CPV code explorer

The whole Common Procurement Vocabulary — all 9,454 codes, straight from the European Commission's own list — searchable by code or by what it means. 3,554 of them have tenders open right now; those link through to the contracts.

What a CPV code is

Every contract notice published in the EU Official Journal is tagged with codes from the Common Procurement Vocabulary, an eight-digit classification that says what is being bought, independently of the language it is bought in. It is the only reliable way to follow one kind of work across twenty-seven countries: a road resurfacing contract is 45233220 whether the notice is written in Portuguese, Estonian or Greek.

The digits narrow from left to right. The first two are the division — 45 is construction work. The third adds the group, the fourth the class, the fifth the category; the remaining digits refine further, and the final digit is a check digit. A buyer picks one main code and may add others.

Suppliers use them to filter: pick the codes that describe what you sell, and you can watch the whole single market instead of one national portal.

The 45 divisions

Agriculture, farming, fishing and forestry products319Petroleum products, fuel, electricity and energy1148Mining, basic metals and related products91Food, beverages and tobacco716Agricultural machinery121Clothing, footwear and accessories389Leather, textile, plastic and rubber materials121Printed matter and related products213Chemical products313Office and computing machinery and supplies1206Electrical machinery, equipment and lighting970Radio, television and telecommunication equipment797Medical equipment and pharmaceuticals4027Transport equipment2329Security, fire-fighting, police and defence equipment629Musical instruments, sport goods, games and art materials216Laboratory, optical and precision equipment1197Furniture, furnishings and cleaning products1345Collected and purified water14Industrial machinery1030Mining, quarrying and construction machinery219Construction structures and materials1118Construction work7038Software packages and information systems1563Repair and maintenance services2538Installation services480Hotel, restaurant and retail trade services428Transport services700Supporting transport services and travel agencies320Postal and telecommunications services251Public utilities187Financial and insurance services1471Real estate services129Architectural, engineering and inspection services4462IT services: consulting, software development and support2249Research and development services259Administration, defence and social security services254Services related to the oil and gas industry28Agricultural, forestry and horticultural services842Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment2345Education and training services542Health and social work services748Sewage, refuse, cleaning and environmental services3549Recreational, cultural and sporting services412Other community, social and personal services507