How to register as a supplier on Etimad: steps and documents

Etimad is the Ministry of Finance platform for government spending and procurement. If you want to sell to a ministry, a municipality or a government hospital, this is where the work happens. Government entities publish tenders there, and suppliers buy the booklets and submit their offers.

In 2018 the Ministry explained that a contract or order linked to the budget gets a reference number from the Ministry, the purchase order, issued through Etimad. The supplier can check that number on the platform's document verification page, and later submit financial claims electronically.

In July 2020 the Ministry added 12 new products to Etimad. They included electronic bank guarantees, financial claims, activated gradually, and the Etimad e-market, where government entities buy goods and services under framework agreements. So registration is not only for tenders. It is the account you use for orders, guarantees, deliveries and claims with the government.

Start with the commercial registration (CR). It must be active, and the Ministry of Commerce now asks companies to confirm their main CR data once a year through the Saudi Business Center. Etimad and government buyers read the CR first, so the name, activities and national address there should be current.

The Etimad portal opens on a login page, so we could not read its own registration checklist. According to Setup in Saudi, a business setup consultancy, the company profile on Etimad asks for the CR, the VAT registration certificate, GOSI registration, the Zakat certificate, bank account details and the authorized contact persons. Suppliers also commonly prepare the Saudization certificate, because government bids ask for it.

Treat that list as the minimum. Each tender booklet can ask for more, such as licences or classification. Keep every paper valid on the day you bid, not only on the day you register, and check the exact list on Etimad itself.

The Ministry of Finance user guide for the Etimad e-market shows how a supplier enters the platform: go to etimad.sa, press login, choose the business user option, enter the ID number and password, and sign in through the unified national access gateway for companies and establishments. Most government platforms now use Nafath for this sign-in.

According to Setup in Saudi, the next steps are to register the establishment on Etimad with its CR number, complete the company profile with the documents above, and add team members with roles such as viewer, bid preparer, approver or authorized signer. The person who signs in should be the owner or a person authorized for the company.

Take your time with the profile. Use the same company name as the CR, a company email that someone reads every day, and bank details in the company's name. After the account is active, you can browse tenders, buy the booklet for the ones you want and follow the Ministry's guides for single-envelope and two-envelope bids.

The Ministry of Finance Knowledge Center publishes the guides a supplier needs after registration. There are user guides for submitting single-envelope and two-envelope bids, a guide to the rules for qualifying competitors and filling the qualification forms, a guide to delivering bank guarantees and a guide to financial claims.

If your products are covered by a framework agreement, you may work through the Etimad e-market. The Ministry's e-market guide shows a supplier receiving purchase requests from government entities, accepting or rejecting them, confirming delivery, creating the invoice and printing the purchase order.

Payment follows the claim. The Ministry describes financial claims as a way for suppliers and contractors to submit what they are owed electronically. We do not give payment times here, because they depend on each contract and entity. Read the guide for each service before your first bid, so your first tender is not also your first time reading the rules.

Umm Al-Qura, the official gazette, carries a new Government Tenders and Procurement Law dated 22/3/1448 AH, which is 4 September 2026. It replaces the previous law issued by Royal Decree M/128 dated 13/11/1440 AH.

Article 101 says the law applies 120 days after its publication in the official gazette. Counted from 4 September 2026, that is about 2 January 2027, but confirm the start date from the gazette or the Ministry of Finance. Article 1 defines a unified electronic portal for government procurement under the Ministry's supervision, and Article 18 leaves the conditions for suppliers who deal with government entities to the implementing regulations.

For a supplier the practical point is simple. Register now under the current rules, keep your papers valid, and watch for the implementing regulations, which may change details of registration and bidding. This page explains the steps; it is not legal advice. For questions on your own case, check with the Ministry of Finance or Etimad support.

ENTEK is not Etimad. It is not linked to Etimad or the Ministry of Finance, it does not register suppliers on Etimad, it does not submit government bids and it does not issue bank guarantees or any certificate. Government tenders stay on Etimad.

This article is an explainer only. ENTEK works on the private side: companies that buy from suppliers. The nearest real features are the verified company profile with CR and VAT numbers, certifications, key personnel and official stamp, and the RFQ tools, where you receive RFQs, submit bids and negotiate in rounds, with delivery options per line, and get purchase orders when you win.

Many of the papers Etimad and private buyers ask for are the same, so keeping them current in one place helps on both sides. You can start on ENTEK with the Free plan (1 store, 10 RFQs, 10 users). ENTEK does not promise RFQs or orders, and nothing on ENTEK changes how Etimad reviews your account.