The International Automobile Federation (FIA) said in a statement on Friday that it was seeking expressions of interest by 1700 French time on Nov. 23 in what would be a three-year contract.
"The candidates whose expression of interest meets the requirements...may be entitled to participate in a tendering procedure the aim of which would be to identify an exclusive supplier of the alternative engines to the competitors," it said.
Among the criteria set for any interested candidate was that they must be "entirely independent of a major car manufacturer."
An eventual tender would aim to help struggling smaller teams secure a cheaper power unit, whose technical specifications were available from the FIA to interested parties, than that currently available.
Formula One has four engine manufacturers at present -- Ferrari, Mercedes, Renault and Honda -- with 11 teams scheduled to compete next season.
A customer supply of the 1.6 litre V6 turbo hybrid engines can cost up to $30 million whereas FIA president Jean Todt has said 12 million euros (8 million pounds) would be an acceptable amount to avoid the need for a standard alternative.
"If we cannot come to this solution we need to have another solution," he told reporters in Mexico last month after Ferrari had vetoed a proposed cost cap.
"Otherwise the risk is of teams going bankrupt."
The Frenchman has said the alternative, standard, option would aim for a price tag of six to seven million euros.
The alternative engine proposal has still to be presented to the FIA's Formula One commission and World Motor Sport Council for approval but the first step towards a tender could be seen as a measure of the governing body's determination to act.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin in London, editing by Ed Osmond)
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