UK13 Notices Explained: What Suppliers Need to Know About Dynamic Market Intention Notices

What is a Dynamic Market Intention Notice?

A UK13 notice, formally a ‘Dynamic Market Intention Notice’ under section 39(2) of the Procurement Act 2023, is a required publication a contracting authority must make before it establishes a Dynamic Market. Per Cabinet Office guidance, this is a mandatory legal step, not a discretionary one – a contracting authority cannot set up a Dynamic Market without first publishing a UK13.

A Dynamic Market itself isn’t a one-off contract competition – it’s a standing list of qualified suppliers that one or more contracting authorities can draw on repeatedly, running procurements under it over time. Because setting up (or modifying) a Dynamic Market isn’t a ‘public contract’ in the Act’s terms, the usual contract-award notices don’t apply to it – dynamic market notices, starting with the UK13, are the specific mechanism the Act uses instead.

Regulation 25(2) sets out what a UK13 must contain, and the guidance is clear that it should give suppliers enough detail to decide whether to apply.

UK13 notices must include:

• Information about the goods, services or works that may be procured under the Dynamic Market
• How the Dynamic Market will operate, including any technical requirements
• The conditions for membership of the Dynamic Market, and how applications to join can be made
• Information about any fees charged under the Dynamic Market
• The contracting authorities (or persons) permitted to use the Dynamic Market

When are Dynamic Market Intention Notices Published?

UK13 notices are published whenever a contracting authority is preparing to set up a new Dynamic Market, and can appear at any point in the procurement calendar.

• Always before establishment: Section 39(2) requires the UK13 to be published before the Dynamic Market is established – it is the first of the four stages of dynamic market notices, and every Dynamic Market will have had one.
• No fixed application deadline of its own: A contracting authority may choose to state a date by which applications should be submitted to allow time for consideration ahead of a specific procurement’s deadline, but this is for the authority’s own planning – dynamic markets must remain open to new applications at any time, for their entire life.

How can Suppliers use Dynamic Market Intention Notices?

A UK13 is the one point in a Dynamic Market’s life where the conditions for membership are set out in full – and, importantly, those conditions cannot be changed once the market is running, so it’s worth reading closely first time.

• Assess the conditions for membership carefully: These are fixed for the life of the market, so this notice is your clearest view of the bar you’ll need to clear to join.
• Note there’s no cap on numbers: The Act doesn’t allow contracting authorities to limit how many suppliers can be on a Dynamic Market, so qualifying suppliers won’t be turned away for space reasons.
• Use it to plan your application: Since a UK13 sets out how to apply and any fee information, use it to prepare your evidence ahead of the UK14 Establishment Notice that follows.

Why are Dynamic Market Intention Notices used?

Dynamic Markets were introduced under the Procurement Act 2023 to replace dynamic purchasing systems and qualification systems with a single, more flexible commercial tool, and UK13 notices exist to make the start of that process transparent.

• Required transparency before establishment: Because establishing a Dynamic Market isn’t a public contract in its own right, the UK13 is the Act’s specific mechanism for giving suppliers visibility before the market exists.
• Protects fairness on conditions for membership: Since conditions for membership can’t be changed later, publishing them up front in the UK13 ensures every supplier – whenever they apply – is judged against the same bar.
• Supports SME participation: Rules on conditions for membership are designed to be a proportionate assessment of legal, financial and technical capacity, which is intended to support smaller suppliers who wish to tender for public contracts.

In Summary

A UK13 notice is a mandatory step a contracting authority must take before it can establish a Dynamic Market, and it’s your only real preview of the conditions for membership – which, once set, stay fixed for the life of the market. Suppliers who read it closely and prepare early put themselves in the strongest position when the UK14 Establishment Notice confirms the market is live.