Why the published floor rate is not enough for an eligibility review
Korea-based, 2026: this calculator applies Korean public procurement rules for engineering and technical services.
Amounts remain in KRW, and the national, local-government and Ministry of Land rules were checked on October 25, 2026.
It does not apply foreign procurement rules and does not decide whether a bidder passes the review.
Korean public agencies award most design, construction management and detailed safety inspection services through an eligibility review (jeokgyeok simsa).
Among bidders at or below the planned price, the agency reviews the lowest bidder first, adds the performance and bid price scores, and awards the contract once the total reaches the passing score.
Many engineering firms therefore set their bid using a single figure: the published ‘award floor rate’.
The published floor rate assumes that every non-price score, such as performance capability and financial condition, is at full marks.
With an actual performance score of 96 or a credibility deduction, the same bid ratio can leave the total below the passing score and the bidder is eliminated.
Conversely, a firm with spare points may bid lower than necessary and give up margin.
This calculator works backwards from the notice formula and the agency-confirmed non-price score to the required price score and the bid ratios and amounts that can actually pass.
Price score
A score that rises as the bid divided by the planned price approaches the base rate.
Bidding below or above the base rate both reduce it.
Non-price score
The performance capability score converted to its weight, plus credibility bonuses and minus deductions.
Anything short of full marks raises the floor.
Passing score
Under the Public Procurement Service and local-government rules it is 92 for estimated prices of KRW 1 billion or more and 95 below that.
The Ministry of Land rule uses 85 to 95 depending on size.
How the eligibility review selects the winning bidder
Article 42(1) of the Enforcement Decree of the Act on Contracts to Which the State Is a Party reviews contract performance capability in order from the lowest bidder at or below the planned price.
Article 42 of the local-government contract enforcement decree has the same structure, and the detailed criteria are set by the national and Public Procurement Service standards and by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety standard.
Both decrees, effective June 3, 2026, were checked through the National Law Information OPEN API on October 25, 2026.
- At bid opening, 4 of 15 reserve prices are drawn and averaged to fix the planned price
- Bids above the planned price are excluded, and the remaining bidders are ranked from the lowest price
- Starting with the lowest bidder, performance capability, credibility and bid price scores are added into a total
- The first bidder whose total reaches the passing score wins; if it falls short, the next-ranked bidder is reviewed the same way
- When two or more bidders tie on price, the higher performance score wins, and a draw decides any remaining tie
Comprehensive evaluation contracts are separate
Under Article 42(4) of the national decree, construction management services of KRW 5 billion or more, basic design of KRW 3 billion or more and detailed design of KRW 4 billion or more may be awarded by comprehensive evaluation instead.
The calculator shows a warning when a national preset is used with an estimated price of KRW 3 billion or more.
2026 Public Procurement Service engineering criteria
Technical services procured by the Public Procurement Service follow its Detailed Eligibility Review Criteria for Technical Services (PPS Guideline No. 5283).
It was issued on May 22, 2026 and applies to eligibility reviews first announced on or after May 26, 2026.
The stated reason is to “adjust price evaluation formulas by service size and raise the award floor rate by 2 percentage points”, moving the price base rate from 88/100 to 90/100.
Public Procurement Service engineering eligibility review tiers with non-price weight, price formula, fixed score, passing score and full-score floor rate| Estimated price tier | Non-price weight | Price formula | Fixed score | Passing score | Usual floor |
|---|
| KRW 1B or more | 70 | 30 − 1 × |(90/100 − bid/planned) × 100| | 22 at 98% or more | 92 | 81.995% |
| KRW 500M to under 1B | 50 | 50 − 2 × |…| | 45 at 92.5% or more | 95 | 87.495% |
| Notified amount to under KRW 500M | 30 | 70 − 4 × |…| | 65 at 91.25% or more | 95 | 88.745% |
| Under the notified amount | 10 | 90 − 20 × |…| | 85 at 90.25% or more | 95 | 89.745% |
Notified amount and architectural design
The notified amount for goods and services is KRW 230 million under Ministry of Economy and Finance Notice No. 2026-439.
Design services under the Certified Architects Act use KRW 100 million instead of the notified amount as the lower edge of the under-KRW-500M tier, so the calculator offers a separate checkbox.
What the non-price score contains
Tiers 1 to 3 convert the performance capability score as score ÷ 100 × weight (70, 50 or 30), rounded at the third decimal place.
Below the notified amount, it is a 10-point financial condition score: 5 for the equity ratio and 5 for the current ratio.
Credibility ranges from +1.0 to −4.0, or +3.5 to −4.0 below the notified amount.
Local-government engineering criteria still use 88/100
Technical services ordered by provinces, cities, counties and districts follow Chapter 2-2 of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety Standard No. 373 on deciding successful local-government bidders, effective July 1, 2026.
Services subject to pre-qualification (PQ) use [Attached Table 1], services without PQ use [Attached Table 2], and the price base rate is 88/100.
The standard is published only as an official attachment, so the full HWPX text was downloaded and every figure was reconciled.
Local-government PQ and non-PQ engineering tiers with price formula, fixed score, passing score and usual floor rate| Type and tier | Non-price weight | Price formula | Fixed score | Passing score | Usual floor |
|---|
| PQ, KRW 1B or more | 70 | 30 − 1 × |(88/100 − bid/planned) × 100| | 22 at 96% or more | 92 | 79.995% |
| PQ, KRW 500M to under 1B | 50 | 50 − 2 × |…| | 45 at 90.5% or more | 95 | 85.495% |
| PQ, under KRW 500M | 40 | 60 − 4 × |…| | 55 at 89.25% or more | 95 | 86.745% |
| Non-PQ, KRW 1B or more | 70 | 30 − 1 × |…| | 22 at 96% or more | 92 | 79.995% |
| Non-PQ, KRW 500M to under 1B | 50 | 50 − 2 × |…| | 45 at 90.5% or more | 95 | 85.495% |
| Non-PQ, KRW 200M to under 500M | 50 | 50 − 4 × |…| | 45 at 89.25% or more | 95 | 86.745% |
| Non-PQ, KRW 100M to under 200M | 20 | 80 − 20 × |…| | 75 at 88.25% or more | 95 | 87.745% |
| Non-PQ, under KRW 100M | 10 | 90 − 20 × |…| | 85 at 88.25% or more | 95 | 87.745% |
For PQ services, the non-price score is the converted PQ score (64, 44 or 34 points) plus 1 for lead engineer experience, 3 for local firm participation and 2 for financial condition.
A firm whose engineering staff falls below the registration standard loses 10 points, and each public listing for unpaid wages costs 0.2 points, up to 1 point.
The rates shown in parentheses in the standard, 79.995%, 85.495%, 86.745% and 87.745%, are the full-score floors and match the calculator’s usual window.
Check for the planned 2-point floor increase
The reason for the Ministry of Land directive revision states that a government-wide 2-percentage-point increase in award floor rates for works, goods and services is under way (2026 Economic Growth Strategy, joint government release of January 9, 2026).
The Public Procurement Service and Ministry of Land rules already moved to 90/100, so always confirm in a local notice whether the base rate is 88 or 90.
If the notice states a different value, enter it in the custom notice-formula mode.
Ministry of Land construction engineering criteria
Construction engineering services (design, construction management, detailed safety inspection and similar) procured by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and its agencies follow its Directive No. 1953 on eligibility review and negotiated award of construction engineering, effective June 5, 2026.
Unlike the Public Procurement Service rule, larger services give more weight to performance capability and use lower passing scores.
Ministry of Land construction engineering tiers with performance weight, price formula, fixed score, passing score and usual floor rate| Tier | Performance weight | Price formula | Fixed score | Passing score | Usual floor |
|---|
| 1. Under the notified amount | 30 | 70 − 20 × |(90/100 − bid/planned) × 100| | 65 at 90.25% or more | 95 | 89.745% |
| 2. Notified amount to under KRW 1B | 70 | 30 − 2 × |…| | 25 at 92.5% or more | 95 | 87.495% |
| 3. KRW 1B to under 3B | 80 | 20 − 2 × |…| | 10 at 95% or more | 90 | 84.995% |
| 4. KRW 3B or more | 80 | 20 − 2 × |…| | 5 at 97.5% or more | 85 | 82.495% |
Detailed safety inspections of KRW 100 million up to the notified amount fall into tier 2, so the calculator offers a separate checkbox for them.
The Ministry of Land rule has no minimum price score, so a very low bid ratio can produce a negative price score, and the total including bonuses and deductions never exceeds 100.
Price score formula and rounding rules
Every preset subtracts a coefficient times the gap between the base rate and the bid ratio from the price weight.
The price score peaks when the bid ratio equals the base rate (90% or 88%) and falls on either side.
Formula
Price score = weight − coefficient × |(base rate/100 − bid/planned price) × 100|
- The bid divided by the planned price is rounded half up at the fifth decimal place (0.89745 becomes 0.8975 and 0.89744 becomes 0.8974)
- At or below the planned price and at or above the fixed-score ratio, the fixed score replaces the formula
- The Public Procurement Service and local-government rules set a minimum price score of 2
- A bid above the planned price cannot win regardless of score
Each fixed score equals the formula value at its threshold ratio.
For example, the Public Procurement Service tier of KRW 1 billion or more gives 30 − 8 = 22 at 98%, and stays at 22 from 98% upward.
A full non-price score therefore passes all the way to the planned price, but when a shortfall pushes the required price score above the fixed score, an upper boundary appears as well.
Because of rounding, the published floor appears as 87.495% rather than 87.5%.
A raw ratio of 0.87495 rounds to 0.8750 and is inside the passing ratios, while 0.87494 rounds to 0.8749 and is outside.
The calculator recomputes these boundaries in whole KRW to show the minimum and maximum bid amounts.
How the non-price score is entered
The calculator does not grade non-price items.
Enter the performance capability score, financial condition score and credibility result that the agency published or notified.
- Conversion: for the Public Procurement Service tier of KRW 1 billion or more, a performance score of 96.00 becomes 96 ÷ 100 × 70 = 67.20, rounded at the third decimal place
- Additional confirmed points: items outside the conversion, such as local participation, lead engineer experience and financial condition in local PQ, are added separately
- Credibility bonus: it only fills the gap when capability is below its weight, with a Public Procurement Service maximum of 1.0 (3.5 below the notified amount)
- Deductions: deductions such as a wage-arrears listing or staffing below the registration standard apply regardless of the cap, and the final score never goes below 0
- Exclusion: under Article 28(2) of the Enforcement Rule of the Construction Technology Promotion Act, services evaluated by technical proposals or engineer evaluations receive no credibility bonus
A blank field is treated as unconfirmed, not as zero.
Until the performance score is known, the calculator withholds your own window and shows only the usual full-score window.
Why the planned price is modelled as scenarios
In an eligibility review tender, the base price is published but the planned price is fixed at bid opening.
Article 44-3 of the Ministry of Economy and Finance contract standard on preparing planned prices creates 15 distinct reserve prices within ±2% of the base price, draws 4 after bidding and averages them.
Article 30 of the Public Procurement Service domestic purchasing regulation uses ±3% under the local contract act, and Article 37 rounds the 4-price average up below 1 KRW.
Default scenarios
National presets default to 98%, 100% and 102% of the base price, and local presets to 97%, 100% and 103%.
These are the two ends and the centre of the possible range, not a forecast of the drawn value.
Common passing window
Passing amounts move in proportion to the planned price.
Where the windows of the end scenarios overlap, the amount passes wherever in the range the planned price lands, so it is shown separately.
How to use the calculator
- Choose the rule: pick the Public Procurement Service, local PQ, local non-PQ or Ministry of Land preset stated in the notice, then enter the notice date and the estimated price excluding VAT.
For agency-specific rules or earlier notices, choose the custom notice formula.
- Check the tier: compare the automatically selected tier and formula summary with the notice.
Boundary exceptions such as architectural design and detailed safety inspection are selected with checkboxes.
- Enter the non-price score: enter the confirmed PQ score, additional points, credibility bonus and deductions, or enter the final total directly
- Planned price scenarios: set the notice base price and three scenario percentages, and switch to the confirmed mode once the planned price is known after opening
- Read the result: review the required price score, your passing bid ratios, the usual floor and its gap, and the common passing amount
- Test a bid and save: enter a planned bid to see the total and any shortfall per scenario, then save the TXT worksheet
Worked hypothetical example
The figures below are an educational hypothetical, not a real notice or market average.
It assumes the Public Procurement Service rule, an estimated price of KRW 800 million (the KRW 500M to under 1B tier), a base price of KRW 880,000,000, a performance score of 96.00 and a family-friendly certification credibility bonus of 0.4.
The non-price score is 96 ÷ 100 × 50 = 48.00 plus 0.4, or 48.40, so a price score of 46.60 is needed to reach the passing score of 95.
Your passing bid ratios
Rounded ratios of 88.30% to 91.70%.
As raw ratios, at least 88.295% and below 91.705%.
The fixed score of 45 from 92.5% is below 46.60, which creates the upper boundary.
Usual full-score window
Rounded ratios of 87.50% to 100%, or a raw ratio of at least 87.495%.
This is the commonly quoted floor, but it does not apply to this firm.
Hypothetical example passing amounts, usual window amounts and floor gap by planned price scenario| Scenario | Planned price | Your passing amounts | Usual window amounts | Floor gap |
|---|
| 98% | KRW 862,400,000 | KRW 761,456,080–790,863,919 | KRW 754,556,880–862,400,000 | KRW 6,899,200 |
| 100% | KRW 880,000,000 | KRW 776,996,000–807,003,999 | KRW 769,956,000–880,000,000 | KRW 7,040,000 |
| 102% | KRW 897,600,000 | KRW 792,535,920–823,144,079 | KRW 785,355,120–897,600,000 | KRW 7,180,800 |
Your passing amounts in the three scenarios do not overlap, so there is no common passing window.
With a full non-price score, KRW 785,355,120 to 862,400,000 would pass in every scenario, but at 48.40 points the same amount can pass or fail depending on where the planned price lands.
Hypothetical bid ratio, price score, total and result for bids of KRW 790,000,000 and KRW 769,956,000 by scenario| Bid and scenario | Bid ratio | Price score | Total | Result |
|---|
| KRW 790,000,000 · 98% | 91.60% | 46.80 | 95.20 | Pass |
| KRW 790,000,000 · 100% | 89.77% | 49.54 | 97.94 | Pass |
| KRW 790,000,000 · 102% | 88.01% | 46.02 | 94.42 | Short by 0.58 |
| KRW 769,956,000 · 98% | 89.28% | 48.56 | 96.96 | Pass |
| KRW 769,956,000 · 100% | 87.50% | 45.00 | 93.40 | Short by 1.60 |
| KRW 769,956,000 · 102% | 85.78% | 41.56 | 89.96 | Short by 5.04 |
KRW 769,956,000 is 87.495% of the base price, the full-score floor applied directly.
Even if the planned price equals the base price, the total is 93.40, 1.60 points short, and the bidder fails the review.
This is the typical loss from bidding on the published floor alone.
When to use it
Right after the PQ result
If the performance score is not perfect, check the floor for your own score before the usual floor.
The floor gap shows how much higher the bid may need to be.
Testing a credibility bonus
Compare how much a bonus such as family-friendly certification lowers the floor.
It also shows immediately when full capability marks mean the bonus adds nothing.
Joint venture share talks
Enter the confirmed score combined by participation share to see how the passing window changes with the venture structure.
Reconciling with the contracting officer
Save the notice number, formula, scores and scenario table as TXT to confirm the interpretation with the contracting officer.
Frequently asked questions
Q. Why is my passing floor different from the published floor rate?
The published floor assumes a full non-price score.
Any shortfall must be made up with a higher price score, which requires a bid ratio closer to the base rate and raises the floor.
Q. Can a bid that is too high also fail?
Yes, if the non-price score falls short.
Above the base rate the price score declines until it reaches the fixed score, and if the required price score is above the fixed score, ratios beyond a certain point cannot pass.
Q. Can I calculate a notice issued before May 2026?
The Public Procurement Service rule applies the 90/100 base rate to notices from May 26, 2026.
For earlier notices, take the previous formula from the notice and enter it in the custom notice-formula mode.
Q. Can the planned price be known in advance?
No.
It is the average of 4 of 15 reserve prices drawn at opening, so the calculator compares scenarios within the range and does not forecast award probability or drawn ratios.
Q. Does the calculator grade the performance capability score?
No.
Track record, engineering staff and financial condition follow each agency’s detailed criteria, so enter the score confirmed by the agency.
Q. Should the bid include VAT?
The estimated price that sets the tier excludes VAT.
The bid ratio is the bid divided by the planned price, so keep both amounts on the same VAT basis as the notice.
Q. What if the notice states a different formula?
The notice prevails.
The criteria allow a notice to set different terms for the nature of the service, so enter the weight, coefficient, base rate, fixed score and passing score in the custom mode.
Q. Can it be used for works or goods eligibility reviews?
The presets cover technical services only.
Works, goods, general services and academic research services use different items and passing scores, so use the custom mode only after confirming the notice formula.
Limits and what is not calculated
- It does not forecast award probability, drawn ratios or competitor bid distributions
- It does not grade performance capability, financial condition or credibility items
- Agency-specific rules such as defence, environment or public enterprise criteria are handled only through the custom notice formula
- Submitting eligibility documents (within 7 days of notification), supplements, re-review and sanctions for false documents are outside the calculation
- Results are planning estimates, and the contracting officer’s review decides eligibility and the winning bidder
Official sources and verification date
Every rule was checked in its current version through the Ministry of Government Legislation National Law Information OPEN API on October 25, 2026.
- Public Procurement Service Detailed Eligibility Review Criteria for Technical Services: PPS Guideline No. 5283, effective May 26, 2026 (administrative rule 2100000279692)
- Standard on deciding successful local-government bidders: Ministry of the Interior and Safety Standard No. 373, effective July 1, 2026 (administrative rule 2100000281396)
- Construction engineering eligibility review and negotiated award standard: Ministry of Land Directive No. 1953, effective June 5, 2026 (administrative rule 2100000280204)
- Planned price preparation standard: Ministry of Economy and Finance Contract Standard No. 171, effective August 25, 2026 (administrative rule 2100000284228)
- Notified amounts under the national contract act: Ministry of Economy and Finance Notice No. 2026-439, KRW 230 million for goods and services (administrative rule 2100000272620)
- Article 42 of the national contract enforcement decree (MST 285893) and Article 42 of the local contract enforcement decree (MST 286149): effective June 3, 2026
Check your own passing window before you bid
With the notice formula and a confirmed non-price score, you can calculate the required price score and bid amount range right away.
Save the scenario table, reconcile the criteria with the contracting officer and then decide the final bid.