Accreditation and Public Calls: When Every Qualified Supplier Gets Hired

No price competition and no single winner: how accreditation works, where it is used most, how to sign up and why it is the most underrated way into the public procurement market.

Published Aug 25, 2026 · Updated Oct 23, 2026 · Busca Licitações Team · 11 min read

This text was written for companies registered in Brazil. Foreign suppliers should also read how foreign companies can bid in Brazilian public tenders.

There is one type of public procurement in which nobody loses to anybody: accreditation (credenciamento). Instead of choosing a winner based on the lowest price, the government qualifies all interested parties that meet the requirements and distributes the demand among them, paying the amounts from a previously published price table.

It is a long-established tool in health care, expressly regulated by Law 14,133/2021 (Brazil's Public Procurement Law) and increasingly used in other areas. And it is probably the most underrated way into the public procurement market — because it does not show up in the searches of people who only look for "reverse auction" (pregão), and because many companies do not even know it exists.

When accreditation is appropriate

The logic is simple: it applies when hiring several suppliers serves the public interest better than choosing just one. The law provides for situations such as:

• Parallel, non-exclusive contracting — when it is feasible and convenient to hire everyone who meets the requirements, the typical case of health services;
• Fluid markets, in which price fluctuations make traditional competition unworkable;
• Selection by third parties, when the person choosing the provider is the beneficiary of the service, not the government.

In all three cases, the price is not competed for: it is set by the government based on a price table or a market survey, and published in the tender notice (edital). Anyone who accepts that price and meets the requirements can become accredited.

Where it shows up most

Health care is the classic field: medical appointments, diagnostic tests, elective surgeries, therapies, hospital beds, patient transport. The municipality accredits clinics and professionals and distributes patient care according to the needs of the public health network.

Auto repair shops for fleet maintenance, with a table of labor rates and a discount on parts. Family farming, through a public call for proposals (chamada pública) for school meals. Auctioneers, expert witnesses and translators at agencies that need these services on a scattered, as-needed basis. Civil society organizations, in partnerships governed by their own legislation. And, increasingly, courses and training, lodging and cultural services.

It is worth browsing the open accreditations and public calls to see the real variety — it tends to surprise those who assume the tool is limited to health care.

How it works in practice

1. Publication of the public call notice. The agency announces the qualification (habilitação) requirements, the price table, the rules for distributing demand and the registration period — which is often permanently open or periodically reopened, unlike a reverse auction.

2. Registration and qualification. You submit the documents. There are no bids and no ranking by price: the review is binary — you either meet the requirements or you don't.

3. Accreditation. Once qualified, you sign the accreditation agreement and join the list of accredited providers.

4. Distribution of demand. This is the critical point, and each tender notice handles it differently: rotation among accredited providers, proportional distribution, choice by the service beneficiary, order of registration or objective criteria based on proximity and capacity. Read this clause carefully — it determines how much you will actually bill.

Why this tool has grown

Law 14,133/2021 gave accreditation explicit rules, which unlocked its use in areas that used to sit in a legal gray zone. Municipalities that avoided the tool for fear of being challenged began to adopt it with confidence, and the number of public calls published has grown noticeably.

There is also a practical reason. For services with fragmented and unpredictable demand, choosing a single supplier creates dependency and bottlenecks: if the only accredited clinic shuts down, the municipality is left without diagnostic tests. Accrediting several providers spreads the risk and improves service — which is exactly the public interest the tool is meant to protect.

For suppliers, the effect is a window of opportunity. Many accreditation notices receive fewer applications than the government would like, precisely because the market is still searching for "reverse auction" and does not see these announcements. Those who learn the vocabulary find opportunities with little competition.

The advantages

There is no price competition. You do not have to beat anyone or cut your margin during a bidding phase. You only need to accept the price table and meet the requirements.

Registration usually stays open. None of the stress of the three-day window of a direct award (dispensa): many accreditations accept registrations at any time while they are in effect.

Competition does not eliminate you. Other accredited providers share the demand with you, but they do not push you out of the market.

It builds a track record and certificates. Performing the work earns you the technical capacity certificate (atestado de capacidade técnica) that opens doors in traditional tenders.

Accreditation in health care: the most common case

It is worth going into detail on the field where the tool appears most, because the rules have their own particularities. Municipalities accredit clinics, laboratories, hospitals and professionals to supplement their own network when it cannot meet demand — something that happens in nearly every Brazilian city.

Payment amounts usually follow the SUS table (the fee schedule of Brazil's public health system) or the municipality's own table, often with a top-up. This is the first thing to check: outdated tables may be well below the real cost of the procedure, and becoming accredited under those conditions means taking a loss on every appointment.

The second point is patient referral management (regulação): as a rule, patients do not freely choose their provider — the municipality's referral center directs them according to waiting lists and clinical criteria. This means your volume depends on the referral system, not on your sales effort.

The third is billing: the services performed are submitted monthly, checked and paid on their own schedule, and subject to disallowance (glosa) when the records contain inconsistencies. Having a team that masters billing is as important as clinical quality — many providers lose legitimate revenue because of a typo in a procedure code.

The disadvantages you need to weigh

The price is fixed. If the agency's table is below your cost, there is no negotiation — the only option is not to apply. Run the numbers first, as with any contract.

Demand is uncertain. Being accredited does not guarantee volume. In a rotation with many accredited providers, your share may be small.

The obligation to serve is real. Once you are accredited and called upon, refusing without justification leads to loss of accreditation and possibly a sanction.

Price adjustments depend on the table. If the government does not update the amounts, your margin erodes over time — and revisions tend to be slower than in a regular contract.

Accreditation, pre-qualification and price registration: don't mix them up

Three ancillary procedures are often confused, and each serves a distinct purpose.

Accreditation qualifies several suppliers and hires all of them, distributing the demand. There is no competition and no winner.

Pre-qualification (pré-qualificação) is an advance screening of suppliers or goods that meet technical requirements, so that future tenders are restricted to those pre-qualified. There will still be price competition later — pre-qualification only filters who can compete.

The Price Registration System (SRP) sets prices through a regular tender and creates the price registration record (ata de registro de preços), with one winner per item and possibly a reserve list. There is competition and there is a winner, as explained in how the price registration record works.

The most frequent mix-up is between accreditation and price registration, because both result in supplies delivered in installments over time. The essential difference: in price registration there was competition and a winner; in accreditation, everyone who qualifies gets in.

How to assess whether accreditation is worth it

Four questions settle the decision, and all of them should be answered before you register.

Does the table cover my costs? Add up direct costs, overhead, taxes and a minimum margin. If the published table does not add up, there is nothing to negotiate — the price is fixed.

How is demand distributed? A rotation among a few accredited providers is very different from users freely choosing among dozens. Look in the tender notice for how many providers are already accredited, information that is usually public.

What does it cost to be available? Becoming accredited creates an obligation to serve. If that means keeping idle capacity waiting for uncertain demand, the cost has to be factored in.

Is there a provision for adjusting the table? In long-running accreditations, the lack of an update criterion quietly eats away at your margin.

Required documents

They vary depending on the service, but the core is the same as in regular qualification: legal, tax and labor compliance and, where applicable, technical qualification. In health care, add registration with the professional council, a health permit (alvará sanitário), registration in CNES (the national registry of health facilities) and a technical lead. For repair shops, suitable physical facilities and, often, a maximum distance from the agency's vehicle depot.

The full list of what is usually requested is in qualification documents — and in accreditation, the list tends to be shorter than in a reverse auction of the same value.

Public calls and partnerships with civil society organizations

A closely related field, under a different legal regime, deserves a mention because it shares the same vocabulary. When the government wants to enter into a partnership with civil society organizations — associations, foundations, nonprofit entities — to carry out projects of public interest, the route is not a tender (licitação) but a public call (chamamento público) governed by specific partnership legislation.

The differences are significant: instead of a price proposal, you submit a work plan with goals, indicators and a disbursement schedule; selection is based on a technical evaluation of the project; and accountability focuses on meeting the goals, not just on whether the spending was regular.

For third-sector organizations, this is the main tool for accessing public funds — and it requires the ability to design projects and to report on them, skills quite different from those required of an ordinary supplier. It is worth drawing a clear line: an association that supplies products to the municipality takes part in a regular tender; the same association carrying out a social project enters into a partnership through a public call.

Loss of accreditation: when and why

Being accredited is not a permanent status. Accreditation can end at the provider's initiative, with the advance notice set out in the tender notice, or at the government's initiative — for failure to meet requirements, loss of qualification, repeated refusal to provide service, insufficient quality established in formal proceedings, or the closing of the accreditation itself.

Two practical precautions. First, keep your documents valid at all times: since the relationship is long-term, it is common for a certificate to expire midway and trigger a suspension. Second, if you decide to leave, do it formally and honor the notice period — leaving without notice, with patients or services left uncovered, leads to sanctions and closes doors to future accreditations with the same government entity.

Frequently asked questions

Is accreditation a tender?

It is an ancillary procedure of public procurement, regulated by Law 14,133/2021. There is no competition for the lowest price, but there is a tender notice, public disclosure, objective requirements and oversight.

Can I be accredited with several agencies?

Yes, and that is the recommended strategy. Since demand at each one is uncertain, being accredited with several spreads the risk and increases your total volume.

Who decides how much work each accredited provider gets?

The tender notice. It can be rotation, proportional distribution, user choice or an objective capacity criterion. Read it before deciding whether it is worth it.

Can the public call notice be challenged?

Yes, for the same reasons as any tender notice — restrictive requirements, a price table out of line with the market, unclear distribution criteria. See how to file a challenge.

What happens if I cannot meet a request?

Notify the agency formally and in advance. Repeated or unjustified refusals lead to loss of accreditation and may result in a sanction, depending on the tender notice.

Auto repair shops: an example outside health care

To show that the tool goes beyond health care, it is worth looking in detail at a case that is common in municipalities. The city government has a scattered fleet — ambulances, school buses, trucks, administrative vehicles — and needs maintenance that is fragmented, unpredictable and urgent. Running a tender for each repair would be unworkable; choosing a single repair shop creates a bottleneck.

The solution is to accredit several repair shops, with a table of labor rates by type of service and a discount on a reference parts price list. When a vehicle breaks down, the government calls on an accredited shop according to the criterion in the tender notice — proximity, specialty, rotation.

For the repair shop, it is an excellent deal: recurring demand, no bidding, guaranteed payment. There are two points to watch: the discount offered on parts has to be sustainable all year round, and the government's payment terms require more working capital than private customers, who pay when they pick up the vehicle.

The same model is repeated in printing services, locksmithing, pest control, small-scale building maintenance and other services with fragmented demand. If your business fits this profile, look for accreditations before looking for reverse auctions.

How to find open accreditations

They appear on the PNCP (Brazil's National Public Procurement Portal) like any other procurement, but they go unnoticed because the vocabulary is different: instead of "pregão", the notices talk about "chamamento público" (public call), "credenciamento" (accreditation) or "convocação de interessados" (call for interested parties). Anyone searching only by traditional procurement method will not find them.

Follow the accreditation and public call category and, if you work in health care, also check health services. It is also worth searching directly for the terms "credenciamento" and "chamada pública" with your state filter — many notices stay open for months, which gives you time to prepare your documents calmly.

For those just starting out in the public market and who do not yet have certificates, this is the path of least resistance: no competition, no bidding, no losing to the most aggressive competitor. You just need to meet the requirements and accept the price table — and start building the track record that unlocks everything else.

accreditationpublic callhealth