How the UAE ICV Certificate and Score Work: A Guide for Suppliers

What the ICV programme is and why it matters

The National In-Country Value (ICV) Program is a UAE government initiative, managed by the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology (MoIAT), that aims to redirect procurement spending into the UAE economy. Companies receive an ICV certificate showing a score that reflects their contribution to the country.

The score matters because it is used when tenders are evaluated. Federal entities and major buyers — including ADNOC, which pioneered ICV in the energy sector — take ICV scores into account when awarding contracts. In a close tender, a stronger score can be the difference between winning and losing the work.

What makes up the ICV score

The score is calculated from several components defined in the MoIAT methodology:

• Goods and third-party spend — manufacturing in the UAE and money spent with UAE-based suppliers.
• Investment — investment in UAE-based assets such as facilities, equipment, and technology.
• Emiratisation — employment and pay of UAE nationals.
• Expatriate contribution — the contribution of expatriate employees working in the UAE.
• Bonus factors — additional credit for specific qualifying activities.

How your supplier spend counts

For many service companies, third-party spend is the biggest lever on the score. Not all spend counts equally. Spend with UAE suppliers that hold a valid ICV certificate contributes according to their own score, UAE suppliers without a valid certificate count only at a low default value, and spend with suppliers outside the UAE generally adds nothing.

That makes supplier certificates important. If a key supplier's certificate expires or was never collected, your own score can fall even though nothing about your spending changed. Keeping a register of supplier certificates, with their scores and expiry dates, is one of the simplest ways to protect your result.

How to get certified

The process is built around your audited financial statements:

• Finalise your audited financial statements for the year.
• Engage an ICV certification body approved by MoIAT.
• Prepare the ICV submission with spend, supplier, investment, and workforce data and supporting documents.
• The certification body verifies the evidence and calculates your score.
• The certificate is issued and can be verified by buyers.
• Repeat the process with each new set of audited financial statements to renew.

How long an ICV certificate lasts

An ICV certificate is valid for 14 months from the date of the audited financial statements it is based on. Because tenders require a valid certificate, plan renewals well ahead of expiry so there is no gap between certificates.

Why ICV scores come out lower than expected

When companies are disappointed by their score, the cause is usually data rather than performance:

• Supplier certificates that were expired or never collected.
• Spend classified incorrectly between UAE-based and imported.
• Investment in UAE assets that was not captured in the submission.
• Incomplete records of Emirati employment and pay.
• Data assembled in a rush just before the certification deadline.

Practical ways to improve your score

Most improvements come from managing the score throughout the year instead of calculating it once:

• Prefer ICV-certified UAE suppliers where it makes commercial sense.
• Ask key suppliers for their current certificates and track expiry dates.
• Record spend, investment, and workforce data monthly, not annually.
• Plan investment and Emiratisation with the score in mind.
• Estimate your score before the audit so there is still time to act.

Using software to track ICV all year

ICV reporting software connects to your accounting system, classifies spend by supplier location and certificate status, keeps a register of supplier certificates, summarises workforce data, and estimates your score before the audit. When certification time comes, the evidence is already organised.

Software prepares and organises the data — it does not issue certificates. Your official score is always calculated by an approved certification body under the current MoIAT methodology, so check the latest guidelines with your certification body before relying on any estimate.