How to read a SEAO tender notice, field by field (in English)

Published October 12, 2026 · Updated October 12, 2026

A SEAO call for tenders notice has what you need to decide in minutes whether a contract is for you, before ordering documents. The labels are in French; here are the fields of a real notice (Hydro-Québec, notice AM011656, published August 2026) and what they mean.

The fields of a notice

Field (French label)	What it tells you
Numéro de l'avis / de référence	Identifiers to quote in questions and your bid
Type de l'avis, Statut	Notice type (call for tenders, notice of intent…) and status (open, awaiting opening results, contract concluded…)
Titre, Organisation	Contract subject and buyer
Date de publication	Québec legal time
Nature du contrat	Supply, services, construction work, etc.
Contrat à exécution sur demande	Whether quantities are ordered as needed
Date limite de réception des offres	The bid deadline date and time (Québec legal time)
Date limite de réception des plaintes	Deadline to file a complaint about the process
Adjudication par lot	Whether the contract may be split into lots
Région(s) de livraison	Where the contract is performed
Accord(s) applicable(s)	Trade agreements that apply (CFTA, QOTCA, CETA…)
Endroit prévu pour la réception / l'ouverture	Where to submit and where bids are opened
Durée prévue du contrat	Term without options, in months
Classifications, Catégorie	UNSPSC codes and SEAO category
Conditions de conformité	Legal and contractual requirements: Revenu Québec certificate, RBQ licence, AMP authorization, francization, declarations…
Garantie de soumission	Accepted form and value (amount or percentage)
Description	Scope, value range if stated, contact person, link to documents

5 questions to ask

Does the deadline leave me enough time? Also allow for the question period, often stated in the description.
Am I eligible? Re-read the compliance conditions: Revenu Québec ($25,000+), RBQ, AMP, francization. See NEQ and RBQ licence and AMP authorization.
Do the region and term work for me?
Can I provide the required bid security?
Is the contract my size? The value range, when given, helps.

The notice doesn't replace the tender document, which sets all conditions. For ordering documents and costs, see how SEAO works.

Where Veillea fits

Veillea monitors SEAO and CanadaBuys, ranks notices against your profile and summarizes them in English and French. Free for SEAO (weekly digest); Solo $29/month, Team $69/month, Enterprise $199/month ($1,990/yr), flat with no per-notice fees, plus taxes.

Veillea does not replace registering on SEAO, CanadaBuys or a buyer's portal: to get documents and bid, you still use the official platform. Summaries help you triage; the official notice always prevails.

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Frequently asked questions

What's in a SEAO tender notice?

Among others: notice number and type, buyer, contract type, bid deadline, delivery regions, applicable trade agreements, compliance conditions, bid security and a description.

How do I know if I can bid?

Read the notice's compliance conditions and the tender document's eligibility conditions: Revenu Québec certificate, RBQ licence, AMP authorization or francization as applicable.

What does "En attente des résultats d'ouverture" mean?

The bid period has closed and opening results haven't been published yet.

Is the deadline in Québec time?

Yes, SEAO notice dates are in Québec legal time (Eastern time).

Can Veillea translate SEAO notices?

Veillea gives an English and French summary of each notice on paid plans; the official notice always prevails.