Morocco tenders: how to bid for a public works contract

In brief

• The notice of an open call for tenders is published on the public procurement portal and in at least two national newspapers, at least 21 days before the bids are opened (article 23 of Decree n° 2-22-431).
• The bidder submits an administrative file, a technical file, a financial bid and, if the tender rules require one, a technical bid (articles 28 and 30).
• The bid bond, where one is required, does not exceed 2% of the contracting authority's estimate (article 24).
• For works, the tender selected is the one closest to a reference price from below, not the cheapest (article 44).

Where are public tenders published in Morocco?

Public calls for tenders are published on the public procurement portal, run by the Trésorerie Générale du Royaume (General Treasury of the Kingdom), and, for an open call for tenders (appel d'offres ouvert), in at least two newspapers with national circulation, one of them in Arabic. The tender documents are downloaded from this portal.

The advertising period for an open call for tenders is at least 21 days before the bid opening session. It rises to at least 40 days for works contracts estimated at 65,086,000 dirhams excluding tax or more: this threshold, which article 23 set at 75,550,000 dirhams, was lowered by Order n° 441-26 of 25 February 2026. Conversely, for a simplified open call for tenders (a contract estimated at no more than 1,000,000 dirhams excluding tax), the notice appears on the portal and in at least one newspaper, at least ten days before the bids are opened (article 19). See also our guide to the 2023 public procurement decree.

How do you submit a bid on the public procurement portal?

Bids are submitted and withdrawn electronically on the portal (article 135 of the decree, Order n° 1692-23 of 23 June 2023). The company must be registered and hold an electronic signature certificate.

1. Register the company on the portal with its common company identifier (identifiant commun de l'entreprise, ICE).
2. Obtain an electronic signature certificate from an approved certification authority.
3. If a bid bond is required, request it through the portal from your bank or an approved institution before you submit.
4. Attach each document to the electronic envelope it belongs in, sign, then confirm.

The portal time-stamps the submission and sends an acknowledgement of receipt. A bid submitted after the deadline is rejected automatically. The user guide for companies goes through each screen.

Which documents do you need to bid for a works tender?

Each bidder submits an administrative file, a technical file and a financial bid. The tender rules (règlement de consultation) set the conditions for presenting tenders and the award criteria: their list of documents is the one that counts.

The administrative file

At the time of submission, it contains (article 28):

• the document or documents proving the powers of the person acting on the bidder's behalf;
• the sworn statement (déclaration sur l'honneur);
• the receipt for the bid bond, or the certificate of the personal joint and several guarantee that takes its place, if one is required;
• the joint venture agreement, where applicable.

The tax certificate and the certificate from the Caisse nationale de sécurité sociale (the national social security fund), both less than one year old, together with the certificate of registration in the trade register (modèle 9), are requested only from the bidder to which the committee intends to award the contract, within a period of at least seven days (articles 28 and 43).

The technical file

For non-routine work, it brings together a statement of human and technical resources, the reference certificates (attestations de référence) and, if the tender rules so provide, the workload statement (plan de charge) and proof of financial capacity. Where the contract falls under the qualification and classification system, the certificate takes the place of the statement, the reference certificates and the financial proof. See our guide to the qualification and classification of building and public works contractors.

The financial bid and the technical bid

The financial bid comprises the form of tender (acte d'engagement), the schedule of rates (bordereau des prix) and the detailed estimate (détail estimatif) for a unit-price contract and, where applicable, the price breakdown (sous-détail des prix) (article 30). The special conditions of contract (cahier des prescriptions spéciales, CPS) and the tender rules are attached, initialled and signed.

The technical bid is due only if the tender rules ask for it: methodology, resources, programme (article 31). As for the "dossier additif" (additional file), still common in practice, the term does not appear in Decree n° 2-22-431.

What must a reference certificate contain?

A reference certificate (attestation de référence) states the nature of the work, its amount, the year it was carried out, the name and capacity of the signatory and the signatory's assessment (article 28). It is issued by the client, public or private, by the professional (homme de l'art) who directed the work, or by the contract holder for work that was subcontracted.

The contracting authority may not require reference certificates out of proportion to the contract. They belong in the technical file and may not appear in the technical bid (article 31).

What are a schedule of rates (bordereau des prix) and a detailed estimate?

The schedule of rates (bordereau des prix) is the document that breaks the work down item by item and gives, for each item, the price that applies. The detailed estimate (détail estimatif) takes up the same items and adds the assumed quantity and the unit price from the schedule (article 4). The two may form a single document, the bordereau des prix-détail estimatif, the counterpart of a priced bill of quantities.

In a unit-price contract, the sums due are calculated by applying the unit prices to the quantities actually carried out (article 14). Three rules to remember (articles 30 and 43):

• unit prices are written in figures;
• where they disagree, the prices in the schedule of rates prevail over those in the detailed estimate, and the amount of the detailed estimate over that of the form of tender;
• a tender whose item descriptions, units or quantities differ from those in the tender documents is rejected.

Pricing these documents is the daily work of an estimating engineer.

How much is the bid bond?

The bid bond (cautionnement provisoire) is the financial guarantee attached to the tender when the contracting authority requires one. Its amount, stated as a fixed sum, may not exceed 2% of the estimated cost of the work (article 24).

It is forfeited to the contracting authority if the bidder withdraws its tender during the validity period, if it fails to complete its file within the time set by the committee, or if the successful bidder refuses to sign the contract. A tender binds its author for sixty days from the opening of bids (article 36).

Joint venture, conjoint or joint and several: what is the difference?

In a conjoint joint venture (groupement conjoint), each member commits to one or more separate parts of the contract. In a joint and several joint venture (groupement solidaire), all the members commit together to the whole of it (article 150).

• Conjoint joint venture: each member must hold the qualifications and the class required for the part it carries out. The lead member is jointly and severally liable with each of the members.
• Joint and several joint venture: the lead member must hold the required qualifications and class, the other members at least the required qualifications and the class immediately below.

The contracting authority may neither impose the form of the joint venture nor reserve a contract for joint ventures alone.

Is the site visit compulsory?

No. Attendance at the meeting or the site visit is not compulsory, and absence cannot be a ground for elimination (article 26). For your questions, a request for clarification must reach the contracting authority at least seven days before the bid opening session (article 25).

How does the opening of bids work?

The bid opening session is public and is held on the day and at the time set in the notice. The tender committee, chaired by the contracting authority, then examines the files in closed session (articles 38 to 44).

1. The chair opens the envelope containing the administrative and technical files and announces the documents.
2. In closed session, the committee draws up the list of bidders admitted.
3. In public session, the chair opens the financial bids and reads the amounts aloud.
4. In closed session, the committee rejects excessive or abnormally low tenders, calculates the reference price and ranks the tenders.

For works, a tender is excessive when it is more than 20% above the contracting authority's estimate, and abnormally low when it is more than 20% below. The reference price is the arithmetic mean of that estimate and the average of the tenders retained. The tender proposed is the one closest to that price from below or, if there is none, from above (article 44).

An extract from the minutes is published on the portal within twenty-four hours, and eliminated bidders are sent the reasons for their rejection (articles 46 and 47).

How does price revision work in a works contract?

Works contracts are awarded at revisable prices: the price may be changed to reflect economic variations that occur during performance (article 15). The rules are set by order of the Head of Government, and the contract specifications state how the revision is carried out and the date from which it is due.

So read the revision clause in the special conditions (CPS) before you fix your prices: the portal points to the indices kept up to date by the ministry in charge of equipment. For what follows in the contract, see our guide to provisional acceptance, final acceptance and retention.

On our sites

Founded in Marrakech in 1998, AHMA builds for the Kingdom's public sector clients. At head office, our engineering office analyses tender documents, prices public calls for tenders and puts together the technical submissions: hospitals, courts, sports and cultural facilities. The company is graded by the Ministère de l'Équipement et des Transports (Ministry of Equipment and Transport).

More than 250 completed buildings make up our references: our projects and our contracting authorities give the detail.

This guide, up to date as of 13 November 2026, is not legal advice: the official text of Decree n° 2-22-431, the regulatory texts on the portal and the specifications of each contract are authoritative.

Frequently asked questions

What is a schedule of rates (bordereau des prix)?

The schedule of rates is the document that breaks the work of a contract down item by item and gives the price that applies to each. In a unit-price contract, it is completed by the detailed estimate, which adds the assumed quantities. Where the two disagree, the prices in the schedule of rates prevail (articles 4 and 30 of Decree n° 2-22-431).

Which documents make up the administrative file for a call for tenders in Morocco?

When the tender is submitted: the documents proving the signatory's powers, the sworn statement, the receipt for the bid bond if one is required and, for a joint venture, its joint venture agreement. The tax certificate, the certificate from the Caisse nationale de sécurité sociale and the certificate of registration in the trade register are requested only from the bidder in line for the award (article 28 of Decree n° 2-22-431).

What must a reference certificate contain?

It states the nature of the work, its amount, the year it was carried out, the name and capacity of the signatory and the signatory's assessment. It comes from the client, public or private, from the professional who directed the work, or from the contract holder for work that was subcontracted. The contracting authority may not require reference certificates out of proportion to the contract (article 28).

What is the difference between a conjoint joint venture and a joint and several one?

In a conjoint joint venture, each member commits to a separate part of the contract and must hold the qualification and the class required for that part. In a joint and several joint venture, all the members commit together to the whole contract: the lead member holds the required qualification and class, the other members at least the class immediately below (article 150).

What is the maximum amount of the bid bond?

Where one is required, the bid bond may not exceed 2% of the estimated cost of the work drawn up by the contracting authority. Its amount is stated as a fixed sum and announced in the tender notice. If none is provided for, a penalty of 1% of the estimate applies to a bidder that withdraws its tender or refuses to sign (article 24).

Are the prices of a public works contract revisable in Morocco?

Yes. Decree n° 2-22-431 provides that works contracts are awarded at revisable prices (article 15). The revision rules are set by order of the Head of Government, and the contract specifications state how the revision is carried out and the date from which it is due.