at suppliers who are interested in the DVSA Publishing Services with The Highway Code and The Highway Code for Northern Ireland concession opportunity. This virtual session, hosted on Microsoft Teams, will provide suppliers with an update on the planned procurement approach alongside an overview of the main elements of the requirement as well as additional information.

    Suppliers wishing to attend the online webinar, should use the following link to register for the event and join the discussion:

    events.teams.microsoft.com/event/2fa26356-0223-… ↗

    Attendance at the session is voluntary and will not affect a supplier’s ability to bid for the opportunity once the formal procurement process begins. There are no limits on the number of attendees from each supplier.

    Any clarifications relating to the engagement event should be sent through Jaggaer, the Department for Transport's eSourcing platform.

    A recording of the event will be uploaded after the event and can be found on Department for Transport's portal here:

    dft.app.jaggaer.com/go/9193366801987970425B ↗

    To view the recording, please log in and navigate to the 'Details' section. Then, click on 'Attachments' and locate the recording under the 'Visible to Suppliers' folder.

  4. Tender notice expected200 days ago
    10 Apr 2026, 23:59 BST
  5. Today
    28 Oct 2026
  6. Contract startsin 70 days
    7 Jan 2027

Notice history

9 events · 7 releases on Find a Tender · since 17 Jul 2025
  1. Pipeline notice published
    17 Jul 2025, 15:39 BST
    UK1
  2. Preliminary market engagement notice published
    17 Jul 2025, 16:00 BST
    UK2
  3. Preliminary market engagement notice published
    20 Aug 2025, 15:22 BST
    UK2
  4. Pipeline notice published
    13 Nov 2025, 12:11 GMT
    UK1
  5. Published value updated to £36,000,000
    13 Nov 2025, 12:11 GMT
    was £0
  6. Preliminary market engagement notice published
    22 Dec 2025, 11:26 GMT
    UK2
  7. Preliminary market engagement notice published
    12 Feb 2026, 10:49 GMT
    UK2
  8. Published value updated to £40,000,000
    12 Feb 2026, 10:49 GMT
    was £36,000,000
  9. Preliminary market engagement notice published
    9 Mar 2026, 14:36 GMT
    UK2
Published amendments (1)

This is a concession contract. In the total value section, this shows the estimated value of the opportunity for publishing services.

Routine re-releases (7)
  • 2025-11: 1 release · 13 Nov 2025
  • 2025-08: 1 release · 20 Aug 2025
  • 2025-07: 2 releases · 17 Jul 2025, 17 Jul 2025

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Pipeline notice
Awards (0)
No award published
Contracts (0)
No contract published
Bid statistics
No aggregate bid statistics published

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency

Contracting authorityPublic authority - central government GB-PPON: PTMM-2614-YJDV Berkeley House, Croydon Street, Bristol, South West, BS5 0DAContact email

Official documents & specifications (7)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Notices published for this procedure