Get your contractor classification file ready for Balady
The Ministry of Municipalities and Housing (MoMAH) issues the classification certificate, and your grade is decided by what goes into the system: audited financial statements, staff and eligible projects. We review your file, find the gaps and prepare it with you before you apply, for a new classification, a renewal or an upgrade.
- Assessment before you apply
- No promise of a specific grade
- You apply from your own company account
We are preparing a short video that walks through the service and its stages. Until it is published, request an assessment of your company file and an advisor will take you through the steps directly.
- 1Readiness check
- 2File preparation
- 3Submission and follow-up
- 4The certificate and after
Companies that trust Edaaat
The official platforms a classification file goes through
- Balady
- MoMAH
- Muqawil
- Saudi Contractors Authority
- Qawaem
- Saudi Council of Engineers
- GOSI
- Etimad
These logos belong to clients who have worked with Edaaat on different services, including registration and qualification, packages and classification; they do not mean that all of them used our classification service. Naming these platforms and bodies does not imply a partnership with them or official approval from them. Edaaat is an independent consultancy: MoMAH issues the classification certificate, and the client applies from its own company account.
A Muqawil certificate is not the classification certificate
The technical standards certificate is issued by the Saudi Contractors Authority through Muqawil and measures the technical side of your business. The classification certificate is issued by MoMAH through Balady: it combines the technical assessment with a credit rating based on your financial statements, then adds your eligible projects to set your field and grade.
So a company can hold a Muqawil certificate or Authority membership and still not be classified. Authority membership is a separate document that some tenders ask for; it is not a classification.
Technical standards certificate
From the Saudi Contractors Authority, through Muqawil. It measures the technical side and transfers to Balady automatically.
An input to the applicationClassification certificate
From MoMAH, through Balady. It sets your field and grade, and is valid for two years.
The final decision
Why does the grade come in lower than expected, or the application stall?
The problem is rarely what your company can do. It is usually what goes into the system, and what of it does not count.
Projects that don't count
A project signed before your commercial registration, outside the classification fields, or without completion certificates and enough supporting documents is left out of the assessment.
Statements that aren't ready
Financial statements not audited by a licensed chartered accountant, or not filed on Qawaem, weaken the financial assessment or stop the application.
Staff who don't show
Engineers not registered with the Saudi Council of Engineers, and staff who do not appear in official records, are not counted.
Missed deadlines
A renewal started too late, or a change in name, ownership or capital not reported within 30 days.
What decides your company's classification grade?
The Implementing Regulation of the Contractors Classification Law (1447 AH) sets the assessment criteria; the ministry does not publish their weights. These are the items we review before any application.
Audited financial statements
Revenue, assets, equity and more, from statements audited by a licensed chartered accountant and filed on Qawaem. The credit rating is built on them.
Staff in Saudi Arabia
Your actual technical and administrative staff in the Kingdom and their experience, and engineers registered with the Saudi Council of Engineers.
Eligible projects
Government projects from SAR 500,000, or private projects from SAR 5 million with audited statements, within the last 10 years, at least 50% complete for execution or 30% for operation and maintenance, and backed by completion documents.
Technical standards certificate
Issued by the Saudi Contractors Authority through Muqawil and transferred to Balady automatically. A core input to the application.
Four steps from the file check to the certificate
We handle the technical detail, and at every stage you know what is needed and what comes next.
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01
Readiness check
We review your commercial registration, statements, projects and staff, and give you an initial grade estimate: what is missing, and what will not count and why.
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02
File preparation
We organise the documents with you (contracts, completion certificates, financial statements and staff data) and check that the figures match across them.
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03
Submission and follow-up
You apply from your company's Balady account with us beside you at every step, and we prepare the replies to the ministry's comments with you until it decides.
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04
The certificate and after
Once the certificate is issued, we tell you when it is due for renewal and the earliest date you can upgrade your grade or add a field.
We organise what goes into the assessment; the ministry decides
We start with your goal: a first classification, a renewal, a grade upgrade or a new field. Then we review your file, identify the gaps and what will not count, prepare the documents with you, and stay with you through the application and the replies to comments. The service does not include issuing the certificate, which is the ministry's role, or auditing your financial statements, which is the role of a licensed chartered accountant.
- Readiness check and grade estimate
- Projects and completion certificates in order
- Staff records and the technical standards certificate
- Renewal and upgrade dates
One file for classification, qualification and ISO
Edaaat is a Saudi company that helps contracting companies prepare their files for the bodies they deal with: supplier registration and qualification, ISO certification, contractor classification and tenders. The same statements, projects and staff come up in all of these files, so we organise them once and build on them.
Who needs a contractor classification certificate?
The Contractors Classification Law bars government entities from accepting a bid on a project subject to classification unless the contractor is classified in the required field and grade.
Contractors bidding on Etimad
A classification certificate in the required field is among the documents that must be valid when bids are opened.
Subcontractors
On government projects, they must be classified in the required field and grade.
Contractor consortia
Every partner must be classified in the field, and at least one must hold the required grade.
Municipal-sector contractors
The new qualification service on Balady Business requires a classification certificate; the deadline is 30 June 2027.
Suppliers to major buyers
Some buyers ask for government classification among their supplier-registration documents, where it applies to the activity.
Classification fields: construction; operation, maintenance and services; telecoms and IT; cybersecurity (added in June 2026); catering; exhibitions and conferences; and real estate development. Supply-only and management-consulting-only activities are outside the scope of classification. Naming these bodies does not imply a partnership with them or official approval from them; the final reference is each tender's conditions booklet and each buyer's requirements.
The most reliable information starts at the source
This page draws on the Contractors Classification Law, its Implementing Regulation and Balady's official services. We recommend reviewing them before you apply.
Balady — City service provider classification
The official service for requesting a classification certificate, renewing it, and adding fields or changing the grade.
balady.gov.sa (opens in a new tab)MoMAH — the Law and the Regulation
The Contractors Classification Law and its Implementing Regulation (1447 AH): assessment criteria, timelines and penalties.
momah.gov.sa (opens in a new tab)Muqawil — technical standards certificate
Issued by the Saudi Contractors Authority, and one of the inputs to a classification application.
muqawil.org (opens in a new tab)Edaaat is an independent consultancy and is not affiliated with the Ministry of Municipalities and Housing or the Saudi Contractors Authority. Only the ministry issues the classification certificate and sets the grade. The information on this page is taken from the Law, its Implementing Regulation and Balady's services as of October 2026, and may change.
Quick answers before you start
The questions we hear most often about contractor classification, answered from the Law and its Implementing Regulation.
How many contractor classification grades are there?
Six, from grade 1, the highest, to grade 6. The financial threshold for each grade is set by ministerial decision, so we confirm it from the official source when you apply rather than publish tables that may be out of date.
Who issues the classification certificate, and who applies?
MoMAH issues it through Balady, under the “City service provider classification” service. You apply from your own company account; we prepare the file and stay with you. We do not issue the certificate.
How long is a classification certificate valid?
Two years. The renewal request is submitted in the 90 days before the certificate expires, and the certificate can be extended once, by 90 days, at the contractor's request.
When can I upgrade my classification grade?
Once 90 days have passed since the certificate was issued, if what counts has changed: newer financial statements, newly completed projects or more staff. You can add a field while the certificate is valid, except in its last 90 days.
What decides my grade?
Three criteria in the Regulation: your audited financial statements, your staff in Saudi Arabia, and the completed projects that meet the counting conditions. The technical standards certificate from Muqawil is an input to the application.
Is ISO certification a requirement for classification?
No, ISO is not one of the classification criteria in the Regulation. But many buyers ask for it alongside classification in qualification files, so we prepare both together when needed.
Does classification guarantee projects or a specific grade?
No. The grade is decided by the ministry's assessment under the Regulation. A classification certificate is a condition for bidding on projects that require it, but it does not guarantee an award or a contract. Our role is to make sure your file accurately presents everything you are entitled to have counted.
Can engineers or workers be added on paper to raise the grade?
No. Submitting incorrect data is considered a violation that the Law penalises by lowering the grade, suspending the classification for up to five years, or cancelling it, and the ministry may inspect the office and the site. We do not offer this service.
Are there government fees for classification?
Balady does not currently charge for the classification service, though external fees may apply to the credit rating or the technical standards certificate.
How long does a Muqawil certificate take?
Usually 1 to 3 working days after the application is complete. It is an input to the classification file, not a substitute for it.
Is your company file ready for classification?
Start with an assessment of your file to find out what is missing, what will not count and the next step, before you apply on Balady.
- An initial grade estimate for each field
- A list of the gaps and what will not count
- A clear plan for the next step
