The vendor lists that decide who bids in Iraq, and how to get on them
Three government registers decide which companies are allowed to bid in Iraq, and none of them recognises the other two.
Three registers that do not recognise each other
Public tenders in Iraq are awarded from a register. The buyer opens its list of approved suppliers, invites the companies on it, and evaluates only the bids that come back. A company that is not on the list does not get invited.
The Kurdistan Regional Government runs one. The Ministry of Natural Resources runs a second for oil and gas. The federal Ministry of Planning runs a third. Approval on one carries no weight on the other two.
Before any register will accept a file, the company needs a current certificate from the Erbil Chamber of Commerce. An expired chamber certificate is a named reason for disqualification.
The registers also read certificates. The KRG center and the MNR list both score the quality system and the health and safety file against certificates issued by recognised conformity bodies. A certified management system is what clears those criteria.
Which body issued the certificate decides where it counts. Iraq's accreditation body IQAS is not a signatory to the international mutual recognition arrangement, which became Global Accreditation Cooperation on 1 January 2026 and was the IAF before that. A certificate from a locally accredited body such as KQC in Erbil is valid in Iraq and for KRG lists. Oil companies, UN agencies and foreign buyers ask for an internationally recognised body. Bureau Veritas has an office in Erbil. SGS and TÜV also operate in Iraq.
- A current Erbil Chamber of Commerce certificate, checked for expiry before every submission
- Management system certificates from a body the buyer in question recognises
After that, listing is document work. Every register asks for the same company registration, tax clearance, audited financials, certificates, HSE file and reference letters, each in its own order and its own format.
The KRG Approved Suppliers Center covers Kurdistan Regional Government contracts
The Approved Suppliers Center at asc.gov.krd is the register for Kurdistan Regional Government contracts. Registration runs for one year and lapses on its own date. The center asks for certificates from recognised conformity bodies as part of the file.
We run the application in three steps.
- Collect the company file: commercial registration, the Erbil Chamber of Commerce certificate, tax clearance, the last audited financial statements, management system certificates, the HSE file and reference letters for completed work.
- Complete the center's forms in the format it accepts, attach the file, and pay the government fee at cost against a receipt.
- Track the decision, answer the center's questions, and put the expiry date into a renewal calendar.
The MNR vendor list scores oil and gas suppliers on three criteria
The Ministry of Natural Resources keeps its own approved vendor list at mnronline.com/avl. Operators including DNO, Genel Energy, Gulf Keystone and HKN route their suppliers through it. Three things are evaluated.
- Financial standing, read from audited statements
- The quality management system and the certificate behind it
- The HSE file, including policies, incident records and training
The Ministry of Natural Resources sets the government fee by category. We confirm the current figure before filing. The listing is annual, so the documents behind it have to stay current through the year. These are the dates we track.
- Erbil Chamber of Commerce certificate, one year
- KRG Approved Suppliers Center listing, one year
- MNR vendor list registration, one year
- ISO certificates, annual surveillance with a three-year renewal
The federal classification sets the contract values a company can bid for
Federal contracts run on the Ministry of Planning classification, which sets the contract values a company is allowed to bid for. Federal bids are filed on a unified electronic platform introduced under the 2025 procurement reforms. We confirm the current filing requirements before we submit.
UNGM covers United Nations agencies in one free registration
United Nations agencies buy through the United Nations Global Marketplace at ungm.org. One registration covers UNDP, UNICEF, WFP, UNHCR, IOM and FAO. It costs nothing, it has three levels, and it is completed in English.
The large field operators keep private supplier files. Basrah Gas Company, Rumaila, EBS Petroleum and Al-Waha publish no open tenders. Companies are invited to bid after they are added to the file.
What the engagement covers
- One document pack that answers every register: registration, tax clearance, financials, certificates, HSE file and references
- Registrations filed on the KRG center, the MNR list, the federal platform and UNGM, with government fees passed through at cost against receipts
- A renewal calendar we run, so every certificate and listing stays current after the first submission
Questions
Three government registers control access to public work and none of them recognises the other two. The KRG Approved Suppliers Center covers Kurdistan Regional Government contracts, the Ministry of Natural Resources vendor list covers oil and gas, and the federal Ministry of Planning classification covers Baghdad contracts. United Nations agencies are a separate free registration on UNGM.
The Ministry of Natural Resources sets the government fee by category, and the listing is annual. We pass government fees through at cost against receipts. Ask for our fee on the call.
No register accepts a file without a current chamber certificate. The Erbil Chamber of Commerce sets its own renewal period, and an expired certificate is a named reason for disqualification. We read it against its own expiry date at the start of every bid and keep the date in a renewal calendar.
It works inside Iraq and for KRG lists. Iraq's accreditation body IQAS is not a member of the international mutual recognition arrangement, so oil companies, UN agencies and foreign buyers ask for an internationally recognised body. Bureau Veritas has an office in Erbil, and SGS and TUV also operate in Iraq.