How to use the BOAMP to identify public procurement notices in France?

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The website boamp.fr is the official portal of the Bulletin officiel des annonces de marchés publics (BOAMP), published by the Directorate of Legal and Administrative Information (DILA). It is one of the main channels used to publish public procurement notices in France. Understanding how it works, its role, and its limitations is essential to setting up an effective monitoring system for public procurement.
To better master the identification of public opportunities, you can also consult our articles: How to set up a French public procurement watch and Whats is a tendering Platform

The BOAMP publishes national and European public procurement notices, concession notices, award notices, public-private partnership contracts, as well as various legal notices such as those related to complementary social protection. It covers publications from the State, the military, local authorities, and public institutions. The website is updated twice a day, from Monday to Sunday, ensuring regular and fast updates.

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1. The legal framework: when is publication in the BOAMP mandatory?

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Article R. 2131-16 of the French Public Procurement Code requires publication in the BOAMP for all contracts exceeding European thresholds, within formal procedures. For contracts above European thresholds, the law requires double publication: in the BOAMP and in the OJEU (Official Journal of the European Union). For contracts below European thresholds but above €90,000 excluding VAT, which fall under adapted procedures, publication in the BOAMP or in a legally authorized newspaper remains mandatory. For adapted procedures below €90,000 excluding VAT, the public buyer is free to choose the publication channel, whether the BOAMP, a specialized platform, or another medium, since there is no legal obligation to publish in the BOAMP for this range.

To explore further how to identify early-stage projects, you can read: How to identify renewable energy projects in France.

To clarify, there are three levels of thresholds and three publication regimes:

• Contracts exceeding European thresholds: mandatory publication in the BOAMP and the OJEU (formal procedures).
  
  
• Contracts below European thresholds but above €90,000 excluding VAT: mandatory publication in the BOAMP or in a legal announcement journal (adapted procedures).
  
  
• Contracts below €90,000 excluding VAT: the public buyer freely chooses the publication channel, with no obligation to use the BOAMP (light adapted procedures).
  
  

This regulatory framework confirms the central role of the BOAMP in French public procurement, while also explaining why some contracts do not appear there.

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2. The BOAMP in numbers and its advantages

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The BOAMP is a true national reference, notably due to its very large audience. It ensures legal security through standardized national and European forms, offers a specific form for adapted procedures below €90,000, and guarantees very fast publication, with 90% of notices published within twenty-four hours. In 2024, boamp.fr published 135,846 notices and recorded three million visits, with more than 27,000 companies subscribed to its alerts.

Indeed, In principle, one of the major strengths of BOAMP lies in the fact that, although it is not sufficient on its own, it remains a relatively comprehensive national platform covering all major public procurement segments. BOAMP publishes tenders across a very wide range of sectors, including for example, telecommunications, smart cities, transport and mobility, water and wastewater, waste management, digital and software services, environmental projects, as well as renewable energy and energy infrastructure. Even within these broad segments, BOAMP makes it possible to identify highly specific tenders, such as those related to port infrastructure or other specialized assets. This broad coverage makes BOAMP an essential entry point for public tender monitoring in France, provided it is used in combination with more advanced analysis and filtering approaches.

For companies, the platform offers detailed search capabilities thanks to numerous filters, free account creation to receive daily alerts and save searches, as well as a glossary, FAQ, and user support. For public buyers, the BOAMP enables free account creation to publish notices, manages transmission to the Official Journal of the European Union for European notices, distributes advertisements on the site, and sends daily alerts to companies — all with transparent and adapted pricing.

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3. Difference between the BOAMP and the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU)

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The BOAMP and the OJEU (via TED) do not serve the same purpose. The BOAMP is a national medium, published in French, that distributes notices intended for the French market, whether national or European. The OJEU has a European scope. All contracts exceeding European thresholds must be published in the OJEU regardless of the country of origin. It publishes multilingual notices from all EU member states under formal procedures.

In summary, contracts exceeding European thresholds must be published both in the BOAMP and the OJEU. The BOAMP acts as the national portal, while the OJEU ensures visibility at the European level.

To better understand how to analyze procedures related to the photovoltaic sector, you can read: Photovoltaic Call for Expressions of Interest (EOI).

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Therefore, It is important to recall what may seem obvious but is essential to keep in mind: BOAMP only covers public tenders published in France. By definition, it provides national coverage only and does not allow companies to identify export or international opportunities. While BOAMP is a key entry point for monitoring the French public procurement market, it must be understood as part of a broader tender monitoring strategy. The approach, tools and level of granularity required for monitoring tenders in France differ significantly from those needed at an international level. To better understand these structural differences, we recommend reading our dedicated analysis: “Tender monitoring: key differences between France and international markets”, which explains how tender visibility, publication practices and strategic positioning vary across countries.

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4. Why the BOAMP is not sufficient on its own

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Even though it is a key pillar of public procurement, the BOAMP is not exhaustive. Many public buyers publish their contracts exclusively on their regional platform or buyer profile. This is notably the case for platforms like Maximilien (Île-de-France), Mégalis Bretagne, the Grand Est platform, and many others.

Limiting monitoring to the BOAMP means missing a large share of regional, local, or sectoral publications, as well as numerous works or service contracts for which buyers choose alternative channels.

Using BOAMP manually already makes it possible to identify a large number of energy-related tenders, but this approach quickly shows its limits as soon as volumes increase or sources multiply. Regularly consulting BOAMP, sorting duplicates and carrying out detailed analysis of tender documents can become extremely time-consuming. This issue is explored in depth in our article “Manual tender monitoring versus automated monitoring: real gains, limits and trade-offs”, which explains in which cases manual monitoring remains relevant and from what point automation becomes a real performance lever.

For a more complete understanding of how to detect photovoltaic projects, you can consult: How to identify photovoltaic projects in France.

Although the BOAMP does not cover every regional or sector-specific publication, it remains the only national platform that aggregates all legally required public procurement notices in France. This makes it an essential resource for obtaining a broad, reliable overview of public tenders across every industry. To complement this visibility, you can explore curated examples of public tenders directly on Deepbloo, including our pages dedicated to energy-related tenders such as wind power public tenders, self-consumption tenders, district heating networks tenders, environmental protection tenders,  and EV charging infrastructure tenders.

To step away from the energy sector and explore a different perspective, we invite you to read our dedicated article on biodiversity tender monitoring.

These thematic pages help you quickly understand market trends and access concrete, real-world procurement examples relevant to your business.

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5. Difference between the BOAMP and PLACE, the State’s procurement platform

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PLACE, the State’s Procurement Platform, is the tool used by ministries and certain state institutions to publish their consultations and allow companies to download tender documents, ask questions, and submit proposals online. PLACE is a dematerialization platform, not a legal publication medium.

The BOAMP, by contrast, is the official legal publication medium. PLACE only covers State procurement, whereas the BOAMP covers all public buyers (State, local authorities, public institutions). The two tools are complementary: the BOAMP publishes notices, and PLACE is where companies respond to consultations.

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6. How to use the BOAMP effectively?

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To use the BOAMP effectively, it is advisable to take advantage of search filters such as keywords, CPV codes, geographical areas, types of notices, and types of procedures.
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When searching for energy-related tenders on BOAMP, the use of CPV codes represents an essential first level of filtering. These codes make it possible to classify contracts by type of service, but they quickly show their limits when projects are complex, cross-cutting or poorly coded by the public buyer. Relying solely on CPV codes can therefore lead to missing relevant opportunities, particularly in technical sectors related to energy. To better understand how to use CPV codes effectively while avoiding these pitfalls, we recommend reading our dedicated article: “CPV codes: how to use them to effectively identify relevant tenders.”

However, complete monitoring cannot rely solely on the BOAMP: it must include regional platforms, buyer profiles, the OJEU, and other sources.

To understand how to automate and enhance this monitoring using artificial intelligence, you may read: How AI is revolutionizing tender monitoring in France and internationally.

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7. Why use a specialized platform like Deepbloo?

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A platform like Deepbloo allows companies to centralize monitoring across the BOAMP, the OJEU, and more than one hundred regional and sectoral buyer profiles. It removes duplicates, unifies datasets, categorizes markets by industry, and integrates business intelligence to simplify the identification of relevant opportunities.

Deepbloo is particularly valuable in the energy sector, including renewable energy, photovoltaics, wind, biogas, biomass, and district heating. However, it is not limited to energy: the platform aggregates all procurement notices published in France, regardless of the sector.

Deepbloo also captures early signals such as local authority publications, municipal deliberations, building permits, environmental authorizations, preliminary consultations, impact studies, public inquiries, local financing, project intentions, investment programs, and more — enabling companies to anticipate tenders months or years in advance.

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Conclusion

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The BOAMP is a central tool for identifying public procurement contracts in France, especially for formal procedures and contracts above European thresholds. However, it does not cover all publications, notably those on regional platforms, buyer profiles, or private portals. For truly comprehensive monitoring, it is essential to combine the BOAMP with the OJEU, regional platforms, buyer profiles, and specialized tools like Deepbloo that offer a centralized and enriched view tailored to business needs.

If you would like to see how Deepbloo can help you monitor public procurement more efficiently, you can request a demo here.

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