Bid validity period in tenders: meaning, calculation and extension

Every tender asks you to keep your offer open for a stated time: the bid validity period. It decides how long your price is locked, how long your EMD must last, and whether the buyer can still award you the contract. This guide explains what bid validity means, how to calculate it, the usual periods, your rights when asked to extend, and what happens when it runs out.

What bid validity means

Your bid is a legal offer. The bid validity period is the time during which the buyer can accept it. The contract is formed when the buyer accepts within that time: the DoE's Manual for Procurement of Works 2025 says the successful bidder is notified "prior to the expiry of the period of bid validity" (para 6.5.1-2).

Your EMD (bid security) exists to hold you to it. Rule 170 of the General Financial Rules (GFR) 2017 calls it a safeguard "against a bidder's withdrawing or altering its bid during the bid validity period".

What you can and can't do:

• Before the submission deadline, you can withdraw, change or resubmit your bid. On e-portals, only your last bid counts (Works Manual para 4.9).
• After the deadline and until validity ends, withdrawing or changing your bid in any way lets the buyer forfeit your EMD, along with any other penalty in the tender.
• If you signed a bid securing declaration instead of paying EMD, backing out means suspension from that buyer's tenders for the period it states (GFR Rule 170(iii)).

See our EMD guide for how much EMD is and how to pay it.

How the bid validity period is calculated

The tender sets two things: the number of days and the date it counts from. If the tender gives no period, the DoE's goods, works and consultancy manuals all say a bid stays valid for 90 days. A bid offering less than the required period is rejected as non-responsive.

The starting date differs by document:

On GeM, the bid document shows the buyer's choice on the line Bid Offer Validity (From End Date). Our guide to reading a GeM bid document explains the other lines.

A worked example

Say a tender's bid due date is 10 November 2026 and it asks for 120 days from that date.

1. Bid validity ends: 10 November 2026 + 120 days = 10 March 2027.
2. EMD bank guarantee must last until: 10 March 2027 + 45 days = 24 April 2027.

Some tenders count the start date as day one and others don't. Give your bank guarantee a few days' margin rather than cutting it to the exact day.

Holidays and changed dates

If the last day of validity falls on a holiday or a closed day for the buyer, the manuals treat validity as extended to the next working day. If a corrigendum moves the bid due date or opening date, recheck your dates, because validity counted from that date moves with it.

Typical bid validity periods

Validity is meant to cover evaluation and award, not more. The manuals say it "should not be unreasonably long", because keeping a bid open for a long time "entails the risk of getting higher prices from the bidders".

The works manual (para 6.2.5) notes that ministries generally award within 90 days of opening tenders and ask for 90 days of validity. It asks them to cut the decision time to 60 days in most cases, and in no case beyond 75 days. It points to CPWD's limits as a model:

What you'll see in practice:

• CPWD: 30 days for price-only tenders and 75 days for two- or three-bid tenders (CPWD Works Manual 2022, para 4.14). Quotations under a notice inviting quotations stay valid for just 3 to 7 days from opening.
• Highway EPC works: MoRTH's RFP, as used by NHIDCL in February 2026, asks for 120 days from the bid due date.
• GeM: among the live GeM bid documents GovtTenderHub has read, buyers chose 180 days in 43.9%, 120 days in 18.6% and 90 days in 17.8%.

When the buyer asks to extend bid validity

Rule 174(iii) of the GFR says departments should place the contract "within the original validity of the bids", and that extension "must be discouraged and resorted to only in exceptional circumstances". Still, delays happen. The DoE manuals set out the process:

1. The buyer asks all responsive bidders, preferably before validity expires, to extend their bids up to a stated date.
2. It may also ask you to extend your EMD for the same extra period.
3. It records its reasons for seeking the extension.

Your right to refuse

The manuals are clear: "A tenderer may not agree to such a request, and this will not lead to forfeiture of its EMD." Refusing is your right, and it costs you nothing but the chance of the contract.

If you agree, you must extend your bid "without changing any terms, conditions, and so on". You can't raise your price because costs went up.

What happens after a refusal

The works manual (para 6.2.6-3) says evaluation carries on, including the bids that weren't extended. If the bidder who refused turns out to be L1 (or H-1 in a QCBS tender), the work must be re-tendered. That refused L1 price isn't used as a benchmark for judging prices later.

How to respond to an extension request

1. Read the request. Note the new validity date and the date by which you must reply.
2. Decide on price. Your price and terms stay the same. If you can't hold them, refuse.
3. Reply in the form asked, online or in writing, before the reply deadline.
4. Extend your EMD. Ask your bank to amend the bank guarantee so it runs at least 45 days past the new validity date.

On GeM, bid validity can be extended "with mutual consent between Buyer and Seller", and you can't withdraw the offered product while the bid is valid. If a technical problem stops an online extension, and before validity expired the buyer told the winner in writing that it intends to award, or has awarded, the contract, validity is treated as extended until GeM fixes the issue (GeM terms, clause 4(xiii)(f)).

EMD validity and bid validity

Your EMD has to outlast your bid. The common rules:

"Final" bid validity means after any extension. So when you agree to extend, extend the EMD too.

When you get it back:

• Losing bidders: after the final bid validity ends, and no later than 30 days after the contract is awarded (GFR Rule 170).
• Bidders who fail the technical stage: within 30 days of the technical result.
• On GeM: within 15 days after award or the end of bid validity, whichever is earlier.
• The winner: once the performance security is submitted.

What happens if the bid validity lapses

• Your offer ends automatically. The DoE's goods manual (Appendix 2, para 2.9) says an offer "stands revoked by the lapse of time prescribed in such offer for its acceptance". The buyer can't accept it after that.
• The buyer needs your consent to go on. The same appendix says that if a tender can't be decided within validity, the bidder's consent should be obtained to keep the offer open. You may agree or decline.
• You're free of the EMD obligation. Withdrawing after validity ends is not a breach, and your EMD is due back under the refund timelines above.
• Negotiations need valid offers. If a buyer plans to negotiate, the works manual says your original offer's validity must be extended first, or it won't be available for acceptance (para 6.4.10).
• A re-tender ends old offers. Once the buyer re-tenders, the earlier bids count as rejected and can't be revived, even if the new prices come in higher (para 6.4.11).

If you're unsure whether a tender is still live or was awarded, check its status on the portal; our guide to tender status and results shows where.

Common questions

What is bid validity in a tender?

It's the period during which your bid stays open for the buyer to accept. You can't withdraw or change your bid in that time without losing your EMD, and the buyer must award the contract before it ends.

What is the normal bid validity period?

It depends on the tender. The DoE manuals use 90 days when none is stated. CPWD uses 30 or 75 days, MoRTH highway RFPs 120 days, and most GeM buyers choose between 90 and 180 days.

Is bid validity counted from bid opening or bid submission?

From whichever date the tender says. CPWD and MoRTH count from the last date of bid submission, and GeM's default counts from bid opening. Read the validity clause and note the exact start date.

Can I refuse to extend my bid validity?

Yes. The DoE manuals say a bidder may refuse an extension request without losing its EMD. If you agree, you must keep your price and terms unchanged.

What should the EMD validity be?

Under GFR Rule 170 and GeM's terms, at least 45 days beyond the final bid validity period. Some tenders fix their own figure, such as CPWD's 180 days for two-bid tenders, so follow the tender.

What happens if bid validity expires before the award?

Your offer lapses, and the buyer can't accept it unless you agree to extend it. If you don't, you're free to walk away, and your EMD should be returned.