Procurement Saudization: 70% Rate, 12 Professions and Key Dates

What are the Saudization requirements for procurement jobs?

Procurement Saudization is a 70% localization requirement for 12 targeted procurement and supply-chain professions in the private sector. It applies to establishments with three or more workers in those roles and took effect on 31 May 2026.

MHRSD announced it alongside the engineering decision, with a six-month grace period. The professions come from the Saudi Standard Classification of Occupations, so the rule follows the occupation registered for each worker, not the title on a business card. MHRSD says the decision is part of its Labor Market Strategy and that its inspection teams monitor compliance once the grace period has ended.

Which professions does it cover?

The decision names 12 professions. Employers should match each person's registered occupation against this list.

Two points trip up employers. First, e-commerce and market research specialists often sit in commercial or marketing teams, but they are on this list. Second, press coverage of the 100% administrative support decision also mentions warehouse keepers, so confirm in MHRSD's procedural guides which decision governs the code registered for each worker. Our job title mapping guide shows how to reconcile titles and codes.

MHRSD has not published occupation codes in the announcement we reviewed. We list codes only where we have verified them in a procedural guide, so none appear here.

Which employers must comply?

The rule applies to private-sector establishments that employ three or more workers in the 12 covered professions combined. The trigger is the covered headcount, not your total workforce. A company with 400 staff and two buyers is outside the rule. A company with 40 staff and four warehouse and sourcing workers is inside it.

MHRSD's engineering and procurement announcement describes the procurement decision as private sector only. Reporting on the procurement guide says the rate is measured at entity level. Nitaqat is also assessed at entity level across branches, so a multi-site employer should count every site together. See how Nitaqat is calculated.

How do you calculate the 70% requirement?

Saudis required = workers in the 12 covered professions x 70%, rounded to the nearest whole number. MHRSD's guides for its other 2026 profession decisions round values of 0.5 and above up and values below 0.5 down.

Reporting on the procurement guide gives the example of five procurement workers: 5 x 70% = 3.5, which rounds to 4 Saudis. The table applies the same method to other team sizes.

These are totals after hiring, not hires to add. The table shows the Saudi share of the whole covered team. If you keep your existing non-Saudi staff and hire Saudis on top, the team grows and so does the requirement. For example, a team of 5 non-Saudis needs 11 Saudi hires to reach 70% if nobody leaves (11 of 16), not 4. Plan replacements and additions separately.

Rounding hits small teams hardest. A five-person team needs four Saudis, which is effectively 80%. Because the threshold is three, every establishment just above it needs at least two Saudis.

No salary floor is named. MHRSD's announcement does not set a minimum salary for a Saudi to count toward procurement. Pay still matters for your separate Nitaqat count: a Saudi earning SAR 4,000 or more counts as one, SAR 3,000 to 3,999 counts as half, and below SAR 3,000 does not count.

How does this rule relate to Nitaqat?

They are separate tests and an employer must meet both. Nitaqat rates the whole entity into a band by its overall Saudi share. The procurement rule looks only at the 12 covered professions and requires 70% of them to be Saudi.

MHRSD's project management guide states that the Nitaqat classification does not affect the profession rate. MHRSD's procurement announcement does not say anything different. Our comparison of Saudization vs Nitaqat explains how the two tests stack. The Saudization certificate page explains what the certificate is and who gets one, and the Nitaqat overview covers the bands.

Key dates

Find upcoming effective dates across all rules in the Saudization calendar.

What are the penalties for missing the rate?

MHRSD says establishments that do not comply face the regulatory penalties set out in its schedules of violations once the grace period has expired. It has not published fine amounts in the procurement announcement. Our guide to Saudization penalties and inspections explains how enforcement works across decisions.

What should employers do now?

1. List every worker registered in the 12 professions, across all branches.
2. Check registered occupations against actual duties. Correct genuine errors through the proper process, and do not reclassify roles to avoid the rule.
3. Calculate your requirement using the table above and compare it with your Saudi headcount.
4. Plan the gap. Decide which roles will be filled by hiring, promotion or development.
5. Use available support. MHRSD points to recruitment support, training programs and benefits from the Human Resources Development Fund (Hadaf). See Saudization support programs and Hadaf wage support.
6. Keep contracts on Qiwa so Saudi employees are recorded correctly, as set out in our Qiwa contracts guide.

The 90-day readiness checklist turns these steps into a plan.

What does it mean for Saudi professionals?

The rule raises demand for Saudis in buying, contracts, tendering, warehousing and e-commerce. Employers in retail, construction, healthcare and logistics all hire in these roles. Relevant credentials include CIPS and supply chain qualifications, and experience in contract and tender management is valued. Our procurement careers guide covers roles, skills and pathways. The rule increases demand but does not guarantee any individual a role.

What does it mean for expat procurement professionals?

The rule does not ban non-Saudis from procurement. It caps their share of the covered roles at what remains after the 70% Saudi share, for example up to three of ten. Establishments with fewer than three covered workers are outside it, as are roles registered under other occupation codes. Our expat guide explains how to check whether a profession is affected.

What support is available?

MHRSD states that eligible businesses can access recruitment support, training programs and Hadaf benefits. See Saudization support programs for how to apply, and the rates database for how procurement compares with other profession rules.