How to register and bid on eprocure.gov.in and other NIC portals

NIC's GePNIC software runs the e-procurement portals of central ministries, central PSUs, Defence and most states, and Rule 160 of the General Financial Rules requires central ministries to receive all bids through e-procurement portals. The portals share the same menus, so once you know one you can use them all. This guide follows the buttons as the portals and NIC's Bidders Manual Kit name them.

The portals this covers

Central ministries use eprocure.gov.in/eprocure/app, central PSUs etenders.gov.in and Defence defproc.gov.in. States run their own copies, such as mahatenders.gov.in, etender.up.nic.in and tntenders.gov.in. The portals guide lists who publishes where.

An account on one portal doesn't work on another. Enrolment stays valid as long as your business exists; only the DSC needs renewing. The central portal's FAQ adds that on some state systems the authorities must approve your enrolment before you can take part.

What you need before you start

• A Class 3 DSC with a signing certificate on a USB token, with its driver installed. GePNIC bidders don't need an encryption certificate. See the DSC guide.
• An email ID and mobile number you check. The portal uses them for all correspondence.
• Firm details: PAN, registration number, registered address, partners or directors, year of establishment and legal status, plus your Udyam certificate if you're an MSE. The documents checklist covers what tenders ask for later.
• A working computer. Check your browser on the portal's Site compatibility page and install Java from Downloads. The CPPP's guidelines for hassle-free bid submission advise broadband, not mobile data.

Step 1: Enrol as a bidder

1. On the home page, click Online Bidder Enrollment.
2. Login Id is an email address and can't be changed once registered. The password must be 8 to 32 characters; mix letters with other characters. Add a Correspondence Email and Mobile.
3. Fill in Company Details: Company Name / Licence Holder Name (NIC's manual says this can't be changed later), Registration Number, address, BidderType (Indian or Foreign), PAN Number, Establishment Year, Legal Status and Company Category, such as "Micro Unit as per MSME".
4. If you choose MSME or Make in India as the Preference Category, the form tells you to finish the details later under My Accounts → Privileges.
5. Add the contact person's details, type the Captcha and click Submit.

Step 2: Log in and map your DSC

1. Click Login, enter your Login ID, Password and Captcha, and click Proceed. Then sign in with your token's PIN.
2. On the first login the portal asks you to enrol a DSC. Select your certificate and add your GST details. NIC's manual says you become a valid bidder only after this step.
3. One DSC per account. A mapped DSC can't be moved to another account, only inactivated. Using one firm's DSC to bid for another is illegal under the IT Act, the FAQ warns. A new DSC can take up to 24 hours to be recognised, so register a day ahead.
4. When you renew, log in with the old DSC, open DSC information, click remove, log out and log in again to enrol the new one. An expired DSC is inactivated automatically and the portal asks for a new one.

Under My Accounts you can set mail and SMS alerts and pick product categories, to get an email whenever a tender in them is published. Store certificates you attach to most bids under My Documents.

Step 3: Find tenders and follow them

Without logging in, you can browse Active Tenders, Tenders by Closing Date, Tenders by Organisation and Corrigendum, or use Search. Searches and document downloads ask for a CAPTCHA each time. Tender IDs look like 2026_AIMSD_928211_1.

After logging in, open Search Active Tenders, tick the tender and click Set Open Tender as Favorite. It moves to My Tenders and you get its updates by email and SMS. The CPPP guidelines warn that delivery of these alerts isn't guaranteed, so keep checking until the closing date.

On the tender's page, check:

• Payment Mode (Online or Offline) and the accepted Payment Instruments.
• Covers Information: which document goes in which cover, in what format.
• Tender Fee Details and EMD Fee Details, including whether exemption is allowed. See EMD in tenders.
• Withdrawal Allowed and the Critical Dates. You can't submit before the Bid Submission Start Date.

Download the NIT Document and Work Item Documents (tender documents and BOQ), or Download as zip file. Where the department allows it, ask questions through Clarification; other bidders don't see who asked.

Step 4: Submit the bid

1. In My Tenders, open the tender, click Proceed for Bid Submission, select I Agree and click Next through your details.
2. Exemption: to claim a fee or EMD exemption, select Yes, enter the percentage or amount and upload the signed certificate. It can't be changed once you click Confirm.
3. Offline payment: click Pay Offline and enter the instrument's details. Upload its scan where the covers ask, and deliver the original by the tender's deadline. If the two don't match, the tender is "summarily rejected".
4. Online payment: click Pay Online, then Confirm to Pay, and pay the total in one transaction. Several portals use SBI MOPS (net banking or NEFT/RTGS challan). You can freeze the bid only once Payment Verification shows Success.
5. Encrypt & Upload: for each cover, choose the files and click Sign & Upload with your token PIN. Use the formats the tender lists (generally PDF, XLS, RAR, DWF or JPG), keep & and commas out of file names, and scan at 75 to 100 DPI.
6. BOQ: in the finance cover, upload the department's Excel BOQ with only your name and rates filled in, after clicking Validate. Never rename the file or the sheet.
7. Check View Uploaded File details, click Next and then Freeze Bid Submission.
8. Print the acknowledgement with your Bid ID and submission time. It proves you bid, though the portal says it doesn't certify that your documents are correct.

Resubmitting or withdrawing a bid

Resubmit from My Active Bids before closing: the fee, the EMD or the bid documents, then freeze again. The latest upload replaces the old one, and changing even one document means uploading that whole cover again.

Withdraw from My Active Bids too, with a reason and a signed letter; the bid moves to My Withdrawal Bids. The CPPP guidelines say a bidder who withdraws "will not be allowed to participate in the same tender once again". NIC's SBI MOPS manual says fees paid online are refunded after technical bid opening.

The department decides for each tender whether resubmission and withdrawal are allowed. On tntenders.gov.in there is no withdrawal for tenders published from 1 April 2023, under the Tamil Nadu Transparency in Tenders Act. After closing, no changes are possible.

Common errors and fixes

Common questions

Is eprocure registration free?

Yes. The FAQ says "NIC does not charge the Bidders for enrollment", adding that it depends on organisation policy. Mahatenders has charged ₹500 per bid since 15 August 2024. Tender fee and EMD are separate.

Can I use my Mahatenders login on eprocure.gov.in?

No. Each GePNIC portal has its own enrolment, though the same DSC can be enrolled on each.

What does Freeze Bid Submission mean?

It is the step that actually submits your bid. Until you freeze, your uploads are an incomplete bid and won't be evaluated.

How do I check my bid after submitting?

Use My Active Bids and Tender Status on your dashboard, or the public Tenders Status page. The tender status guide explains each stage. New tenders from central ministries are also listed on GovtTenderHub's central eProcurement page.