ICV Certifying Bodies in the UAE: The Official List and How to Choose

Only firms authorised by the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology (MoIAT) can issue a National In-Country Value (ICV) certificate. This guide shows where the official list is, how many firms are on it, what they check, how to pick one and what audit firms should know about joining the list. Figures were read on MoIAT and other official pages on 5 October 2026.

The Official List of ICV Certifying Bodies

The only official list is the “ICV Certifying Bodies” tab on MoIAT’s National ICV open data page (moiat.gov.ae/en/open-data/national-icv). It shows each firm with a named contact and can be exported to Excel. MoIAT describes these firms as authorised “to conduct a technical review on requests for In-Country Value (ICV) certification submitted by companies, and to issue certificates”. The page carries no date, so treat the count as valid on the day you read it.

On 5 October 2026 the directory showed 25 results. They include the large international networks, for example PricewaterhouseCoopers, KPMG Lower Gulf Limited, Deloitte & Touche (Middle East), Ernst & Young, Grant Thornton and Crowe, as well as UAE firms such as Abstract Accounting and Auditing and Hamid Al Kaabi Accounts Audit. Inside the ICV Platform, the same list appears when you start the “Bidding Process”, so you do not need to copy it.

The count stayed at 25 between 2024 and 2026, but the names did not. Comparing the 2024 slide with the 2026 directory (our comparison), two firms on the slide are no longer listed and two new firms have been added. Before you sign, check that your chosen firm is still in the live directory.

What a Certifying Body Checks

MoIAT’s ICV Certification Guidelines for Suppliers (September 2025) define the certifying body as a professional services firm “empaneled and authorized by MoIAT for verifying and issuing the ICV Certificate”. In practice, the certifying body:

• checks that every figure in your ICV template matches your latest audited financial statements, prepared under IFRS and audited under ISA by a licensed UAE auditor;
• checks the supporting documents behind those figures: vendor lists and invoices, vendors’ own ICV certificates, Wage Protection System and Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation employee records, the net book value of assets, and export documents such as certificates of origin;
• confirms that your accounts are stand-alone statements for the certified entity, which has been required for financial years ending after 31 December 2024;
• runs a field audit, which MoIAT’s service card lists as a step;
• reviews, endorses, signs and approves your draft on the ICV Platform, which then generates the official certificate.

The certifying body is also checked. The guidelines say MoIAT’s designated staff may audit and review any ICV certification engagement, and both suppliers and certifying bodies must share information when MoIAT asks. For the scoring rules themselves, see our ICV certificate guide.

How to Choose a Certifying Body

You do not hire a certifying body by email. The September 2025 guidelines set out the route on icv.moiat.gov.ae:

1. Log in with UAE Pass and open “Bidding Process”.
2. Click “Select CBs” and tick the firms you want offers from.
3. Answer the questionnaire about your company and click “Request Quote”.
4. Accept, counter-offer or reject each offer. Once you accept one, all the others are rejected automatically.
5. The chosen firm uploads a signed engagement letter, and you start entering certificate data.

Choose carefully: the guidelines say a supplier may not change its certifying body for that year’s certificate without proper justification. Questions worth asking each firm before you accept:

• [ ] Is the quote a fixed fee that includes the field audit and any recertification within the 14-month validity?
• [ ] How many working days from engagement letter to certificate, given MoIAT’s 14 to 28 working days?
• [ ] Have you certified companies like ours, as a goods manufacturer or a service provider, and in our sector?
• [ ] Will you check our vendor list early, so we can collect vendors’ ICV certificates before submission?
• [ ] What documents do you need for Emirati payroll, training costs and donations?
• [ ] Who signs the certificate, and who is our day-to-day contact?
• [ ] Is there any conflict with other work your firm does for us? The supplier guidelines we read do not say whether your statutory auditor may also act as your certifying body, so ask the firm and, if it matters, MoIAT at icv@moiat.gov.ae.

If your accounts are not yet audited, that comes first: compare audit firms in Dubai and read our page on accounting requirements for UAE companies.

Fees and Timeline

MoIAT does not publish a fee schedule for each certifying body. Its “Issuing an ICV certification” service card, read on 5 October 2026, says the fee is paid to the audit firm, depends on the company details, “but it can range from AED 500 to AED 10,000”, and gives the service time as 14 to 28 working days. Prices are set in the bidding process, which MoIAT described in its 2022 public consultation as a feature that lets users “select a certifying body and negotiate a price”.

For small firms there is one published reduction: on 20 June 2023 MoIAT and the Ministry of Economy announced an ICV certificate fee of AED 500 for companies registered in the National Programme for Small and Medium Enterprises, arranged through icv@moiat.gov.ae. Confirm it is still offered before relying on it.

Why timing matters more than price. The certificate is valid for 14 months from the date your audited financial statements were issued, not from the certificate date. Suppose your accounts are signed on 31 March 2026: the certificate expires on 31 May 2027 whenever it is issued (our arithmetic). If you start the bidding only in September 2026 and the work takes the full 28 working days (about six weeks), the certificate arrives in mid-October 2026 and gives you roughly seven and a half months of use. Starting in early April gives you about twelve and a half.

How Audit Firms Become Certifying Bodies

For audit firms, a place on the list is valuable: every supplier that wants a certificate must use one of the 25 firms. MoIAT controls entry. Its 2021 information kit lists “choosing certification companies” as part of the ministry’s role.

The last public round we found was announced on 31 March 2022 by the National Committee for the National ICV Programme, headed by MoIAT:

• applications opened on 1 April 2022 and auditing companies had 30 days to apply;
• firms downloaded a form from MoIAT’s website and emailed it to icv@moiat.gov.ae;
• the process had four stages: application and confirmation, a check of minimum requirements, an evaluation, and final acceptance;
• the committee said it would authorise new companies “based on the demand and need of the market”.

The minimum requirements and evaluation criteria were not set out in the release. The form page it named (moiat.gov.ae/en/icv/certifying-bodies) returned an error on 5 October 2026, and we found no newer application round on MoIAT’s site. If you want to apply, ask MoIAT directly at icv@moiat.gov.ae whether a round is planned.

Firms that are not certifying bodies still have work from the programme. Every ICV certificate rests on IFRS financial statements audited by a licensed UAE auditor, so statutory audit demand rises with ICV demand. If you are setting up such a practice, see our guide on how to open an audit firm in the UAE, and list your firm to receive client requests. Suppliers also need help with vendor portals; our guides on vendor registration in the UAE and ADNOC supplier registration explain those steps.

What is not published

• Each certifying body’s fees: only MoIAT’s AED 500 to AED 10,000 range is public. Ask for a written quote through the platform.
• A date on the directory: MoIAT’s list is a live page without an “as of” date.
• The minimum requirements and scoring used to approve new certifying bodies, and the date of any next application round.
• Whether a supplier’s statutory auditor may also certify its ICV score.
• Performance data on certifying bodies, such as turnaround times or rejection rates.