What the ICV certificate is
The In-Country Value (ICV) certificate shows how much of your business stays in the UAE: your spend with UAE suppliers, your payroll, your investment in UAE assets and a few bonus items. It is part of the UAE's National ICV Program, run by the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology (MoIAT). Buyers in the program weigh your score in tender evaluation, next to price and technical.
The certificate is issued only by a MoIAT-authorized certifying body, usually an audit firm on MoIAT's approved list. Consultants, calculators and your own accountant can estimate the score. They cannot certify it.
Who needs one
- Suppliers to ADNOC and its group companies.
- Suppliers to federal entities and the national companies in the program.
- Subcontractors and suppliers of EPC and main contractors who carry ICV commitments on their projects.
If a buyer asks for it and you don't have it, your bid is usually scored as if your ICV were zero.
The process, step by step
- Close your financial year and get audited financial statements. The certificate is calculated from your latest audited accounts. No audit, no certificate.
- Prepare the ICV submission template. MoIAT publishes a standard template. It breaks your costs into supplier spend, payroll, assets and revenue, line by line.
- Collect the evidence. Supplier invoices and their ICV certificates, WPS payroll records split between Emirati and expatriate staff, your fixed-asset register, and export evidence if you claim the export bonus.
- Choose a certifying body and submit. They review the template against your audited accounts and the evidence, ask questions, and adjust what they cannot verify.
- Receive the certificate. Once issued, it carries your score and an expiry date. Plan the next one before it lapses.
Where companies lose points
- Suppliers without a valid certificate. Under the September 2025 guidelines, a service company's spend with an uncertified UAE mainland supplier counts at only 10%. The same spend with a certified supplier counts at that supplier's own ICV percentage.
- Overseas spend. It counts for nothing.
- Payroll split badly. Emirati payroll and expatriate payroll are treated differently. Errors in the split cost points in two places.
- Assets booked outside the UAE. Investment points look at UAE fixed assets against total fixed assets.
- Bonus points nobody claimed. Exports, growth in UAE investment and, for service companies, documented sustainability practices can add points. They are often left unclaimed because the evidence was not prepared during the year.
How long it takes
Most of the time goes into evidence, not the certifying body. A company with clean records and certified suppliers moves quickly. One that starts collecting supplier certificates after the year has closed can only certify what it already has.
The real lesson
Your score is decided during the year, by your purchasing, hiring and investment decisions. Certification only records it. That is why we plan the score month by month, before the audit, and not after.
Questions we are asked
Who issues the ICV certificate in the UAE?
Only certifying bodies authorized by the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology (MoIAT). Consultants and calculators give indicative scores.
What documents do I need for ICV certification?
Audited financial statements, the MoIAT ICV submission template, supplier invoices and their ICV certificates, WPS payroll records, the fixed-asset register, and export evidence if you claim the export bonus.
Can a new company get an ICV certificate?
The certificate is based on audited financial statements, so a company normally needs a completed, audited financial year. Some newly established companies can use other routes allowed in the MoIAT guidelines; check the current guidelines with a certifying body.
Formula details refer to MoIAT's National ICV Certification Guidelines for Suppliers (September 2025). This article is general guidance, not a certified assessment; official ICV scores are issued only by MoIAT-authorized certifying bodies.