# UK Government Tenders & Contracts Finder (`ciel_labs/uk-government-tenders-contracts-finder`) Actor
Get every UK public tender from Find a Tender + Contracts Finder as clean, harmonized records. Filter by keyword, CPV, stage, date. First 25 records free, then $0.008/record - no subscription.
- **URL**: https://apify.com/ciel\_labs/uk-government-tenders-contracts-finder.md
- **Developed by:** [Lawrence Sundar](https://apify.com/ciel_labs) (community)
- **Categories:** Integrations
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet
## Pricing
from $8.00 / 1,000 tender record delivereds
This Actor is paid per event and usage. You are charged both the fixed price for specific events and for Apify platform usage.
Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event
## What's an Apify Actor?
Actors are a software tools running on the Apify platform, for all kinds of web data extraction and automation use cases.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.
Actors are written with capital "A".
## How to integrate an Actor?
If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.
The best way to integrate Actors is as follows.
In JavaScript/TypeScript projects, use official [JavaScript/TypeScript client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js.md):
```bash
npm install apify-client
```
In Python projects, use official [Python client library](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python.md):
```bash
pip install apify-client
```
In shell scripts, use [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md):
````bash
# MacOS / Linux
curl -fsSL https://apify.com/install-cli.sh | bash
# Windows
irm https://apify.com/install-cli.ps1 | iex
```bash
In AI frameworks, you might use the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/mcp.md).
If your project is in a different language, use the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md).
For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below.
For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt).
# README
## UK Government Tenders & Contracts Finder
**Every UK public tender from both official portals — Find a Tender + Contracts Finder — in one clean feed. Pennies per record.**
UK public procurement is split across two official government portals. **Find a Tender** carries the high-value (above-threshold) procurements; **Contracts Finder** carries the sub-threshold contracts. Almost every tool covers only one of them — and the commercial tender-alert industry charges **£99–475/month** for access to the same public data.
This actor pulls from **both official government APIs**, harmonizes every notice into one clean, sheet-ready record, and charges **$0.008 per record** — with the **first 25 records of every run free**.
### What you get
One flat record per tender, identical shape across both portals — drop it straight into a spreadsheet, CRM, or pipeline:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| `ocid` | Open Contracting ID (globally unique per procurement) |
| `title` | Tender title |
| `buyerName` | Buying organisation |
| `buyerContactName` / `buyerContactEmail` / `buyerContactPhone` | Buyer contact, where published |
| `valueAmount` / `valueCurrency` | Contract value |
| `deadline` | Submission deadline (tender stage) |
| `cpvCodes` | CPV category codes |
| `stage` | `planning` · `tender` · `award` |
| `portal` | `fts` (Find a Tender) or `cf` (Contracts Finder) |
| `noticeUrl` | Direct link to the official notice page |
| `publishedDate` | When the notice was published/updated |
| `description` | Description snippet |
| `rawOcds` | Full original OCDS release (optional, off by default) |
### Pricing
- **First 25 records per run: FREE.** A default run is a complete, zero-cost sample.
- **$0.008 per record after that.** 1,000 fresh tenders ≈ $8 — versus £99–475/month for commercial alert platforms covering the same public data.
- Pure pay-per-event: no run-start fee. Tune your filters and re-run freely.
### Usage
Typical inputs:
- **All new tenders from the last 3 days (default):** run with no input — free 25-record sample.
- **IT tenders open for bids:** `keywords: "software, IT, digital"`, `stage: "tender"`, `maxItems: 500`
- **Construction, high-value only:** `cpvCodes: ["45"]`, `portal: "fts"`
- **Everything awarded last month, with full OCDS:** `stage: "award"`, `dateFrom: "2026-06-01"`, `dateTo: "2026-07-01"`, `includeRawOcds: true`
#### Input reference
| Field | Type | Default | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| `keywords` | string | — | Comma-separated phrases; ANY match in title/description/buyer |
| `cpvCodes` | array | — | CPV prefixes (hierarchical: `45` = all construction) |
| `dateFrom` / `dateTo` | string | last 3 days | ISO date or datetime |
| `stage` | enum | `all` | `planning` · `tender` · `award` |
| `portal` | enum | `both` | `fts` · `cf` · `both` |
| `maxItems` | integer | `25` | Cap on returned records |
| `dedupeByOcid` | boolean | `true` | One record per procurement |
| `includeRawOcds` | boolean | `false` | Attach the full government OCDS block |
### Data source & freshness
Records come directly from the two **official** government OCDS APIs (no scraping, no middleman):
- [Find a Tender](https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/) — high-value UK procurements (filtered by record update time)
- [Contracts Finder](https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/) — sub-threshold contracts (filtered by publication time)
Both publish in the [Open Contracting Data Standard](https://standard.open-contracting.org/). Data is as fresh as the government publishes it — typically same-day.
Contains public sector information licensed under the [Open Government Licence v3.0](https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/).
### FAQ
**Why both portals?** UK procurement law splits notices by value. Watching only one portal misses either the big contracts or the accessible sub-threshold ones. This actor is the single harmonized feed.
**How is this different from tender-alert platforms?** Same public data, no subscription. You pay per record retrieved, in pennies, and get structured data instead of email alerts.
**Can I monitor continuously?** Schedule the actor (e.g. daily) with your filters; each run picks up what's new in the window. Deduplicate downstream by `ocid`.
# Actor input Schema
## `keywords` (type: `string`):
Comma-separated phrases. A tender matches if ANY phrase appears in its title, description, or buyer name (case-insensitive). Example: software, IT support, cyber. Leave empty for all tenders.
## `cpvCodes` (type: `array`):
CPV code prefixes to filter by (CPV is hierarchical — 45 matches all construction). Example: 72 for IT services. Leave empty for all categories.
## `dateFrom` (type: `string`):
ISO date or datetime, e.g. 2026-07-01. Defaults to 3 days ago. (Find a Tender filters by record update time; Contracts Finder by publication time.)
## `dateTo` (type: `string`):
ISO date or datetime. Defaults to now.
## `stage` (type: `string`):
Procurement stage to include.
## `portal` (type: `string`):
Find a Tender = high-value (above-threshold) procurements; Contracts Finder = sub-threshold contracts. Default: both, harmonized into one schema.
## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):
Maximum records to return. The first 25 records of every run are FREE; each record after that costs $0.008.
## `dedupeByOcid` (type: `boolean`):
Keep only the first record per procurement (OCID). Recommended.
## `includeRawOcds` (type: `boolean`):
Attach the full original OCDS release to each record (for pipelines that want the complete government data).
## Actor input object example
```json
{
"stage": "all",
"portal": "both",
"maxItems": 25,
"dedupeByOcid": true,
"includeRawOcds": false
}
````
# API
You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.
## JavaScript example
```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';
// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
token: '',
});
// Prepare Actor input
const input = {};
// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("ciel_labs/uk-government-tenders-contracts-finder").call(input);
// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
console.dir(item);
});
// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs
```
## Python example
```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient
# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("")
# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {}
# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("ciel_labs/uk-government-tenders-contracts-finder").call(run_input=run_input)
# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"])
for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
print(item)
# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start
```
## CLI example
```bash
echo '{}' |
apify call ciel_labs/uk-government-tenders-contracts-finder --silent --output-dataset
```
## MCP server setup
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"apify": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"mcp-remote",
"https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=ciel_labs/uk-government-tenders-contracts-finder",
"--header",
"Authorization: Bearer "
]
}
}
}
```
## OpenAPI specification
```json
{
"openapi": "3.0.1",
"info": {
"title": "UK Government Tenders & Contracts Finder",
"description": "Get every UK public tender from Find a Tender + Contracts Finder as clean, harmonized records. Filter by keyword, CPV, stage, date. First 25 records free, then $0.008/record - no subscription.",
"version": "0.1",
"x-build-id": "6wnN6R7f1qf6mitFI"
},
"servers": [
{
"url": "https://api.apify.com/v2"
}
],
"paths": {
"/acts/ciel_labs~uk-government-tenders-contracts-finder/run-sync-get-dataset-items": {
"post": {
"operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-ciel_labs-uk-government-tenders-contracts-finder",
"x-openai-isConsequential": false,
"summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for its completion, and returns Actor's dataset items in response.",
"tags": [
"Run Actor"
],
"requestBody": {
"required": true,
"content": {
"application/json": {
"schema": {
"$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema"
}
}
}
},
"parameters": [
{
"name": "token",
"in": "query",
"required": true,
"schema": {
"type": "string"
},
"description": "Enter your Apify token here"
}
],
"responses": {
"200": {
"description": "OK"
}
}
}
},
"/acts/ciel_labs~uk-government-tenders-contracts-finder/runs": {
"post": {
"operationId": "runs-sync-ciel_labs-uk-government-tenders-contracts-finder",
"x-openai-isConsequential": false,
"summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.",
"tags": [
"Run Actor"
],
"requestBody": {
"required": true,
"content": {
"application/json": {
"schema": {
"$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema"
}
}
}
},
"parameters": [
{
"name": "token",
"in": "query",
"required": true,
"schema": {
"type": "string"
},
"description": "Enter your Apify token here"
}
],
"responses": {
"200": {
"description": "OK",
"content": {
"application/json": {
"schema": {
"$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema"
}
}
}
}
}
}
},
"/acts/ciel_labs~uk-government-tenders-contracts-finder/run-sync": {
"post": {
"operationId": "run-sync-ciel_labs-uk-government-tenders-contracts-finder",
"x-openai-isConsequential": false,
"summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.",
"tags": [
"Run Actor"
],
"requestBody": {
"required": true,
"content": {
"application/json": {
"schema": {
"$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema"
}
}
}
},
"parameters": [
{
"name": "token",
"in": "query",
"required": true,
"schema": {
"type": "string"
},
"description": "Enter your Apify token here"
}
],
"responses": {
"200": {
"description": "OK"
}
}
}
}
},
"components": {
"schemas": {
"inputSchema": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"keywords": {
"title": "Keywords",
"type": "string",
"description": "Comma-separated phrases. A tender matches if ANY phrase appears in its title, description, or buyer name (case-insensitive). Example: software, IT support, cyber. Leave empty for all tenders."
},
"cpvCodes": {
"title": "CPV codes",
"type": "array",
"description": "CPV code prefixes to filter by (CPV is hierarchical — 45 matches all construction). Example: 72 for IT services. Leave empty for all categories.",
"items": {
"type": "string"
}
},
"dateFrom": {
"title": "From date",
"type": "string",
"description": "ISO date or datetime, e.g. 2026-07-01. Defaults to 3 days ago. (Find a Tender filters by record update time; Contracts Finder by publication time.)"
},
"dateTo": {
"title": "To date",
"type": "string",
"description": "ISO date or datetime. Defaults to now."
},
"stage": {
"title": "Stage",
"enum": [
"all",
"planning",
"tender",
"award"
],
"type": "string",
"description": "Procurement stage to include.",
"default": "all"
},
"portal": {
"title": "Portal",
"enum": [
"both",
"fts",
"cf"
],
"type": "string",
"description": "Find a Tender = high-value (above-threshold) procurements; Contracts Finder = sub-threshold contracts. Default: both, harmonized into one schema.",
"default": "both"
},
"maxItems": {
"title": "Max records",
"minimum": 1,
"type": "integer",
"description": "Maximum records to return. The first 25 records of every run are FREE; each record after that costs $0.008.",
"default": 25
},
"dedupeByOcid": {
"title": "Deduplicate by OCID",
"type": "boolean",
"description": "Keep only the first record per procurement (OCID). Recommended.",
"default": true
},
"includeRawOcds": {
"title": "Include raw OCDS block",
"type": "boolean",
"description": "Attach the full original OCDS release to each record (for pipelines that want the complete government data).",
"default": false
}
}
},
"runsResponseSchema": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"data": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"id": {
"type": "string"
},
"actId": {
"type": "string"
},
"userId": {
"type": "string"
},
"startedAt": {
"type": "string",
"format": "date-time",
"example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z"
},
"finishedAt": {
"type": "string",
"format": "date-time",
"example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z"
},
"status": {
"type": "string",
"example": "READY"
},
"meta": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"origin": {
"type": "string",
"example": "API"
},
"userAgent": {
"type": "string"
}
}
},
"stats": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"inputBodyLen": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 2000
},
"rebootCount": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"restartCount": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"resurrectCount": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"computeUnits": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
}
}
},
"options": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"build": {
"type": "string",
"example": "latest"
},
"timeoutSecs": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 300
},
"memoryMbytes": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 1024
},
"diskMbytes": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 2048
}
}
},
"buildId": {
"type": "string"
},
"defaultKeyValueStoreId": {
"type": "string"
},
"defaultDatasetId": {
"type": "string"
},
"defaultRequestQueueId": {
"type": "string"
},
"buildNumber": {
"type": "string",
"example": "1.0.0"
},
"containerUrl": {
"type": "string"
},
"usage": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"DATASET_READS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"DATASET_WRITES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 1
},
"KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"PROXY_SERPS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
}
}
},
"usageTotalUsd": {
"type": "number",
"example": 0.00005
},
"usageUsd": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"DATASET_READS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"DATASET_WRITES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": {
"type": "number",
"example": 0.00005
},
"KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"PROXY_SERPS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
}
}
}
}
}
}
}
}
}
}
```