Supplier prequalification in Saudi Arabia: the criteria and how to fill the form

Registration puts your company on a buyer's list. Prequalification goes one step further: the buyer checks that you have the skills, money, people and systems to deliver a certain kind of work before it lets you bid.

The Saudi Government Tenders and Procurement Law, published on the Umm Al-Qura site, defines two types. Pre-qualification is when the government entity checks the qualifications and capabilities of competitors before they submit bids. Post-qualification is when it checks the bidder whose offer was selected, after selection and before award. Article 19 says the entity runs one of the two for the works and purchases that the implementing regulations name, and that the regulations set the detailed rules.

Private buyers use the same idea with their own names. SABIC calls it due diligence followed by technical qualification. Aramco publishes Engineering Requirements for Technical and Quality Approval. NEOM sends a supplier questionnaire after it approves your registration.

For government work, Article 20 of the law sets the frame. Pre- and post-qualification criteria must be objective and measurable. They must relate to the technical, financial and administrative capabilities of the competitors and to the size of their contractual obligations. They must be proportionate to the nature, size and value of the work. The law does not give numeric thresholds; those depend on the regulations and on each booklet.

Private buyers ask about the same areas in more detail. SABIC's due diligence, run by Achilles, covers capabilities, insurances, policies, financial information and EHSS (environment, health, safety and security). Its technical qualification then checks your capability against a qualification matrix.

In practice, most forms group their questions into five areas: who you are, what you can do, how strong your finances are, how you manage safety and quality, and who can vouch for your work. The template below follows that order.

Company details: copy your legal name, CR number and VAT number exactly as they appear on the certificates. A small spelling difference is a common reason for questions.

Activities and capacity: list only the categories you really supply, with the brands, stock or production you can prove. A short, true list beats a long one you cannot support.

Finance: give revenue for the years the form asks, from your audited or filed statements. Attach a bank letter if asked.

Safety and quality: name your HSE and quality policies and attach any certificate you actually hold, such as ISO 9001. If you hold none, describe how you check quality today.

People: list key staff with their roles and years of experience.

References: give three customers who agreed to be contacted, with a contact name and the type of supply.

Declarations: read the code of conduct and conflict-of-interest questions before you sign. A wrong declaration can end the process.

A failed prequalification is common, and it usually points to a gap you can close. Ask the buyer which criterion you missed. Then fix the gap: a missing certificate, a weak reference, revenue below the level the booklet asks for, or answers that did not match your documents.

For government pre-qualification, the law gives a formal route. Article 84 says an appeal against a pre-qualification decision is filed with an amount of SAR 15,000, which is refunded if the appeal is accepted. That is a real cost, so appeal only when you can show that a criterion was applied wrongly.

For small and medium businesses, Monsha'at runs Jadeer, a free service that pre-qualifies MSMEs and links them to public and private partners. Monsha'at lists 3 working days for processing, with a field visit only for businesses classified as high-risk. It does not replace a buyer's own prequalification, but it gives you a documented starting point.

ENTEK does not prequalify suppliers for any buyer or government entity, and it does not issue or approve any certificate. It is not linked to Etimad, Aramco, SABIC, NEOM or Monsha'at. Each buyer runs its own prequalification, and you answer it on that buyer's portal.

What ENTEK helps with is the material that every prequalification form asks for. On ENTEK you build a verified company profile with CR and VAT numbers, certifications, key personnel and official stamp. Keeping those facts current in one place makes each new form faster to fill, and corporate buyers on ENTEK see the same profile.

Once you are on ENTEK, you can receive RFQs, submit bids and negotiate in rounds, with delivery options per line, and get purchase orders when you win. ENTEK does not promise RFQs or wins. You can start on the Free plan (1 store, 10 RFQs, 10 users).