The Saudization certificate on Qiwa: validity, how to issue it, and the 2026 contract rule

The Saudization certificate, called the localization certificate in the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development service list, is a document the business owner issues and prints from the Qiwa platform. It is a statement about the establishment under the Nitaqat program, which measures how many Saudi employees an establishment has against its required localization rate.

Buyers ask for it because it is a quick, official way to see that a supplier follows the labour rules. Large companies often list it next to the CR, Zakat, VAT and GOSI papers in their supplier registration forms, and government tenders ask for it too. A supplier who cannot send a current certificate may be stopped at the document check, before anyone looks at the price. So the certificate is not paperwork for its own sake. It is part of the pack that lets your quotation reach the evaluation stage.

The ministry service page gives three steps. Sign in to your business account on the Qiwa platform. Go to the establishment information and select certifications. Issue and print the localization certificate. The Unified National Platform describes the same path in more detail: open the services tab, then establishment management, then certificates, find the certificate you need and press issue certificate. The same service also issues the wage protection certificate.

The service is free, and the ministry lists its duration as immediate. You do not upload documents for it. Because it takes a minute, there is no reason to send an old copy. Issue a new one when a buyer asks, save it as a PDF named with the date, and send that file. If the button does not work or the certificate will not issue, the cause is usually in your establishment data on Qiwa, which the next sections cover.

Many sites say the certificate lasts three months. The ministry service page that carries this detail did not open for us on 20 October 2026, and the service pages we did open do not state a period. So do not plan on a fixed number. Read the expiry date printed on the certificate you issue, and check with Qiwa if it is not shown.

In practice, treat it as a short-life paper. Buyers check the date on the day they review your file, not the day you sent it. A tender may close weeks after you upload your documents. The safe habit is simple: issue a fresh certificate on the day you submit a bid or a supplier registration, and again if the buyer asks for updated papers. Keep a list of where you sent each copy. Also remember that the certificate reflects your current Nitaqat status. If your range changes, check on Qiwa whether you can still issue it before a buyer asks.

On 15 March 2026 the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development announced that, from 15 April 2026, localization calculations rely on employment contracts documented electronically through Qiwa. The ministry states that documenting Saudi workers' contracts on Qiwa is a basic condition for counting them in localization rates. It asked establishments to finish documenting contracts to keep the calculation accurate and avoid any effect on their classification. The rule rests on Council of Ministers Decision 195 dated 4/4/1443H.

This is the most common reason a Saudi employee "disappears" from the count. A contract signed on paper, or one that expired on Qiwa, is not enough. In January 2026 the ministry also launched a new phase of Nitaqat Al-Mutawar, running three years from 2026 and aiming at more than 340,000 additional Saudi jobs in the private sector. Required rates are set per activity, so check your own target on Qiwa rather than a general number.

The ministry procedural guideline for Nitaqat Al-Mutawar (version 2.0, 2021) uses five ranges: Red, Low Green, Medium Green, High Green and Platinum. The Saudization rate is the average number of Saudi employees across the entity's branches, divided by the average of Saudi plus expatriate employees, times 100. The entity's rate is then compared with the minimum for each range, which depends on its activity and size.

The range decides which ministry services stay open. In that guideline, Platinum and the green ranges above Low Green can apply for new expatriate visas and renew work permits. Low Green cannot apply for new visas but can still renew existing work permits. Red cannot apply for new visas, issue work permits for new expatriates or renew existing ones. The 2026 phase sets new target rates, so read the current table on Qiwa. For a supplier, a lower range can mean staff shortages during a contract.

ENTEK does not issue, check or approve the Saudization certificate, and it does not change your Nitaqat range. It is not linked to Qiwa or to the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development. Contract documentation, wage files and the certificate itself all stay on the official platforms.

What ENTEK gives a supplier is a verified company profile with CR and VAT numbers, certifications, key personnel and official stamp. You can list the certifications you hold on that profile, so corporate buyers on ENTEK see them in one place next to your company data. Because a Saudization certificate has a printed expiry date, update the profile when you issue a new one, and never show a certificate that has expired. When a buyer on ENTEK sends you an RFQ, you can submit a bid and negotiate in rounds from the same account. The papers that prove your status still come from Qiwa.