Nitaqat 2026: what your HR system now has to track

Nitaqat assigns a band to an entity. Separate localization decisions set requirements for covered occupation groups, including accounting and administrative support. An HR system needs to keep both checks visible, with the records and assumptions behind each result.

This guide was updated on 27 October 2026 to separate those requirements, correct the explanation of part-time counting, and link the current ministry guide. The accounting quota has reached 50%; that change is covered in a separate article.

Correction history: on 1 October 2026 we corrected an earlier statement that the Yellow band was removed in 2026. Its removal took effect in 2020.

Keep the entity band and occupation checks separate

The Developed Nitaqat guide publishes activity-specific curves for 2026, 2027 and 2028. Boundaries depend on the entity's economic activity, workforce size and year. The entity combines same-activity branches owned by one establishment. Use the current procedural guide and the registered entity data when setting up the calculation.

Occupation requirements answer a different question. For example, the accounting decision checks workers in its covered roles and applies independently of the Nitaqat band. A dashboard should show the entity band in one place and each applicable occupation check alongside it. Avoid a single green indicator that makes every obligation look satisfied.

Our Nitaqat calculator estimates the entity band. The threshold reference explains the activity curves. Neither tool assesses profession-specific localization compliance.

Store the wage and counting conditions

A regular Saudi employee receives a weight of one at a monthly GOSI wage of SAR 4,000 or more, half from SAR 3,000 to 3,999, and zero below SAR 3,000. Eligible part-time employees count as half; eligible flexible workers count as one-third under the stated conditions. Disability, student and released-prisoner categories have further eligibility rules and caps. These are counting rules, not a reason to classify every contract worker the same way. See Decision 61706.

Keep the category and its supporting evidence per employee. Record the GOSI wage rather than a salary copied from an old offer letter. Where an occupation decision requires a different wage floor or accreditation, hold those conditions separately from the ordinary Nitaqat wage bands.

The ministry's current guide defines the rate using Saudi averages divided by Saudi plus expatriate averages. A planning tool must distinguish counted workforce figures from physical headcount, which sets the activity curve. Qiwa's official records and averages remain the reference for the actual classification.

Match contract records to Qiwa

MHRSD announced that documented Qiwa contracts became a prerequisite for counting Saudi employees in Nitaqat from 15 April 2026. Read the ministry announcement.

Store the contract reference, documentation status, last verification date and person responsible for fixing a missing record. Keep the establishment's overall documentation compliance indicator separate from an individual employee's eligibility to count. An aggregate percentage does not identify whose contract is missing.

Put effective dates against occupation rules

As of this review, accounting's scheduled 50% phase takes effect on 27 October 2026. Administrative-support localization took effect at 100% across 69 covered occupations on 4 October 2026. Project-management localization at 70% is scheduled for 14 February 2027, subject to its coverage conditions. These dates belong to separate decisions, not one universal Nitaqat threshold.

For each applicable decision, keep its source, covered occupation codes, entity scope, wage or accreditation conditions, effective date and last review date. Mark future requirements as upcoming. A newly announced requirement and a requirement already in force need different treatment in a hiring forecast.

Review the records before a staffing decision

Before approving a hire, transfer or departure, run the proposed workforce through the entity calculation and applicable occupation checks. Show which records are missing and which assumptions were used. Recalculate the denominator when staffing changes.

A small team may manage this in a dated spreadsheet. A group with several entities may need shared records and assigned exceptions. Cicada's Saudization compliance service brings those records, checks and expiry alerts together. The useful starting point is a count that HR and finance can both explain.

Confirm the applicable rules and official classification with MHRSD, Qiwa or a qualified adviser before relying on a projection.

Sources

• MHRSD: current Developed Nitaqat procedural guide, 2026 edition, accessed 27 October 2026.
• MHRSD: wage and special-category Decision 61706, decision dated 3 Rabi al-Thani 1442, accessed 27 October 2026.
• MHRSD: Qiwa contract documentation, published 15 March 2026, effective 15 April 2026, accessed 27 October 2026.
• MHRSD: accounting localization guide, issued under decision 103108 dated 26 January 2025, accessed 27 October 2026.
• MHRSD: administrative-support implementation, published 4 October 2026, accessed 27 October 2026.
• MHRSD: project-management localization, published 16 August 2026, effective 14 February 2027, accessed 27 October 2026.