A pre-qualification questionnaire (PQQ) is how a customer decides whether you are a safe, capable and financially sound supplier before they look at your price. Main contractors, facilities companies and public bodies all use them, under different names: PQQ, supplier questionnaire, supplier approval form, subcontractor questionnaire. Most ask much the same things, so the work is in having the answers and the evidence ready.
What they usually ask
- Company details: legal name, registration and VAT numbers, addresses, parent company, directors and a contact for the questionnaire.
- Financial standing: turnover, accounts, references and payment terms.
- Insurance: employer’s liability, public liability, professional indemnity and product liability, with limits and expiry dates.
- Health and safety: your policy, how you manage risk, training and competence, accident and RIDDOR figures, and any enforcement notices or prosecutions.
- Quality and environment: management systems and certificates such as ISO 9001, 14001 and 45001, or how you manage these without certification.
- Responsible business: equality, modern slavery, anti-bribery, data protection, information security and social value.
- Experience and references: similar contracts, with a contact who will vouch for you.
- Declarations and a signature.
Build an evidence pack once
Most of the effort is finding documents. Keep a current set in one place and update it whenever something renews:
- Signed, dated policies: health and safety, environment, quality, equality, modern slavery, anti-bribery and data protection.
- Insurance certificates and their renewal dates.
- Certificates: ISO, SSIP or the Common Assessment Standard, Cyber Essentials and trade memberships.
- The last two or three years’ accounts.
- Accident, incident and RIDDOR figures for the last three to five years.
- An organisation chart, and training and competence records for key people.
- Two or three references who have agreed to be contacted.
- Standard wording for the questions that come up every time.
How to answer well
- Answer the question asked, in the box provided. If it asks for evidence, attach it and say which attachment it is.
- Be specific: "Our health and safety manager reviews every RAMS before work starts" says more than "we take health and safety seriously".
- Follow the customer’s numbering when you attach documents, so the assessor can find them.
- Never leave a question blank. If it does not apply, say so and why.
- Check every figure and date: an expired insurance certificate is the quickest way to fail.
- Keep a copy of what you sent, because the next questionnaire will ask the same things.
Public sector tenders since February 2025
The Procurement Act 2023 came into force on 24 February 2025 for public contracts in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. For procurements under the Act, suppliers register on the government’s Central Digital Platform, which holds their core supplier information once, and buyers use a Procurement Specific Questionnaire in place of the old Selection Questionnaire. Wales uses its own version, and Scotland has separate rules.
Construction: PAS 91 and the Common Assessment Standard
Construction buyers often use PAS 91, the British Standards Institution’s standard pre-qualification questionnaire for construction, or accept the Common Assessment Standard developed by Build UK, so suppliers can answer one recognised set of questions instead of a different form for every customer. Our guide to health and safety accreditation explains how these and SSIP work.
Frequently asked questions
Is a PQQ the same as a tender?
No. A PQQ decides who may bid or join an approved supplier list. The tender is where you price the work and say how you would deliver it.
What if we do not have ISO certification?
Many questionnaires accept evidence that you manage quality, safety and the environment in a structured way without certification, especially from smaller suppliers. Answer honestly, describe what you do and attach the evidence you keep.
How often will we have to fill them in?
Approved supplier lists are usually reviewed every year or two, and many customers use their own questionnaire. Keeping standard answers and evidence up to date makes each one quicker.
This guide is general information for UK businesses, not legal advice. Check the current regulations and HSE guidance at hse.gov.uk, and take professional advice for your situation.