Direct Award up to 100,000 €: IT Projects for BW Municipalities (2025)

Direct Award up to 100,000 €: What Changed for Municipalities in 2025

Since 1 January 2025, municipalities and cities in Baden-Württemberg have been able to award supplies and services with a contract value of up to 100,000 euros net as a direct award. That means: without a formal procurement procedure, without a tender, informally. The basis is the state government's amended administrative regulation on procurement (VergabeVwV BW). This raised threshold is time-limited and, as things currently stand, applies until 1 October 2027.

For IT and software projects this is a significant relief. A manageable project, such as a specialist application, a building block for a citizen portal, or a process automation, can be commissioned considerably faster and with less administrative effort than before.

An important note up front: this article summarizes the rules in general terms and is not legal advice. In each individual case, the decisive factors are the exact wording of the VergabeVwV BW, the applicable budget and procurement law, and your internal service instructions.

Which thresholds apply?

For the range below the EU thresholds (supplies and services), three tiers are relevant in simplified terms:

1. Direct award up to 100,000 euros net: informal commissioning without a formal procedure.
2. Restricted tender or negotiated award without a call for competition up to the EU threshold: here you usually obtain several offers and document the selection.
3. From the EU threshold (currently around 221,000 euros net for municipal supplies and services) onward, European procurement law applies, with an EU-wide tender.

The direct award does not exempt you from the general budgetary principles. Economy and efficiency continue to apply. And: many municipalities set lower thresholds in their internal rules, above which several comparative offers must be obtained. So always check your own service instruction as well.

What does this mean in practice for a software project?

Suppose your administration wants to commission a custom application whose effort is below 100,000 euros net. Then, at its core:

• You do not have to run a formal tender. You may approach and commission a suitable provider directly.
• A comparison still remains advisable: one to three offers, or at least a documented market survey, create transparency and support the economy of the decision.
• The selection decision should be traceably justified, above all with regard to suitability, value for money, and reliability on deadlines.

In practice this shortens the path from idea to a running project considerably, because the formal tendering phase is no longer needed.

Documentation duty: please do not underestimate it

Even with an informal direct award, a documentation duty remains. It is advisable to record the following in a short procurement note:

• subject and estimated contract value (net)
• chosen type of award and justification of the threshold
• market survey or offers obtained
• reasons for selecting the provider

These records are your safeguard towards the audit office and supervisory authority. The effort is small, and the benefit in case of doubt is large.

Suitability and references: what matters in IT partners

Especially with software, it pays to look at the suitability of the provider rather than at the price alone. Useful suitability evidence includes:

• References from comparable projects, ideally from the public sector
• experience with data protection and information security (GDPR, and IT security requirements where applicable)
• statements on maintenance, further development, and handover (no lock-in)
• a realistic, comprehensible delivery and maintenance plan

A small, specialized partner can be an advantage here: short communication paths, a clear point of contact, fast coordination.

In short

• Since 1 January 2025, direct awards up to 100,000 euros net are possible, time-limited until expected 1 October 2027.
• Up to the EU threshold, a restricted tender or negotiated award without a call for competition is also possible.
• Economy, documentation, and internal thresholds still need to be observed.
• For IT projects, suitability and references are often more decisive than price alone.

If, as a municipality in Baden-Württemberg, you are considering a software project as a direct award, we can estimate effort, scope, and a solid offer together that fits into your procurement note. Feel free to get in touch, and we will look at your project calmly. Please note: this article does not replace legal advice.