Is an ICV certificate mandatory in the UAE?
Short answer
Partly, and the distinction matters. Since 26 April 2026 an ICV certificate is mandatory for one defined part of the market: a UAE Cabinet decision moved the National In-Country Value Programme from an incentive-based framework to a mandatory model across selected sectors, including federal entities and companies in which the government holds 25% or more. Everywhere else it remains commercially decisive rather than legally required — buyers such as ADNOC and Abu Dhabi government entities apply the same certificate through their own procurement rules, where a bidder without one is scored zero on in-country value rather than excluded outright.
What the Cabinet decided
On 26 April 2026 the UAE Cabinet, chaired by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, approved a set of industrial-resilience decisions. One of them changed the legal standing of the National In-Country Value Programme.
The Cabinet approved amendments to the National In-Country Value Programme, transitioning it from an incentive-based framework to a mandatory model across selected sectors, including federal entities and companies in which the government holds 25% or more.
Sheikh Mohammed described the same decision more broadly, saying the programme had been made mandatory across government entities and national companies. The published text of the decision is the narrower of the two, and it is the one to plan against: selected sectors, federal entities, and companies with government ownership at or above 25%.
What the decision does not settle
Three things a supplier will want to know are not answered by the announcement, and any source that states them confidently is going beyond the published text.
- The sector list
- The decision applies across “selected sectors” without naming them. Until that list is published, whether a given supplier is in scope is a question for the buyer's tender documents, not for a general rule.
- The commencement mechanics
- The announcement records the approval. It does not state a transition period, an enforcement date distinct from the approval date, or what happens to certificates already in force.
- How the score works
- Nothing in the decision changes the ICV formula, who audits it, or who issues the certificate. A mandatory programme is the same programme.
Where a certificate was already decisive
Long before the mandate, an ICV certificate determined outcomes through procurement rules rather than law. This is the part most published explainers still get wrong by treating “voluntary” as though it meant optional.
For Abu Dhabi government and semi-government procurement, the Industrial Development Bureau states the weighting directly: the ICV factor accounts for 40% of the financial evaluation. A supplier bidding without a valid certificate is not disqualified — the score is simply counted as zero, which in a weighted evaluation is usually the same thing.
ADNOC applies the same unified National certificate through its own procurement and localisation rules, and Abu Dhabi Local Content (ADLC) applies it through the emirate's published overlay. One certificate per legal entity, read by several buyers under several sets of rules.
What has not changed
- Who certifies
- The Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology owns the National programme. Certificates are issued through its platform on the assessment of an empanelled certifying body, against audited financial statements.
- The unit of certification
- ICV is certified per legal entity. A holding group with five operating companies holds five scores and five certificates. Entities do not pool results, and the entity named on the tender is the entity whose score is evaluated.
- Dubai
- The Dubai In-Country Value programme, launched in May 2025, is a separate local-procurement framework. The Cabinet decision concerns the National programme; it does not merge the two.
Common questions
When did ICV become mandatory in the UAE?
On 26 April 2026, when the UAE Cabinet approved amendments transitioning the National In-Country Value Programme from an incentive-based framework to a mandatory model. The change applies across selected sectors, including federal entities and companies in which the government holds 25% or more.
Does the mandate apply to a private company with no government ownership?
Not by the decision itself. The published text covers selected sectors, federal entities, and companies with government ownership at or above 25%. A wholly private supplier outside those sectors is not brought into scope by the decision — but if it bids into ADNOC or Abu Dhabi government procurement, the certificate still governs how its bid is scored.
What happens in a tender if a supplier has no ICV certificate?
In Abu Dhabi government and semi-government procurement the ICV score is counted as zero rather than the bid being rejected. Because the Industrial Development Bureau puts the ICV factor at 40% of the financial evaluation, a zero is decisive in any competitive bid.
Does a mandatory programme change how the ICV score is calculated?
No. The decision changes who must hold a certificate, not how the score is produced. The formula, the requirement for audited financial statements, and the role of the certifying body are unchanged.
Is Dubai's programme covered by this decision?
No. The decision concerns the National In-Country Value Programme. The Dubai In-Country Value programme launched in May 2025 as a separate local-procurement framework and is tracked separately.
Sources
Every factual claim on this page traces to one of these. Where a question is not settled by a primary source, this page says so rather than picking an answer.
Auditro provides ICV decision support and evidence workflows. It is not a certifying body and not an Accredited Service Provider, it does not certify scores, and it does not guarantee tender outcomes.