PQQ in construction: what it asks and how to pass one
In short
A PQQ is a screening questionnaire buyers use to shortlist contractors before tender. Keep insurance, safety, financial and project evidence in one current file so each form is assembled, not hunted for.
- A PQQ screens contractors on identity, finance, insurance, health and safety, quality and past projects before any tender invitation.
- Capable subcontractors usually fail because they cannot produce current evidence by the deadline.
- In UK public procurement the Common Assessment Standard is now the preferred questionnaire, replacing PAS 91.
- One standing evidence file with a named owner and a quarterly review turns each PQQ into an assembly job.
- Log every outcome and score so you know which part of the file to strengthen.
A PQQ is the screening form a buyer sends before inviting a contractor to tender. Most subcontractors fail it on missing evidence, not missing capability, so here is how to keep one file ready for every questionnaire.
A pre-qualification questionnaire, or PQQ, is a set of screening questions that a client, developer or main contractor sends to firms that want to be invited to tender. It asks about your identity, finances, insurance, health and safety, quality, environmental practice and past projects. To get on the tender list, a contractor returns the completed form with supporting evidence: insurance certificates, accounts, policies, accreditations and references. Buyers score the answers and shortlist only the firms that pass.
Most subcontractors that fail at this stage are capable of the work. They fail because the evidence is scattered across inboxes, a director's laptop and a broker's portal, and the deadline arrives before it can be found. This guide shows what a PQQ asks and how to keep a single evidence file ready, so each new form becomes an assembly job.
What a construction PQQ asks
Questions differ in format from buyer to buyer, but the subject areas are consistent. Designing Buildings lists the typical requests: company details and legal status, insurance cover, recent accounts, relevant experience, technical and professional ability, capacity, health and safety, quality assurance, environmental management, equal opportunities policy and references.
In the UK, the Common Assessment Standard (CAS) is now the preferred questionnaire for public sector construction procurement. Policy note PPN 03/24 steered buyers away from PAS 91, which the British Standards Institution withdrew. Version 4 of CAS, published in July 2024, has ten sections: identity, financial, corporate and professional standing, health and safety, environmental, quality, building safety, fairness inclusion and respect, information security and information management. Outside the UK the names change, but the same evidence categories appear.
Guidance, not law
PPN 03/24 is guidance to public buyers. Private clients and main contractors may still send their own forms, so expect both formats.
Why capable firms still get filtered out
A PQQ is a screening exercise. The buyer is not judging how well you build, only whether you can prove you are safe, solvent, insured and experienced. A missing or expired certificate is usually scored as a fail on that question, however good the work behind it.
Consider a 15-person electrical subcontractor invited to a PQQ with a ten-day return date. The public liability certificate sits with the broker, the health and safety policy was last reviewed two years ago, and nobody remembers which project can serve as a reference. Three days go on hunting, two on rewriting, and the form goes in rushed. The firm was able to do the job but could not show it.
Build one evidence file, then answer from it
The steps below set up a standing file. Keep it in one shared location with a named owner, and every PQQ draws from it.
Read the questionnaire and sort the questions into categories
Before gathering anything, go through the form and group each question under identity, finance, insurance, health and safety, quality, environment, people policies or experience. Note the return date, any mandatory pass or fail questions and any word limits. This tells you what you must prove and what you can answer in a sentence.
Collect your identity and corporate records
Gather your company registration number, registered address, legal status, directors, VAT number and trading history. Add details of any parent company or group. Also record any history that buyers ask about under professional standing, such as insolvency or convictions, with a clear and honest statement ready where the answer is yes.
Store current insurance certificates with their expiry dates
Hold copies of public liability, employers' liability, professional indemnity and contract works cover where relevant. Record the limit of indemnity and the renewal date for each. Employers' liability is legally required in the UK for most employers, and buyers check that the certificate is in date. Diarize renewals 60 days ahead so the file never holds an expired document.
Prepare your financial evidence
Keep the last two or three years of filed accounts, a recent turnover figure and your bank or accountant details for confirmation requests. Buyers often set a turnover threshold relative to the contract value. Decide in advance how you will explain a weak year, such as one large write-off, so the narrative is ready.
Assemble health and safety proof
Include your signed health and safety policy with a review date inside the last 12 months, risk assessment and method statement examples, training records, accident statistics for the last three to five years, and any accreditation such as a Safety Schemes in Procurement (SSIP) certificate. Keep the certificates and the accident data together.
Add quality, environmental and policy documents
Collect ISO certificates if you hold them, your quality procedure, environmental policy, waste handling approach, equal opportunities policy and information security statement. If you have no formal certificate, a short written policy with a named owner and review date is far stronger than a blank answer.
Write up four to six past projects as reusable case entries
For each project, record the client, value, dates, your scope, the programme outcome, any problems solved and a referee who has agreed to be contacted. Buyers want relevant projects of similar size and type, so write entries you can trim to match each question. Keep the figures consistent with your project records.
Review, assign an owner and submit early
Check every certificate date, read each answer against the question's wording and have a second person review the form. Submit at least a day before the deadline, because portals fail late in the afternoon. Afterward, save the submitted version in the file with the outcome and any scoring feedback.
Where the records should live
A shared folder works if one person keeps it current. The weak point is the project history, because the details sit in individual job files. If your quotes, contracts and project records are in one system, pulling a reference takes minutes. Zigaflow's project tracking keeps value, dates and variations against each job, and contracts holds signed agreements and their key dates. Your policies and method statements can be issued from consistent document templates, so every version carries the same branding and review date. For more on the wider construction picture, see construction and trade.
Common mistakes that cost points
Expired documents are the most frequent. Check every date on the day you submit, not on the day you filed it.
Copying a previous answer without rereading the question is the second. Buyers score the answer to the question asked, and a pasted paragraph about a different scope reads as careless.
Over-claiming is the third. If a project reference cannot be verified, or the accident statistics do not match your records, the buyer may discount the whole submission. Say what you can prove.
Finally, many firms never record outcomes. Keep a log of each PQQ, the result and any feedback, since scoring comments show exactly which part of your file to strengthen. The related guide on passing a buyer's supplier prequalification covers the same ground from the buyer's side.
Keeping the file current
Set a quarterly review. Update accident figures, add the newest completed project, refresh any policy past its review date and check that renewal diary entries still match the certificates. A 30-minute review four times a year is far cheaper than a three-day scramble before a bid deadline, and it means a PQQ invitation becomes a prompt to assemble rather than a crisis to survive.
Common questions
Sources
- Pre-qualification questionnaire PQQ for construction contractsDesigning Buildings · accessed 2026-11-03
- What is PAS 91 and is it still used as a construction PQQ?Constructionline · accessed 2026-11-03