Labeeb Reference · last checked 22 September 2026 · not affiliated with Etimad or any ministry
Etimad Bid Readiness Guide 2026
What a Saudi government bid actually requires — the registration set, the two envelopes, the guarantees, the Arabic rule and the local-content layer — each item cited to the Government Tenders and Procurement Law or labeled as corroborated practice. For companies preparing bid documents; not legal, registration or compliance advice, and we are not a bid-registration agent or auditor.
Bidding entities that are also listed face separate disclosure duties — our GCC sustainability reporting reference sets out what is mandatory in each market.
As of September 2026, Saudi government procurement runs through one portal: the law requires government tenders and procurements to be published through the portal, unless that is infeasible for technical or national-security reasons (GTPL Article 16). Every one of those bids stands or falls on documents: a technical envelope that is opened first, guarantees with exact percentages written into the law, and contracts where the Arabic text governs.
Not registered yet? Read our Arabic guide to supplier registration in Saudi Arabia (Aramco, SABIC and Etimad) before you bid.
The document set, from law and practice
Before any bid: the registration set
Suppliers register on Etimad with commercial registration, ZATCA (Zakat) certificate, GOSI certificate, Saudization certificate issued via Qiwa, and chamber of commerce membership. Corroborated practice across procurement guides; the portal itself is run by the Ministry of Finance (official).
Foreign companies without a Saudi regional headquarters
Since 2024, government entities have been barred from contracting with foreign companies that have no regional headquarters in Saudi Arabia. In February 2026 an exemption route was announced: the entity can request an exemption through Etimad before it tenders, and an offer from a company without a regional headquarters can be accepted only if it is the sole technically compliant bid, or if it ranks among the best technically and is at least 25% cheaper than the next-best bid. Contracts worth up to SAR 1 million are exempt. Reported by Arab News (22 February 2026); we have not seen the decision text, so confirm against the tender documents.
Two envelopes — technical first
Proposals are submitted as two separate electronic files: technical and financial. Only the technical proposal is reviewed first — the financial envelope of a technically failed bid never matters. Official-primary: GTPL Article 46(2).
The guarantees, with article numbers
Initial guarantee of 1–2% of the proposal value — a proposal without it is disqualified (Article 41(1)). Final performance guarantee of 5% of contract value within 15 working days of award notification; the agency may extend that period for a similar period, and the percentage may be raised with the Minister’s approval (Article 61(1)). No initial guarantee is required for direct purchase, competitions, intra-government contracts, non-profits or local SMEs (Article 42). No final guarantee is required for works and procurements up to SAR 100,000, intra-government contracts, non-profits, companies at least 51% state-owned, and a few delivery-related cases (Article 61(3)). A local SME that fails to post the final guarantee pays a fine equal to the initial guarantee (Article 61(2)). Note: some published guides cite “Article 21” for the bid bond — the law says Article 41. Official-primary: MOF GTPL text.
The Arabic rule
Contracts, annexes and related documents are drafted in Arabic; another language may be used in addition, but Arabic governs interpretation and execution (Article 55(1)). In practice, tender booklets and specifications are typically Arabic-only — which makes the Arabic version of your proposal the version that counts. Article: official-primary. Booklet practice: corroborated.
The local-content layer
The Local Content and SME Preference Regulations give national products a price preference (foreign products are priced 10% higher in the comparison, Articles 4(3)(a) and 11) and give local SMEs a 10% price preference in all non-supply contracts that are not high-value (Article 4(2)). In high-value contracts other than supply, the financial evaluation weighs price at 60% and local content at 40%: target local content and baseline at 50% each, plus 5% for a listed company (Articles 14 and 17). The high-value threshold is set by LCGPA in agreement with EXPRO (Article 3); confirm it for your tender. Bidders are advised to document their local-content strategy inside the technical proposal. Official-primary: MOF preference regulations.
The Saudization gate
A Nitaqat band of Green or better — with the Saudization certificate only issuable from Qiwa at that level — is a practical prerequisite for bidding. Which professions are being localized, at what percentages and from when, is tracked in our Saudization Tracker. Corroborated.
Primary texts: the Government Tenders and Procurement Law (MOF PDF) and the MOF Etimad service page. Requirements carry conditions and exemptions that summaries flatten — verify against the tender booklet and the law before relying on any of this. This page records what documents a bid needs; it does not advise on eligibility or compliance.
What decides the technical envelope
Structure against the booklet. Evaluators score against the tender booklet’s stated requirements — a technical proposal that mirrors the booklet’s structure, answers every requirement in order and shows a compliance position for each is doing the evaluator’s work for them. A brilliant capability buried in the wrong section scores as a missing one.
The local-content story belongs inside it. Legal advisories on Saudi government contracting recommend documenting your Saudi footprint — workforce, suppliers, investment — inside the technical proposal itself, not only in the certificate. The numbers come from your finance side; the narrative is a writing task with contract-value stakes.
Arabic is the version that counts. Under Article 55 the Arabic text governs. A proposal translated as an afterthought reads like one — and it is the governing version of what you promised. Native-grade bilingual drafting is not polish here; it is risk control.
The UAE corner: ICV works the same way
National ICV (MOIAT)
31+ government entities and national companies score suppliers on In-Country Value; certificates come only from MOIAT-authorized certifying bodies. For financial years ending after 31 December 2024, certificates require stand-alone audited financial statements of the entity being certified — bifurcated management accounts based on consolidated statements are no longer accepted — and a certificate is valid for 14 months from the issue date of the audited financial statements. Official-primary: MOIAT ICV programme and MOIAT ICV Certification Guidelines for Suppliers, Sep 2025 (sections 03(b)–(d) and update note).
ADNOC’s written artifact: the Improvement Plan
Where an ADNOC tender asks for it, bidders submit an ICV Improvement Plan with the commercial bid, and the commitments in it become part of the contract. How the plan is weighted and enforced is set by ADNOC’s current ICV guideline and the tender documents — check both. The certificate is an audit product; the plan is a written commitment. Check with ADNOC: ADNOC Supplier Hub.
The boundary, stated plainly
ICV scores and local-content baselines are computed by you and your auditors under the official templates — we do not certify, compute or advise on scores. What we write is the document: the plan narrative, the Emiratisation and training programme documentation, the technical proposal that carries the commitments. The UAE side’s quota context lives in our Emiratisation Tracker.
أداة مجانية · تعمل داخل متصفحك ولا تحفظ أي بيانات
حاسبة الدرجة الموزونة لعروض المنافسات الحكومية السعودية
عندما تُطلب المنافسة بعرضين فني ومالي، ترتَّب العروض بدرجة موزونة تجمع التقييم الفني والتقييم المالي. هذه الحاسبة تطبّق المعادلة المنشورة في ضوابط إعداد معايير تقييم العروض (النسخة 1.0، 18 مارس 2021)، الصادرة استناداً إلى المادة الثامنة والعشرين من اللائحة التنفيذية لنظام المنافسات والمشتريات الحكومية، ومعادلة التقييم المالي في لائحة تفضيل المحتوى المحلي والمنشآت الصغيرة والمتوسطة المحلية. أدخل الأوزان كما وردت في كراسة الشروط والمواصفات لمنافستك.
التقييم الفني
التقييم المالي
المعادلات المستخدمة ومصادرها
الدرجة الموزونة = (درجة التقييم الفني × وزن المعيار الفني) + (درجة التقييم المالي × وزن المعيار المالي). درجة التقييم الفني = متوسط نقاط العرض الفني ÷ أعلى متوسط نقاط فنية بين العروض. درجة التقييم المالي = قيمة أقل عرض مالي ÷ قيمة العرض المالي المراد تقييمه. (الضوابط، القسم 5 «آلية تطبيق معايير التقييم»)
الأسقف العليا والدنيا لأوزان المعيارين حسب الفئة من جدول «الضوابط الإلزامية للأسقف العليا والدنيا لأوزان المعايير» في الوثيقة نفسها، والمادة الثامنة والعشرون (2) من اللائحة التنفيذية تلزم الجهة الحكومية بإعداد المعايير وفقاً لهذه الضوابط.
في العقود عالية القيمة عدا التوريد: التقييم المالي = (سعر أقل عرض مجتاز فنياً ÷ سعر العرض) × 60% + (نسبة المحتوى المحلي المستهدفة × 50% + خط الأساس × 50% + 5% للشركة المدرجة) × 40% (لائحة التفضيل، المادتان الرابعة عشرة والسابعة عشرة). قيمة العقد عالي القيمة تحددها هيئة المحتوى المحلي والمشتريات الحكومية بالاتفاق مع هيئة كفاءة الإنفاق (المادة الثالثة)، فراجعها مع الجهة.
العرض الذي لا يجتاز التقييم الفني يُعاد عرضه المالي دون فتح (المادة السادسة والأربعون (2) من النظام)، وعند تساوي عرضين أو أكثر في التقييم الكلي تتم الترسية على أقلها سعراً (المادة الثمانون من اللائحة التنفيذية).
تقدير إرشادي فقط. كراسة الشروط والمواصفات لمنافستك هي المرجع الحاكم لمعايير التقييم وأوزانها وحد الاجتياز وآلية تطبيقها، وقد تجيز الضوابط للجهة أسلوباً آخر (مثل حد اجتياز فني ثم الترسية على الأعلى في التقييم المالي). لا يعرف أحد نقاط المنافسين قبل الترسية، لذا فالنتيجة بقدر دقة تقديراتك. لبيب غير تابع لمنصة اعتماد أو وزارة المالية أو أي جهة حكومية، ولا يقدّم استشارة نظامية. آخر مراجعة: 22 سبتمبر 2026.
The part the portal cannot upload for you
Bilingual technical proposals
Structured against the booklet, compliance-mapped, written in native-grade Arabic and English — with the Arabic version treated as the one that governs, because it does. Business proposal & tender writing
Company profiles that survive procurement
The capability story evaluators and vendor-registration portals actually read — bilingual, evidence-led, consistent with your registrations. Company profile writing
Local-content & programme narratives
Local-content plans, ICV improvement-plan documents, Saudization and training-programme documentation — written from your numbers, never invented. Business writing & design