Common Procurement Vocabulary (Cpv) Codes Definition
In public procurement, the Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV) is a coding system used to identify the goods and services that are being procured. The CPV consists of a main vocabulary for identifying the subject matter of a contract, and a supplementary vocabulary for adding further detail.
The main vocabulary is made up of 8 digits, with each digit representing a different category of goods or services. The first two digits identify the broadest category, while the remaining six digits are used to identify more specific items within that category. For example, the code ‘45000000-7’ would be used to describe construction work.
The supplementary vocabulary is made up of 4 digits, and is used to add further detail to the main CPV code. For example, the code ‘45000000-7-1234’ would be used to describe specific construction work relating to the building of roads.
The CPV codes are published by the European Commission, and are regularly updated to take into account new goods and services.