RM6397 guidance · 3 of 6
The RM6397 bid readiness checklist
Most of the work that decides an RM6397 submission is not writing. It is retrieval: registrations, accreditations in date, workforce compliance evidence, fill and cancellation data, and referees who will answer the phone. This is the list to work through before anybody opens a response document.
The facts that decide it
- Clarifications close 3pm, Wednesday 2 September 2026
- Submissions close 3pm, Monday 21 September 2026
- Twelve lots, each with its own regulator and compliance emphasis
- Portal registration is not a same-day task and is not the place to discover a problem
Start with access. Portal registration and any hub licence have to be complete and tested, by a named person, with someone else able to log in if that person is unavailable on the day. Access problems are the only category of bid failure that is entirely preventable and entirely self-inflicted.
Then compliance, per lot. Each of the twelve lots carries its own regulator and its own emphasis: professional registration and revalidation status, DBS levels and renewal dates, right to work, mandatory training currency, indemnity, and the audit trail that proves you check all of it rather than asserting that you do. Pull the expiry dates as well as the certificates. An accreditation that lapses between submission and award is a problem you can see coming.
Then performance data. Fill rates, time to fill, cancellation and no-show rates, escalation volumes and how they resolved, complaint and incident records with outcomes. Written with real numbers this is what separates a scoring response from a describing one, and almost nobody has it to hand when the window opens.
Then people and referees. Named account and compliance leads with the experience to match, and referees who have been asked in advance and will actually answer. A referee who is surprised by the call is worse than no referee.
Finally the calendar. Work backwards from 3pm on 21 September, put internal sign off before the last weekend rather than on it, and treat 2 September as a hard stop for anything you need the buyer to answer. After that date the pack says what it says.
What we do on this
- Run the readiness pass against the published criteria and hand back the gaps that only you can close
- Build the compliance matrix per lot so nothing sits between two owners
- Set the internal timetable backwards from the deadline, with clarifications closed off by 2 September
The mistake that costs the most
Opening a response document first. Writing before the evidence is assembled produces answers built on what people remember rather than what the records show, and remembered numbers do not survive an evaluator.
Common questions
How long does a proper RM6397 submission take?
It depends almost entirely on how much of the evidence already exists. A supplier with portal access, current accreditations and performance data to hand can produce a strong submission in three weeks. A supplier assembling all of that from nothing in September is choosing between a rushed submission and an honest no bid.
What is the single most common gap?
Performance data that exists in an operational system but has never been pulled into a form anyone can quote. Fill rates and escalation outcomes are usually available and almost never at hand, and they are exactly what turns a general claim into a scoring one.
Can you tell us whether we should bid at all?
Yes, and we will say so plainly if the answer is no. Qualifying hard is part of the work rather than a way of avoiding it. We have told a client with roughly £5m turnover not to chase a £70m opportunity, and we would rather lose a fee than run a bid that cannot be won.
Reviewed 24 August 2026. The published ITT on the GCA e-sourcing portal is the only authority on any date, threshold or requirement here. Nothing on this page is legal advice.
More on RM6397
Start with the RM6397 framework overview, or go straight to the NHS tender pipeline.
Bidding RM6397?
Tell us which lots you are considering and where you are up to. A director replies with a view, and will tell you if we think a lot is not winnable for you.
RM6397: Readiness checklist
Which lots, and how far along are you?