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Contractors and Consultants Classification

The Contractors and Consultants Classification System requires each engineering and construction company in Abu Dhabi to register their related businesses.

All companies in the engineering and contraction sector holding a valid Abu Dhabi license are required to get classification from the Abu Dhabi Department of Town Planning Municipalities.

This Classification ensures that every engineering and contracting company in Abu Dhabi is qualified and experienced enough to participate in tenders in the capital of the UAE.

The strategy of the Department of Municipalities and Transport is to organize, develop and manage urban growth and transportation in an integrated and sustainable manner by providing pioneering and smart infrastructure, facilities and services for the well–being and happiness of the community in a way that enhances the quality of life in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. Classification Department within the DMT is working to establish a comprehensive and integrated system of standards, specifications, measures, terms and conditions that regulate the process of practicing municipal professions and engineering activities in accordance with international best practices.

Accordingly, ZS Chartered Accountants provide services to all customers in a way that saves time and effort in knowing what is required to obtain a classification certificate in an easy way including the application path, the attachments, the conditions required for the classification certificate. Moreover, ZS Chartered Accountants provides assistance for promotion of classification category to achieve upto special category.

Criteria for Classification

  • Engineers with Experience Conditions
  • Net Assets Value
  • Other Conditions (ISO certifications)
  • Technical Conditions – specified staff with experience

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Classification?

It sounds pretty basic like, “it is an activity or handle of categorizing something”. But it is not as simple as that. When it comes to the companies that are authorized to conduct contracting or engineering activities in Abu Dhabi, they must get classification from the Abu Dhabi Department of Town Planning Municipalities. This is done to guarantee that the company in question is capable and qualified to take part in a tender process in Abu Dhabi.

What is the role of the Classification Deaprtment?

The job of the Classification Department in Abu Dhabi is to evaluate the capability of local contracting and engineering firms before they are given the permission to participate in tenders within the capital. This evaluation is carried out in understanding with well-defined criterias as mentioned within regulation Number 1 for the year 2009 and the contractor’s classification regulation Number 2 for the year 2009.

Is it hard to meet the requirements?

The classification process is not a simply process nor is it based on routine or automatic approvals. The First Category and Second Category Classification depends upon the companies’ application. There will be a review by a panel of experts regarding the company’s technical qualifications, project experience, capital and assets value, quality, health and safety team, accounting team, the experience and qualifications, etc. If your company is planning to bid for high value contracts, the requirements will be quite arduous and therefore the classification process should be handled by professionals.

Can the classification be avoided?

No, unless your comapny is willing to remove all activities that require classification from the business license. But this will, of course, greatly limit the scope of your company’s business activities.

Unfortunately, in many cases, the classification requirements could not be met or were too expensive and hence companies had to take the decision to remove the activities that require classification alltogether from their license and hence give up on part of their business.

When did this classification come into force?

The official directions of the classification requirements date back to 2009 but the execution of the said directions has been postponed until 2014. In 2018 a set of new regulations were introduced together with the final implementation of the older ones from 2009.

Contractors Classifications Categories

  • Special
  • First
  • Second
  • Third
  • Fourth
  • Fifth
  • Sixth

Engineering Consultancy Firms Classifications Categories

  • Special
  • First
  • Second

For Example, The sixth category would allow the company to bid on tenders up to a value of AED 7mil and it requires the company to employ one full-time engineer with a minimum of 4 years of experience. This is just one of the many points that have to be met. All other categories have proportionately extra requirements with Special being the highest category. For each category, there is a certain number of employed engineers. They must be employed directly by the company and must have a minimum number of years of experience. The company must show ISO accreditations and suitable support staff.

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