Contractor classification in Morocco: qualification, classes and certificate

In brief

• The system was set up by Decree n° 2-94-223 of 16 June 1994, amended in particular by Decree n° 2-18-76 of 6 October 2020.
• Qualification states what the contractor is able to do (an activity within a sector). Classification states on what scale (a class within that sector).
• The table of activities has 26 sectors, lettered A to Z, and more than 150 qualifications.
• Since November 2025, classes and ceilings have been set by Order n° 951-25 of 9 April 2025. In construction there are six classes, from class 5 up to class S.
• The certificate is issued by the minister responsible for Equipment within 45 days at most, for five years, with a check every two years.

What is contractor qualification and classification in Morocco?

It is a public system for assessing building and public works contractors (entreprises de bâtiment et de travaux publics, shortened to BTP), kept by the Ministère de l'Équipement (Ministry of Equipment), the ministry responsible for public works. It checks what the contractor is able to build, then the size of contract it can carry.

Qualification is the recognition that a contractor is able to carry out the works of a given activity. It is judged on the contractor's references and on its means of production, both people and plant.

Classification comes next: the qualified contractor is placed in a class, according to criteria set by ministerial order. Everything appears on a single document, the qualification and classification certificate, which lists the activities for which the contractor is recognised as qualified and the category in which it is classified.

Which texts govern the system?

One decree and two orders. Decree n° 2-94-223 of 16 June 1994 lays down the rules. Two orders of the Minister of Equipment and Water set the activities, the classes and the thresholds.

• Decree n° 2-94-223 was amended in 2001, then by Decree n° 2-18-76 of 6 October 2020 (Bulletin officiel, the Official Gazette, n° 6944 of 17 December 2020), which created the regional committees, set the term of the certificate at five years and provided for electronic filing.
• Order n° 2477-22 of 16 September 2022 (Bulletin officiel n° 7158 of 5 January 2023) contains the table of sectors and qualifications.
• Order n° 951-25 of 9 April 2025 (Bulletin officiel n° 7432 of 21 August 2025, general edition in Arabic) sets the classes of each sector, their thresholds and the maximum annual contract value. It came into force three months after its publication and repealed Order n° 2399-22 of 7 September 2022.

Many tables found online reproduce repealed orders: check the version in force in the Bulletin officiel.

Who issues the qualification and classification certificate?

The certificate is issued by the minister responsible for Equipment, or by the person to whom the minister delegates that power, on a proposal from a committee. Depending on the class applied for, the application goes to the national committee or to a regional committee.

The national committee sits at the ministry and is chaired by the Director of Technical Affairs and Relations with the Profession. Regional committees are attached to the regional directorates of Equipment. All of them bring together the administration and the profession.

What are the sectors and qualifications?

The table annexed to the decree has 26 sectors of activity, identified by the letters A to Z. Each sector is divided into qualifications identified by the letter and a number: A2 for ordinary reinforced concrete and masonry works for buildings, L4 for aluminium joinery, L8 for structural steelwork.

For a building project, the sectors met most often are the following.

• A, Construction: excavation, reinforced concrete and masonry for buildings (ordinary works, works of medium complexity or exceptional works), fitting-out and rehabilitation, reservoirs.
• J, Electricity, and K, Low-voltage systems, acoustic treatment and audiovisual.
• L, Joinery and structural framing: timber, aluminium, steel, PVC, curtain walling.
• M, Plumbing, heating, air conditioning, and N, Waterproofing, insulation.
• O, Floor and wall finishes, P, Plastering and suspended ceilings, Q, Painting.
• Z, Restoration of built heritage and historic sites.

The other sectors cover public works and specialist works: roads and urban streets (B), drinking water and sewerage (C), civil engineering structures (D), dams (F), special foundations (G), among others.

What are the classes and the classification criteria?

Classes are awarded sector by sector, by order. In construction (sector A) there are six: class S at the top, then classes 1 to 5, class 1 being the highest of the numbered classes.

Order n° 951-25 classifies a contractor on four criteria: the annual turnover achieved in the sector, supervisory staff (a minimum number of engineers and technicians, and a score calculated from the diploma and experience of each member of that staff), plant (a minimum list for sectors A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, Y and Z) and declared payroll, measured against turnover. For sector A, the grid is as follows.

• Class S: turnover of at least MAD 130 million, 3 engineers and 3 technicians, staffing score of 110. No contract ceiling.
• Class 1: at least MAD 70 million, 2 engineers and 2 technicians, score of 80. Annual ceiling of MAD 60 million.
• Class 2: at least MAD 30 million, 1 engineer and 1 technician, score of 60. Ceiling of MAD 40 million.
• Class 3: at least MAD 10 million, 1 technician, score of 40. Ceiling of MAD 20 million.
• Class 4: at least MAD 3 million, score of 28. Ceiling of MAD 6 million.
• Class 5: no turnover threshold, score of 20. Ceiling of MAD 2 million.

These ceilings are annual amounts, inclusive of all taxes. If the time for completion does not exceed one year, the amount is the contracting authority's estimate. Beyond one year, that estimate is brought back to twelve months. For a contract covering several sectors, only those that represent more than 20% of the total amount count.

Two further points. A second grid opens the classes to a lower turnover, provided the contractor can show a minimum share capital: in construction, MAD 10 million for class S and MAD 6 million for class 1. And the ceilings were raised in 2025: in construction, the class 1 ceiling went from MAD 40 million to MAD 60 million. Other sectors have fewer classes: in electricity (J), class 1 has no ceiling and class 2 is capped at MAD 10 million.

How do you obtain the certificate, and for how long?

The application is addressed to the secretariat of the competent committee and filed electronically, on the ministry's platform (DeQCA). The certificate must be issued within a period not exceeding 45 days from the filing of the application. It is valid for five years.

Article 9 of the decree lists the documents to be attached.

1. An extract of the certificate of registration in the commercial register.
2. A certificate from the Caisse nationale de sécurité sociale, the national social security fund (declared payroll).
3. A certificate from the tax authorities (turnover).
4. The contractor's technical references.
5. The list of plant and equipment, with the documents proving its acquisition.
6. The list of supervisory and management staff, with certified copies of diplomas and certificates of salary declaration.

A contractor, in particular a newly formed one, may obtain a provisional qualification, for one renewable year, on the basis of its means of production. Supervisory staff and payroll are checked every two years. The certificate may be re-examined at the request of the contractor or of the minister, with a possible temporary downgrading. In the event of fraud, the decree provides for its withdrawal, for one year or permanently.

What is the certificate for in a tender?

It serves as proof of capacity. For contractors established in Morocco, a contracting authority that applies the system requires qualification in the activity covered by the contract and a class sufficient for its annual amount. Competitors not established in Morocco produce the documents of the technical file instead (Decree n° 2-22-431, Article 28).

In a practical note, the Trésorerie Générale du Royaume (the Kingdom's General Treasury) sums up the point of the system: to award contracts to contractors whose capacities match the works, to standardise pre-selection criteria and to simplify the award procedure, since the certificate stands in for several documents of the technical file (Decree n° 2-22-431, Article 28). The documents to be produced are still those set by Decree n° 2-22-431 of 8 March 2023 on public procurement and by the tender regulations (règlement de consultation), which state the qualification and the class required. Our guides explain how to respond to a works tender and the 2023 decree on public procurement.

How does this differ from laboratories and engineering consultancies?

The three regimes are separate. Works contractors come under the qualification and classification of Decree n° 2-94-223, construction testing laboratories under a qualification and classification system of their own (Decree n° 2-01-437 of 19 September 2001), and engineering consultancies under an approval (agrément).

That approval rests on Decree n° 2-98-984 of 22 March 1999, which covers natural or legal persons carrying out design studies and project management services for certain service contracts of the State. Our guide to the parties on a building site sets out the role of each.

On our sites

Founded in Marrakech in 1998, AHMA is a main contractor classified by the Ministère de l'Équipement. Our history records 2008 as the year of a higher classification, a milestone in credibility with public clients. Since 1998, more than 250 buildings have been completed, most of them for public contracting authorities: hospitals, courts, faculties, sports facilities.

Seen from inside a main contractor, the certificate is not something settled once every five years: what it measures (references, supervisory staff, declared payroll, plant) is built up site after site.

This guide gives an overview and is no substitute for legal advice. Only the texts published in the Bulletin officiel and the specifications of your own contract are authoritative. For a tender enquiry or a reference request, contact AHMA.

Frequently asked questions

What are the qualification levels for contractors in Morocco?

In Morocco, the levels are classes awarded sector by sector to a contractor that is already qualified in an activity. In construction (sector A) there are six: class S, then classes 1 to 5, from the highest to the lowest. Other sectors have fewer. Each class corresponds to thresholds (turnover, supervisory staff, plant, payroll) and to an annual contract ceiling, set by Order n° 951-25 of 9 April 2025.

How are construction testing laboratories qualified and classified?

Construction testing laboratories come under a qualification and classification system separate from that of works contractors, run by the same ministry. Engineering consultancies, for their part, come under an approval instituted by Decree n° 2-98-984 of 22 March 1999.

How long is the qualification and classification certificate valid?

The certificate is issued for five years. A check takes place every two years and covers the contractor's supervisory staff and its payroll. A contractor, in particular a newly formed one, may receive a provisional qualification for one year, renewable.

Who issues the qualification and classification certificate?

The minister responsible for Equipment, or the person to whom the minister delegates, on a proposal from the national committee or from a regional qualification and classification committee. The decree sets a maximum period of 45 days from the filing of the application.

What contract value can a class 1 contractor aim for in construction?

Under Order n° 951-25, a contractor in class 1 of sector A may tender for contracts whose annual amount, inclusive of all taxes, does not exceed MAD 60 million. Class S has no ceiling. For a contract lasting more than one year, the contracting authority's estimate is brought back to twelve months.

Is the certificate from the Ministère de l'Équipement valid for the contracts of other ministries?

The decree allows each ministry to extend the system to its own contracts by order. It may then rely on the certificate issued by the minister responsible for Equipment, or set up committees of its own. The ministry responsible for housing, for instance, has its own committee and its own classes, reset by Order n° 966-26 of 13 July 2026. The tender regulations of the contract state which certificate is expected.