Search CPV codes
Type a word in English or Greek, or the first digits of a code. The search covers the whole CPV 2008 main vocabulary, 9,454 codes, as published by the Publications Office of the EU.
Download the CPV list as Excel (Greek and English) ↓
What CPV is
The Common Procurement Vocabulary is the European Union's single classification system for the subject matter of public contracts. It was established by Regulation (EC) 2195/2002 and the current version, known as CPV 2008, was set by Regulation (EC) 213/2008. Its use is mandatory in every notice published in TED and, in Greece, in every ΚΗΜΔΗΣ record and every ΕΣΗΔΗΣ tender.
Its purpose is that the same subject is described by the same code in every language and every country. A Dutch supplier of medical devices finds Greek tenders through code 33100000 without reading a word of Greek, and vice versa.
How to read a code
Each code has eight digits and a check digit after the hyphen. The digits are read from left to right as a tree, each further digit refining the previous one.
| Level | Digits | Example | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Division | first 2 | 33000000-0 | Medical equipment, pharmaceuticals and personal care products |
| Group | first 3 | 33100000-1 | Medical equipment |
| Class | first 4 | 33110000-4 | Imaging equipment for medical, dental and veterinary use |
| Category | first 5 | 33111000-1 | X-ray devices |
| Subcategories | 6 to 8 | 33111610-0 | Magnetic resonance units |
Trailing zeros mean the code is generic. A tender coded 33100000 concerns medical equipment in general, one coded 33111610 concerns MRI units specifically. The supplementary vocabulary, with codes such as AA01 (metal) or FG01 (for educational use), adds attributes and is rarely used in Greek tender documents.
How it is used in Greece
The contracting authority selects one or more CPV codes when it records the request and the tender documents in ΚΗΜΔΗΣ. Those codes travel with the contract through its whole life and are the main search filter in ΚΗΜΔΗΣ, ΕΣΗΔΗΣ and TED. Tender alert services rely on them almost exclusively.
That is also where the problem lies. The code is chosen by a clerk of the authority, from a tree of 9,454 options, often in a hurry. In practice three things happen:
- Generic codes. A purchase of management software is recorded as 48000000 (software packages and information systems) instead of the precise code for its category. Anyone monitoring only the precise code never sees it.
- Wrong codes. Building cleaning services are recorded as cleaning products or as property management services. The title is right, the code is not.
- Mixed contracts. A tender for supply and installation of equipment with five years of maintenance gets one code, usually the equipment's, and maintenance companies never find it.
The conclusion for a supplier is that monitoring by CPV code is necessary but not sufficient. You also need to watch the more generic codes in your branch of the tree, and to supplement the search with keywords in titles.
How to choose your company's codes
- Start from the contracts you have already wonFind them in ΚΗΜΔΗΣ and note the codes the authorities used. These are the codes under which the market classifies you, not the ones you would pick.
- Go one or two levels up the treeFor every precise code add its class and its group. If you sell 33111610, add 33111000 and 33110000. That catches the generic entries.
- Check your competitorsTheir awards in ΚΗΜΔΗΣ show codes you may not have thought of, especially in neighbouring divisions.
- Keep the list shortTen to twenty codes cover most companies. Fifty codes mean you will see irrelevant notices every day and stop reading them.
- Review every six monthsSee which tenders you missed because they carried a different code, and add it.
In the GOVADI platform's onboarding you do not start from the tree of 9,454 codes. We research your company, build a profile of what you actually sell and propose the matching codes, together with their parents in the tree. You review and correct. Tender matching uses the codes and an analysis of the tender text, so you do not lose the miscoded ones.
The 45 CPV divisions
The first level of the vocabulary. Divisions 03 to 44 mostly concern supplies of goods, 45 concerns works, and 48 to 98 concern services.
| Division | Description |
|---|---|
03 | Agricultural, farming, fishing, forestry and related products |
09 | Petroleum products, fuel, electricity and other sources of energy |
14 | Mining, basic metals and related products |
15 | Food, beverages, tobacco and related products |
16 | Agricultural machinery |
18 | Clothing, footwear, luggage articles and accessories |
19 | Leather and textile fabrics, plastic and rubber materials |
22 | Printed matter and related products |
24 | Chemical products |
30 | Office and computing machinery, equipment and supplies except furniture and software packages |
31 | Electrical machinery, apparatus, equipment and consumables; lighting |
32 | Radio, television, communication, telecommunication and related equipment |
33 | Medical equipments, pharmaceuticals and personal care products |
34 | Transport equipment and auxiliary products to transportation |
35 | Security, fire-fighting, police and defence equipment |
37 | Musical instruments, sport goods, games, toys, handicraft, art materials and accessories |
38 | Laboratory, optical and precision equipments (excl. glasses) |
39 | Furniture (incl. office furniture), furnishings, domestic appliances (excl. lighting) and cleaning products |
41 | Collected and purified water |
42 | Industrial machinery |
43 | Machinery for mining, quarrying, construction equipment |
44 | Construction structures and materials; auxiliary products to construction (except electric apparatus) |
45 | Construction work |
48 | Software package and information systems |
50 | Repair and maintenance services |
51 | Installation services (except software) |
55 | Hotel, restaurant and retail trade services |
60 | Transport services (excl. Waste transport) |
63 | Supporting and auxiliary transport services; travel agencies services |
64 | Postal and telecommunications services |
65 | Public utilities |
66 | Financial and insurance services |
70 | Real estate services |
71 | Architectural, construction, engineering and inspection services |
72 | IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support |
73 | Research and development services and related consultancy services |
75 | Administration, defence and social security services |
76 | Services related to the oil and gas industry |
77 | Agricultural, forestry, horticultural, aquacultural and apicultural services |
79 | Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security |
80 | Education and training services |
85 | Health and social work services |
90 | Sewage, refuse, cleaning and environmental services |
92 | Recreational, cultural and sporting services |
98 | Other community, social and personal services |
Where to find the official list
The Publications Office of the EU publishes CPV 2008 in all languages, in PDF, XML and spreadsheet form, together with the explanatory guide and the correspondence tables with the previous version, at ted.europa.eu/en/simap/cpv. ΚΗΜΔΗΣ has its own code search tool at cerpp.eprocurement.gov.gr. The Excel file you can download from this page contains the main and the supplementary vocabulary with Greek and English descriptions, from the official edition.
Frequently asked questions
What does CPV stand for?
Common Procurement Vocabulary. It is the single European classification system for the subject matter of public contracts, with 9,454 eight-digit codes in the main vocabulary.
How many CPV codes are there?
The CPV 2008 main vocabulary has 9,454 codes organised in 45 divisions. The supplementary vocabulary has 903 alphanumeric codes describing attributes of the subject matter.
Is there a new version of the CPV?
The version in force is CPV 2008 under Regulation (EC) 213/2008. The European Commission has looked at revising it, but as of September 2026 no new regulation has been issued. The codes used in ΚΗΜΔΗΣ, ΕΣΗΔΗΣ and TED are the 2008 ones.
Where can I find CPV codes in Greek?
On the CPV page of the Publications Office of the EU (ted.europa.eu/en/simap/cpv), in the ΚΗΜΔΗΣ search tool, in the search on this page and in the Excel file offered here with Greek and English descriptions.
How do I know which CPV codes fit my company?
Start from the codes of the contracts you have won as they appear in ΚΗΜΔΗΣ, add the more generic codes of the same branch of the tree and check which codes your competitors' awards carry. The GOVADI platform does this work during onboarding and proposes the list.