Better tender scoring
ICV is weighted in evaluation. A higher score directly improves your position against comparable bidders.
ICV Certification Services
ICV certification is how government and semi-government buyers score suppliers on In-Country Value. A higher score moves you up the tender list — and the score is improvable if you understand how it is built.
Improves tender scoringCalculated from audited figuresAnnual renewal trackedImprovement modelled first
Your ICV score decides tenders you never hear back from
In-Country Value measures how much of your business benefits the UAE economy — local goods and services, Emirati and expatriate workforce costs, investment in fixed assets, and contribution to the emirate. Government and semi-government buyers weight it in their evaluation, and large contractors increasingly apply the same requirement to their own supply chains.
Two suppliers with comparable pricing and capability can land in different places purely on ICV score. Most losing bidders never learn that was the reason.
The score is calculated from audited financial data using a defined formula — which means it is not a matter of opinion, and it is improvable. We prepare the audited figures the certificate is built from, model where your score actually sits before submission, and identify which specific changes move it.
- Certificate issued against audited financial statements.
- Score modelled before submission, not discovered afterwards.
- Improvement levers identified and quantified.
- Renewal tracked so the certificate never lapses mid-tender.
What we handle
- ICV registration
- Score improvement advisory
- Audited statement alignment
- Document preparation
- Submission and coordination
- Certifying body liaison
- Annual renewal
- Compliance review
The upside
What a stronger ICV score is worth
It is a commercial instrument, not a compliance certificate.
Access to bigger buyers
ADNOC and other major buyers require a valid certificate. Without one, you are excluded before pricing is even considered.
Supply chain eligibility
Large contractors increasingly pass the requirement down. Your certificate keeps you eligible as a subcontractor.
A measurable improvement path
The formula is defined. That means the levers are identifiable and the gain from each one is quantifiable in advance.
Continuous eligibility
Renewal tracked and started early, so a lapsed certificate never costs you a bid you were otherwise winning.
Cleaner financials as a by-product
The audit discipline the certificate requires improves your reporting generally.
How we deliver
How we handle your ICV certificate in Dubai and Abu Dhabi
Model first, submit second. Submitting blind and hoping is how suppliers end up in a lower band for a year.
01
Baseline & audited figures
We prepare or align the audited financial statements the score is calculated from, in the format the certifying body requires.
02
Score modelling
We compute your indicative score before submission and identify which inputs are holding it down.
03
Improvement & documentation
Where there is a realistic gain available, we set out what would achieve it, then assemble the full submission pack.
04
Submission & renewal
Submitted and coordinated with the certifying body through to issue, with the renewal date diarised.
Realistic timeline
ICV certification timeline
Assumes audited statements are available. Where they are not, the audit comes first.
What holds up certification
Audited statements that are not in the format the certifying body expects. Re-cutting them mid-submission adds weeks. We prepare them to that format from the outset, which is the advantage of the audit sitting in-house.
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Eligibility and baseline
We confirm which financial year the certificate will be based on and what documentation exists.
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Audited statements prepared or aligned
Statements produced in the format the certifying body requires.
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Score modelled
Indicative score computed and improvement levers identified before anything is submitted.
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Documentation assembled
Full submission pack prepared with supporting evidence for each input.
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Submission and review
Filed with the certifying body, with queries answered promptly to keep the file moving.
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Renewal
Started well ahead of expiry so there is no gap in eligibility.
Investment
ICV service fees
Depends on whether audited statements already exist and how many entities are being certified.
Certification Only
From AED 7,500
You have current audited statements and need the submission handled.
- Document preparation
- Submission to certifying body
- Coordination and queries
- Certificate issued
- Renewal date tracked
Audit + Certification
From AED 16,000
Audited statements prepared and the certificate obtained together.
- Statutory audit under IFRS
- Statements aligned to ICV format
- Score modelling
- Full submission handling
- Improvement advisory
Score Improvement
Custom
You hold a certificate and need the score moved before the next tender cycle.
- Current score analysis
- Lever-by-lever improvement modelling
- Implementation roadmap
- Re-certification handling
- Ongoing advisory
Certifying body fees are set by the certifying authority, charged separately and passed through at cost. Ranges are indicative for planning and are not a binding offer.
Before you start
What certification requires
The certificate is calculated from financial data, so the quality of that data is the whole exercise.
Requirements & eligibility
- A valid UAE trade licence.
- Audited financial statements for the relevant financial year.
- Records of local supplier spend and procurement.
- Payroll data separating Emirati and expatriate workforce costs.
- A fixed asset register showing UAE-based investment.
- Bank and Emiratisation records where relevant to your sector.
Documents you will need
- Audited financial statements, signed.
- Trade licence and MOA.
- Supplier ledger with local versus imported spend.
- Payroll summary with nationality breakdown.
- Fixed asset register with location of assets.
- Emiratisation records and MOHRE data where applicable.
- Prior ICV certificate, where renewing.
Why AONE BIZ
Why AONE BIZ for ICV
The certificate is built on audited figures. We are the firm that produces them.
We prepare the underlying audit
Most ICV consultants work from statements somebody else produced. We produce them, so the inputs are right from the start.
Score modelled before submission
You see where you will land and what would move it, rather than finding out when the certificate arrives.
Improvement that is actually actionable
We quantify each lever so you can decide which are worth pursuing commercially, not just theoretically.
Documentation that survives review
Every input supported by evidence in the format the certifying body expects.
Renewal never missed
Diarised and started early. A certificate lapsing mid-tender is an avoidable, expensive mistake.
One firm, audit through certificate
No coordination gap between your auditor and your ICV consultant, because they are the same team.
The basics
What is an ICV certificate?
A competitive score derived from your audited accounts — where classification matters as much as performance.
An In-Country Value certificate scores how much of your spend stays inside the UAE economy. ADNOC and a growing list of government and semi-government buyers apply that score as a weighting when comparing bids — so for some suppliers it decides whether a tender is read at all.
It is not a licence or a permit. It is a competitive score, and a higher one gives you an advantage against a rival quoting the same price.
How the ICV score is calculated
From your audited financial statements, using defined categories: goods manufactured in the UAE, local supplier spend, workforce cost with Emirati employment weighted favourably, investment in UAE-based assets, and Emiratisation.
Because the inputs come from audited figures, classification decides more than performance does. Local supplier spend recorded under a generic overhead heading cannot be attributed to the category that would have scored — the money stayed in the UAE, but the accounts do not evidence it. That is why two companies with identical operations can certify at very different scores, and it is usually recoverable. See ICV score improvement and our guide to how the score is calculated.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Straight answers, with the caveats that actually matter.
In-Country Value is a scoring framework used by UAE government and semi-government buyers — ADNOC among them — to weight suppliers on their contribution to the national economy. The score is calculated from audited financial data using a defined formula, and it affects tender evaluation.
If you sell to government or semi-government buyers, or to large contractors within their supply chains, then yes — increasingly it is a precondition rather than an advantage. If you sell purely business-to-business to private companies, it may not apply.
Broadly from local goods and services spend, Emirati and expatriate workforce costs, investment in UAE-based fixed assets, and contribution to the emirate — measured against your revenue. The formula is defined, which is what makes the score improvable rather than arbitrary.
Yes, and often meaningfully. Common levers include shifting procurement toward local suppliers, how workforce costs are recorded and allocated, and how UAE-based assets are treated. We model each one so you can weigh the commercial cost against the score gain.
Yes — the certificate is calculated from audited financial statements. If you do not have current audited accounts, that work comes first. We handle both, which removes the coordination gap that usually causes delay.
Certificates are issued for a defined period tied to your financial year and require annual renewal. We track the expiry and start the renewal early, because a lapsed certificate can disqualify you from a live tender.
Keep exploring
Related services
Most clients pair this service with one or more of the following.
Audit & Assurance
Your ICV score is calculated from audited statements. We produce them in-house.
Accounting & Bookkeeping
Local spend and payroll data need to be captured correctly through the year to score well.
goAML & Compliance
Suppliers chasing government contracts usually carry AML obligations too.
Losing tenders and not sure why?
Send us your last audited statements. We will model your ICV score and tell you what is holding it down.
Talk to us
Start with a free, no-obligation consultation
Tell us who you are bidding to, whether you hold a certificate already, and whether you have current audited accounts. We will map the fastest route to a better score.
- One business hour response during working days.
- Fixed, itemised quotations — government fees shown separately from our fee.
- One named consultant from first call through to licence, visa and first filing.
- No obligation. If the UAE is not right for you yet, we will say so.
Request your free consultation
Takes under a minute. No obligation, no sales script.