What Is a CPV Code?

Commission Recommendation 96/527/EC of 30 July 1996 calls the CPV an adaptation of the CPA, the EU's statistical classification of products by activity. The CPA was too coarse for buying: according to the CPV guide on TED, the EU tenders portal, two CPA codes covered every computer on the market. The first version appeared in 1993 as the Community Procurement Vocabulary. The second, in June 1994, renamed it Common Procurement Vocabulary and added a check digit, separated by a hyphen, to catch typing errors.

Source: TED CPV 2008 Guide; Recommendation 96/527/EC; Regulations (EC) 2195/2002 and 213/2008; Directive 2014/24/EU; legislation.gov.uk; GOV.UK; COM(2026) 590 (accessed 09.11.2026).

The CPV has a main vocabulary and a supplementary vocabulary.

The main vocabulary is a tree of codes "of up to nine digits": eight digits, a hyphen and a check digit. More trailing zeros mean a broader code:

• the first two digits give the division (XX000000-Y);
• the first three, the group (XXX00000-Y);
• the first four, the class (XXXX0000-Y);
• the first five, the category (XXXXX000-Y);
• digits six to eight narrow it down within the category;
• the digit after the hyphen checks the eight before it.

Source: Regulation (EC) No 213/2008, Annex I (accessed 09.11.2026).

The supplementary vocabulary adds details such as material, form or intended use. Its codes combine a letter for the section, a letter for the group and three digits, the last a check digit: AA01-1 means "Metal".

Annex I of Regulation 213/2008 lists 9,454 main codes, the same figure as the TED guide: 45 divisions, 272 groups, 1,002 classes, 2,379 categories and 5,756 more precise codes. The supplementary vocabulary has 903.

• 45000000-7 Construction work
• 72000000-5 IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support
• 79341000-6 Advertising services

A UK case: on 2 November 2026, Nottingham City Council published "Provision of Scaffolding" on Find a Tender as a UK4 tender notice under the Procurement Act 2023, with the codes 45000000 Construction work and 44212310 Scaffolding, shown without check digit.

Source: Regulation (EC) No 2195/2002, recital 4; Regulation (EU) 2022/943; TED CPV page; cosinex (accessed 09.11.2026).

Source: Directive 2014/24/EU, Annex II; Recommendation 96/527/EC (accessed 09.11.2026).

The official source is TED, run by the EU Publications Office. Its CPV page offers the full vocabulary as XLS, ODS or XML. The legal text is Annex I of Regulation 213/2008 on EUR-Lex.

TED's rule: pick the code that describes the purchase most accurately and use a single code for the notice title. If none is precise enough, move up to a code with more zeros.

In the UK, Find a Tender shows each notice's CPV codes on the page and in its OCDS data.

There has been no new version since 2008, only a 2022 correction to one code in the Croatian and Estonian texts.

The procurement software company cosinex reports that a Commission project started in 2017, with cosinex involved, and that its working group recommended a complete overhaul. According to cosinex, writing in August 2026, the work has stalled because the directives fix several codes by number and text.

On 9 September 2026 the Commission proposed COM(2026) 590, a regulation on public contracts and concessions that would repeal the 2014 directives. Its explanatory memorandum says the new system will require an update of the CPV. It is only a proposal and sets no timetable for a new version.

In the UK, the Procurement Regulations 2024 use CPV codes in several places:

• Regulation 3 defines a "CPV code" as a code in the Common Procurement Vocabulary adopted by Regulation (EC) No 2195/2002.
• Regulation 14 includes the relevant CPV codes in the "contract subject-matter" that notices publish.
• Regulation 42 specifies light touch services by the CPV codes in Table 1 of Schedule 1, for example 79611000 job search services.
• Regulation 45 defines "works" as the activities coming within the CPV codes listed in Schedule 3.

In the EU, Regulation 2195/2002 applies directly in every member state, and Article 23 of Directive 2014/24/EU requires the CPV for all procurement nomenclatures.

• Describe in one sentence what you are buying or offering.
• Search that word in the TED CPV list and note the candidate codes.
• Choose the most precise code that covers the whole contract as your main code.
• Add codes for significant parts or for individual lots.
• As a supplier, set alerts on the group or class code, not only the exact code.

• Use CPV 2008, the current version.
• In the UK, check Schedules 1 and 3 of the Procurement Regulations 2024: the CPV code decides what counts as light touch services and as works.
• Quote the notice's own codes in your bid.

• Choosing a code that is too broad. In a cosinex survey at a procurement symposium, 45% said they mostly use the division code.
• Choosing a code so narrow that it covers only part of the contract.
• Dropping or mistyping the check digit.
• Giving a UNSPSC code where the notice asks for a CPV code.

This entry was written in November 2026 with AI assistance. It started from an analysis of the top search results to add what they lacked: dated history, the supplementary vocabulary, the check digit, the UK rules after Brexit and the 2026 reform proposal. The facts come from EUR-Lex, legislation.gov.uk, GOV.UK and TED. The code count and the Find a Tender data are our own analysis. It was reviewed before publication and contains no client data.