Responding to the contract: preparing the application

The applicant must provide the following documents in his/her application:

• Declaration on Honor to justify that there is no prohibition on tendering for a public contract
• Documents and information which enable the purchaser to check his ability to pursue his professional activity and his economic, financial, technical and professional abilities.

The application may be submitted in the form of a Dume (single European procurement document) completed online or standard forms DC1 and DC2 (possibly a DC4).

The buyer sometimes requires that the response be sent with a Dume.

The Dume (Single European Market Document) is a electronic standardized form which allows candidates to submit their applications.

The public purchaser has the option to require that the application be made with this Dume device in the consultation rules (CR). It is accessible via Chorus Pro or can be completed directly on the buyer profile.

It takes the form of a declaration of honor of the applicant who certifies the following:

• It does not fall within the exclusion criteria.
• He meets the selection criteria.
• He undertakes to provide the information requested by the public purchaser.

Thanks to the Dume, the bidder for the public contract is not obliged to provide information already known to the administrations in application of the principle “Tell us once”. Therefore, a candidate who has established a Dume online does not need to transmit a certificate of fiscal regularity and a certificate of vigilance.

This form shall be drawn up on the basis of a standard form drawn up by the European Commission. Once completed, the Dume is recorded and archived. It can then be modified and re-used for all public procurement within the the European Union. The public purchaser may require that the application be written in French.

European Single Market Document (ESPD)

The economic operator may submit an application by filling in the standard forms ‘Applicant’s declaration’ DC1 and DC2 set up by the Ministry of Economy. Where recourse is had to the subcontracting, he must also fill in the form DC4 subcontractor report that introduces the subcontractor.

Form DC1: Application Letter

This form DC1 is a sample application letter in the form of a declaration of honor certifying that the applicant does not meet the criteria for exclusion from the contract.

It shall be completed by the tenderer or the authorized representative in the event of a reply to grouping of companies.

The DC1 shall include the following elements:

• Identification the contracting authority (i.e. the public purchaser)
• Purpose of the consultation : Content of the reference to the subject of the consultation
• Purpose of the application : Application submitted for the entire public contract or for all lots or for certain lots
• Presentation of the candidate identifies the candidate who can run alone or who can be a company group (spouse or joint and several)
• Identification of the members of the grouping and distribution of benefits. Several companies may join forces in order to pool their competences in order to respond to a public contract, this association may then take the form of a temporary grouping of companies (GME).
  The GME companies shall be represented to the buyer by a representative who is his only interlocutor. The Trustee shall be responsible for coordinating the intervention of the companies of the grouping and for ensuring the administrative and financial management of the contract. It may also be joint and several of all the Member companies of the grouping. In this case, a clause explicitly mentions it in the contract
• Appointment of the authorized representative and authorization (in the case of a grouping): the companies of the EMG are represented with the buyer by a representative who is his sole interlocutor. He shall be responsible for signing the contract, coordinating the intervention of the companies of the grouping and ensuring the administrative and financial management of the contract. It may also be joint and several of all the Member companies of the grouping. In this case, a clause explicitly mentions it in the contract.
• Applicant Commitment individual or of each member of the grouping who declaration of honor it does not fall within the scope of an exclusion from a public contract

Form DC2: Declaration of the individual candidate or the member of the grouping

Form DC2 completes form DC1.

It clarifies the following:

• Applicant Identification individual business : commercial name, corporate name of the individual applicant, address of his establishment and registered office, e-mail address, telephone and fax numbers and SIRET number, etc., legal form of the individual applicant or the member of the grouping (GSA, SAS, SARL, EURL, etc.)
• Information about your suitability to pursue the occupation. The applicant shall also provide his unique identification number (Siren). When practicing a regulated profession requiring registration in a professional register, he shall provide evidence of such registration.
• Information on the economic and financial standing of the individual applicant: overall turnover and turnover relating to the subject matter of the contract.
• Information on the technical and professional capacity of the applicant: human, technical resources (material and technical equipment available to the applicant)

Form DC4: Subcontract Declaration

Where recourse is had to the subcontracting, the applicant must also complete Form DC4 to submit the subcontractor(s).

The outsourcing declaration shall include the following information:

• Nature of subcontracted services
• Name, name or business name and address of proposed subcontractor
• Maximum amount of sums to be paid to subcontractor
• Payment conditions provided for in the draft subcontract and, where appropriate, the arrangements for price changes
• The professional, technical and financial capabilities of the subcontractor on which the applicant relies
• Declaration by the subcontractor that he is not subject to a ban on access to public contracts

The declaration of subcontracting shall be signed by the company applying for the contract, the subcontractor and the public purchaser.

Public procurement - Candidate's statements

The means and deadlines for submitting the application file of the applicant company depend on the amount of the public contract.

For public contracts of an amount equal to or greater than €40,000 HT, the application dossier and the tender must be transmitted via a dematerialization platform called buyer profile.

Below an amount of €40,000  HT, the dematerialization of the procedure is not mandatory. A dedicated mailbox can be used with an acknowledgement of receipt indicating the date and time of receipt.

For more information, see the fact sheet dedicated to this subject.