Market Data
Technical Evaluation Failure Rate in Saudi Tenders (2025)
21 October 2026 · 7 min read · By NextBid Bid Experts
33.8% of bids in awarded public competitions closing in 2025 failed technical evaluation. See the failure rate by activity, contract size and number of bidders, from NextBid analysis of Etimad award data.
The technical evaluation failure rate in awarded Saudi public competitions closing in 2025 was 33.8%: that share of bids was marked technically non-compliant, up from 32.2% in 2024, according to NextBid analysis of Etimad award data. In 57.5% of those competitions at least one bidder failed, so technical compliance is the first contest every bidder has to win.
A bid that fails cannot win, whatever its price. In a two-file bid the technical offers are examined first, and the financial offers of those found unacceptable are returned unopened with the initial guarantees, under the current law and under the new law, which takes effect in early January 2027. A tender offered before the new law takes effect stays under the current law unless the Minister of Finance decides to apply some of the new rules to it, so check that tender's booklet and announcements.
How many bids fail technical evaluation?
About one bid in three. Only the rise in the share of failed bids is clearly larger than random variation between years; the rise in competitions with a failed bidder is borderline, and the other two measures are stable. The figures cover only competitions that reached an award, so the true rate across all published competitions is probably higher.
| Measure | 2025 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Bids marked technically non-compliant (%) | 33.8 | 32.2 |
| Competitions with at least one failed bidder (%) | 57.5 | 55.9 |
| Competitions where half or more of the bidders failed (%) | 27.4 | 27.1 |
| Competitions where only one bidder passed (%) | 11.6 | 12.3 |
The rise appears in both halves of the year: bids with a deadline from January to June went from 30.3% to 32.2%, and those from July to December from 33.9% to 35.6%. For the wider market picture, see our 2025 tender statistics.
What happens to a bid that fails?
Under the two-envelope system the price of a failed bid is never read. The current Implementing Regulations make two files mandatory from an estimated value of SAR 5 million, and entities may require them below that. The law sets no national pass mark: under the current evaluation-criteria controls (2021), published on the Ministry of Finance website, the entity sets the minimum technical score that qualifies an offer for financial evaluation, and may set a minimum per sub-criterion. Under the new law, which takes effect in early January 2027, evaluation criteria follow its new Implementing Regulations and the preference regulation. Either way, read the evaluation section of the booklet before you commit.
Which activities lose the most bids?
The table covers the ten activities with the most public competitions closing in 2025, sorted by the share of bids failing.
| Activity | Bids failing (%) | Competitions with a failed bidder (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Publishing, printing, advertising and artistic production | 49.3 | 64.7 |
| Information technology | 44.3 | 62.6 |
| Facilities operation and maintenance | 32.6 | 73.2 |
| Road operation and maintenance | 32.0 | 60.6 |
| Trade in tools, machinery and devices | 30.1 | 51.9 |
| Security and safety | 28.8 | 61.9 |
| General construction contracting, general works | 28.1 | 54.8 |
| General building contracting | 25.9 | 57.9 |
| Trade in new spare parts | 14.9 | 32.1 |
| Trade in building materials, electrical and sanitary ware | 10.8 | 27.3 |
Among these ten activities, failure is heaviest in publishing and advertising and in information technology, lightest in trade in building materials, and facilities operation and maintenance has the highest share of competitions with a failed bidder (73.2%).
Do larger contracts and crowded competitions fail more bids?
Yes, on both counts. The failure rate climbs with the value of the award and with the number of bidders.
By award value, 2025
| Award value | Bids failing (%) | Competitions with a failed bidder (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Under SAR 1 million | 23.5 | 43.5 |
| SAR 1 million to under 5 million | 35.0 | 61.2 |
| SAR 5 million to under 25 million | 45.1 | 81.4 |
| SAR 25 million and above | 47.4 | 92.7 |
By number of bidders, 2025
| Bidders in the competition | Bids failing (%) | Competitions with a failed bidder (%) |
|---|---|---|
| 2 bidders | 11.1 | 22.2 |
| 3 to 5 bidders | 21.6 | 49.1 |
| 6 to 10 bidders | 29.2 | 65.7 |
| More than 10 bidders | 40.0 | 82.2 |
Read the second table with care: the winner always passes, so in a two-bidder competition at most half the bids can fail. Contract size and the number of bidders also overlap, so treat the two tables as one signal, not two.
What does this mean for your bid?
The data records results, not reasons, so it cannot tell you why a bid failed. It does show where the technical gate is hardest, and five decisions follow.
- Go or no-go. Weigh your activity and contract size against the tables: 49.3% of bids fail in publishing and advertising, 44.3% in information technology, and in awards of SAR 25 million and above 92.7% of competitions lose at least one bidder. Bid where you can meet every mandatory requirement, and read the evaluation criteria before the price list.
- The real field. With more than 10 bidders, 40.0% of bids fail, so the bidder list overstates your price competition: many names never reach financial evaluation.
- Pricing. A lower price cannot rescue a non-compliant offer. Do not cut technical effort to fund a sharper price.
- Proposal quality. Map every requirement in a compliance matrix, and have someone who did not write the offer test the exact upload files with our pre-submission checklist. Start with the common technical disqualification reasons.
- After a loss. Under the current Implementing Regulations, eliminated bidders are told the result and the reason for elimination, including technical scores. Keep that feedback for the next bid.
About one bid in three fails technical evaluation (33.8% in awarded public competitions closing in 2025), and more in large contracts and crowded fields. Win the compliance contest first: a bid that fails cannot win on price.
About the data
- Source and period. NextBid analysis of Etimad award data for public competitions with a bid deadline from 1 January to 31 December 2025, compared with 2024, with awards as recorded up to 9 October 2026. Each competition counts in the year of its bid deadline.
- Failed bid. A bid whose offers in that competition were all marked technically non-compliant at technical evaluation. The failure rate is failed bids divided by all bids with a technical result; a bidder counts once per competition.
- Awarded competitions only. A competition counts when at least one winner is recorded. Open, cancelled and unawarded competitions are not visible, so the true rate is probably higher. Single-bidder competitions are not shown by number of bidders.
- Provisional. Award recording for 2025 is incomplete: 82.4% of 2025 public competitions have an award on record, against 88.9% for 2024.
- Rounding and chance. Shares are rounded to one decimal. We treat a change from 2024 as real only when it is clearly larger than ordinary random variation, and flag borderline changes.
Frequently asked questions
What percentage of bids fail technical evaluation in Saudi government tenders?
According to NextBid analysis of Etimad award data, 33.8% of bids in awarded public competitions with a 2025 bid deadline were marked technically non-compliant, against 32.2% in 2024. In 57.5% of those competitions at least one bidder failed.
Which activities have the highest technical failure rates?
In awarded public competitions closing in 2025, and among the ten busiest activities, publishing, printing, advertising and artistic production (49.3%) and information technology (44.3%) lose the most bids. Trade in building materials, electrical and sanitary ware loses the fewest (10.8%).
Do bigger contracts fail more bids?
Yes. In awarded public competitions closing in 2025, 23.5% of bids failed in awards under SAR 1 million, against 47.4% in awards of SAR 25 million and above, where 92.7% of competitions had at least one failed bidder.
Is the real failure rate higher than 33.8%?
Probably. The figure covers only competitions that reached an award. Those where no bidder passed, and those cancelled or re-tendered, are not visible, and award recording for 2025 is incomplete.
Why do bids fail technical evaluation?
The data records the result, not the reason. A bid fails when it misses a mandatory requirement in the booklet or falls short of the minimum technical score the entity has set, so the booklet is the test to prepare against.
What happens to the financial offer of a bid that fails?
In a two-file bid it is returned unopened with the initial guarantee, so the price is never read. The new law, which takes effect in early January 2027, keeps this rule.
NextBid's bid management team runs compliance reviews before submission, checking your documents and mandatory requirements against the booklet.