The "minimum price" in a public tender
Many small businesses look for the "minimum price" of a public tender. The honest answer: there is no legal minimum price. The public buyer sets no floor; it compares bids on the announced criteria (price and technical value). What exists is the lower limit: below a certain level your bid becomes abnormally low and the buyer must ask you to justify it.
The real floor is your cost price
Your useful minimum price is not a market rule: it is your full cost price plus a margin that lets you deliver calmly. Going below it risks either rejection for an abnormally low bid, or a loss-making job.
How to set a solid floor price
Cost every line (material, labour, subcontracting, overheads). Add the risks specific to the contract (deadlines, penalties, price revision). Compete on value, not price alone: a strong technical memo often wins without being the cheapest, because the price criterion rarely weighs 100 %.
Frequently asked questions
Does the public buyer set a minimum price?
No. There is no regulatory floor price. However, a bid that is too low can be set aside as abnormally low after the adversarial procedure.
Related guides
Données publiques officielles réutilisées sous licence ouverte, avec mention de la source et de la date.