A tender clarification note — known in the Netherlands as a nota van inlichtingen — is the document in which the client collects and answers all the bidders’ questions about the tender documents. Questions and answers are anonymised and issued to every bidder at the same time, so that everyone prices the work on the same information.
Why it exists
A specification with drawings is never fully watertight. There are contradictions, or a choice has not been made. Bidders may raise questions about them. If the client answered each one privately, one contractor would know more than the others. Bundling everything into a single note and issuing it to all keeps the parties on an equal footing — a core principle of procurement law.
What it contains
- Questions and answers, numbered and cross-referenced to the relevant specification clause or drawing number
- Changes the client makes itself, such as a corrected drawing or a revised quantity
- Additional documents, for example a survey report released on request
- Procedural notices, such as an extension of the tender deadline
Legal status
The clarification note forms part of the tender and later the contract documents. Most specifications include an order-of-precedence clause stating that the clarification note ranks above the specification and the drawings: where they conflict, the note governs. Always check that clause, because the exact order is set out in the documents themselves.
Practical tips for bidders
- Ask in time — the deadline is hard; after it you can raise nothing
- Be specific — reference the clause and drawing, and ask one question per point
- Flag contradictions actively — a bidder who spots an obvious error and says nothing will struggle to rely on it later
- Feed the answers into your pricing — they can change quantities, materials or the allocation of risk
- Read the other bidders’ questions too — they often expose risks you had missed
Related terms
- Tendering
- Specification
- Bill of quantities
- Contract documents
- Bid
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