Documents Needed to Bid on Public Tenders in Israel

This guide is the checklist behind a bid in Israel: each registration, certificate, affidavit and signature, in the order a tender reaches it, with who can lawfully handle it. For how Israeli procurement works overall, including the portals, tender types, treaty coverage and challenges, see How to bid for government tenders in Israel.

Before you bid

1. Your company file. The tie-breaks and the Israeli-product preference go to companies and partnerships registered in Israel, through the Israeli Corporations Authority (Registrar of Companies). An advocate files the registration under their own access and the founders sign. A foreign supplier may bid without an Israeli entity; a foreign company that has a place of business in Israel registers there as a “foreign company”.

2. Statutory registers and licences. Under Reg. 6(a)(1), the work you bid for may require registration in a statutory register or a licence: the Registrar of Contractors at the Ministry of Construction and Housing for engineering construction works, business licences or a professional register. An engineer or lawyer can prepare the application; your company applies in its own name. Do this before the tender opens.

3. Official Israeli standards. Under Reg. 6(a)(2), where an official Israeli standard exists for what you supply, meeting it is a threshold condition. The Standards Institution of Israel (SII) or an accredited lab tests and certifies; you submit the products for testing.

4. The books-of-account confirmation (Israeli residents). Section 2 of the Public Bodies Transactions Law requires a confirmation (ishur nihul sfarim) that you keep books under the Income Tax Ordinance and the VAT Law and report income and VAT. It is a threshold condition in every tender (Reg. 6(a)(3)).

Who issues it: an authorised tax officer, or a CPA or tax adviser under their own credentials. Plan on about 15 minutes of your own time.
Valid: as stated on the confirmation, typically to the end of the tax year.

5. The tender box and your electronic signature. Ministry tenders are published on mr.gov.il, and bids go to the Yahalom digital tender box, run by the Accountant General’s Government Procurement Administration, or to a physical box. Access is free.

Yahalom: new boxes have opened in Yahalom since 1 February 2024, with up to 150 MB per box. Your company identifies itself to the box and manages a permissions module that grants access to named users, each of whom identifies themselves.
Signature: in automated tenders the bid is signed with a secure or certified electronic signature under the Electronic Signature Law 2001 (Reg. 19C), issued by a licensed certification authority. It is bound to your authorised signatory, who holds and uses it. Validity follows the certificate.

With your bid

6. The statutory affidavits. These are sworn by your own people before an advocate; the standard forms can be prepared for you, and each can be done the same day. Plan on about 20 minutes of your time.

Foreign Workers Law and Minimum Wage Law (s.2B): that the supplier and its affiliates have no more than two convictions, or that a year has passed since the last one. Every tender asks for it.
Equal Rights for Persons with Disabilities (s.2B1): that section 9 of that law does not apply to you or that you comply with it. Every tender asks for it.
Labour-rights compliance (Reg. 6(a)(4)): in cleaning, security, catering and other manpower-intensive services, the bidder and its control holders swear that they comply with labour laws, extension orders and collective agreements.

7. Who may sign for the company. Tenders commonly ask for an advocate’s or CPA’s confirmation of the authorised signatories (ishur zchuyot chatima), and a power of attorney for any representative. The advocate issues it under their own licence after reviewing your company documents; you provide the resolutions.

8. Experience, scope of activity and references. Under Reg. 6(b), most tenders add threshold conditions on experience, qualifications, scope of activity and recommendations. Turnover is often certified by a CPA, past clients give recommendation letters, and the rest can be compiled for you, usually in 1–2 weeks. Technical tenders can also ask for unofficial standards such as ISO 9001, certified by an accredited body or SII after an audit and valid for 3 years.

9. Preferences you can claim. Each needs its documents in the bid:

Women-controlled business (Mandatory Tenders Law s.2B): a CPA’s certification that a woman controls the business, plus her own affidavit sworn before an advocate. It wins ties on the top weighted score for unlisted companies and partnerships registered in Israel, and takes 1–5 days to assemble.
Reservist-controlled small business (s.2D, since November 2024): a micro, small or medium business controlled by an active reservist wins top-score ties with the required documentation, which you provide.
Israeli products: in goods tenders outside treaty coverage, goods made in Israel with at least 35% Israeli content get a 15% price preference. A CPA certifies the Israeli content and you sign the declaration.

10. The industrial-cooperation plan (foreign suppliers). On goods or works contracts above the NIS equivalent of US$5 million, a foreign supplier commits to industrial cooperation with the Industrial Cooperation Authority (ICA) at the Ministry of Economy, and the plan goes in with the bid. A lawyer or consultant drafts it and identifies Israeli subcontractors; you sign the undertaking, which takes about 60 minutes of your time. The commitment lasts for the life of the contract.

11. The tender guarantee. The tender committee may require one and sets its type, terms, amount and duration (Reg. 16B); it can also forfeit it.

Issued by: your bank or an insurance company, as an autonomous guarantee on the tender’s own form. You apply, in about 30 minutes of your time.
Cost and time: the issuer’s commission; usually 1–5 business days.
Valid: as set in the tender.

12. Submit to the tender box. The Hebrew package can be prepared for you. Your authorised signatory identifies to the box, signs electronically and uploads before the deadline, in about 20 minutes; a permitted user may upload, but only with your own signature applied by you. Where a tender document fee is set, you pay it.

If you’re in line for award

Document	Issued by	Who can get it for you	Valid for	What only you do
Performance guarantee	A bank or insurer	Your bank, on your application	The contract period	Apply
Insurance confirmation (ishur kiyum bituchim)	A licensed insurer, on the ministry’s standard form	Your insurance agent or insurer signs it	The policy period	Buy the policies
ICA approval (foreign suppliers above the offset trigger)	Industrial Cooperation Authority	Prepared with a lawyer or consultant	The life of the contract	Sign the undertaking

Contracts commonly require the performance guarantee and the insurance confirmation, set per contract. A foreign supplier signs the contract only after the ICA has approved its industrial-cooperation plan. Budget about 45 minutes of your own time for the post-award papers.

After you sign

Disability-rights follow-up. If you have 100 or more employees, you must also contact the Director General of the Labour Ministry and send the affidavit within 30 days of the contract.

Who does what

Step	Who can do it	What only you do
Company registration	An advocate, under their own access	Founders sign
Statutory registers and licences	An engineer or lawyer prepares the application	Apply in your company’s name
Official standard	SII or an accredited lab tests and certifies	Submit the products
Books-of-account confirmation	A CPA, tax adviser or tax officer issues it	—
Tender box access	Named users you grant permission to	Identify your company and manage permissions
Electronic signature	—	Hold and apply your own certificate
Statutory affidavits	Forms prepared for you; an advocate attests	Your control holders or signatory swear them
Signatory confirmation	An advocate or CPA	Provide the resolutions
Experience and turnover	Compiled for you; a CPA certifies turnover	Obtain recommendation letters
Women-controlled certification	A CPA certifies	The controlling woman swears her affidavit
Israeli-content declaration	A CPA certifies the content	Sign the declaration
Industrial-cooperation plan	A lawyer or consultant drafts	Sign the undertaking
Tender and performance guarantees	Your bank or insurer	Apply
Bid submission	The Hebrew package is prepared for you	Sign electronically and submit

The professionals involved

Professional	Licensed or regulated by	What they do for a bidder
*Certified public accountant (ro’eh heshbon) or licensed tax adviser*	Auditors Council (Ministry of Justice); Institute of Certified Public Accountants in Israel; Israel Tax Authority for tax advisers	Issue the books-of-account confirmation; certify women control under s.2B; certify turnover, financial statements and other threshold conditions
Advocate	Israel Bar Association (Bar Association Law, 5721-1961)	Attest the affidavits; confirm the authorised signatories; draft joint-venture, subcontract and industrial-cooperation agreements
Israeli bank or licensed insurance company	Bank of Israel (Supervisor of Banks); Capital Market, Insurance and Savings Authority	Issue tender and performance guarantees; provide the insurance confirmation
SII or an accredited certification body	Standards Law, 5713-1953; Israel Laboratory Accreditation Authority	Certify compliance with official Israeli standards; ISO management-system certification
*Tender consultant (yo’etz michrazim)*	—	Prepare the Hebrew bid documents, forms and threshold evidence; work in the tender box under their own identification where you grant access

If your company is from abroad

You don’t need an Israeli company: no law requires an Israeli subsidiary or agent. Who may bid and on what terms is in How to bid for government tenders in Israel. For the paperwork:

Company registration: not required to bid. Register as a “foreign company” only if you have a place of business in Israel.
Books-of-account confirmation: section 2 applies only to Israeli residents, so it is not asked of you.
Affidavits: the foreign-workers, minimum-wage and disability affidavits are not expressly limited to residents, so expect to swear them.
Apostille and translation: Israel has been a party to the Apostille Convention since 14 August 1978. Your home authority apostilles the originals you sign, and an Israeli notary certifies the Hebrew translation.
Regulated works: foreign contractors need Israeli registration in the relevant register.
Standards and certificates: imported goods must conform to the official Israeli standard; home ISO certificates are accepted if accredited.
Evidence: experience and references go in with Hebrew translations where the tender requires them.
Preferences: the women-controlled and reservist tie-breaks are not available to you, and your goods face the Israeli-product preference unless the GPA, the US–Israel FTA or the EU agreement covers the tender.
Industrial cooperation: above the US$5 million equivalent, the plan and ICA approval are your route to signing.
Insurance: an Israeli-licensed insurer is typically required for the insurance confirmation.
Physical boxes: where a tender allows it, a local representative can deliver your bid to a physical box.

Pitfalls

Never hand over your electronic signature certificate. The bidder signs electronic bids itself.
Affidavits are sworn by your own control holders before an advocate. They can be prepared for you, never sworn for you.
Attach the women-control certification at submission, or the tie-break is lost.
Above the US$5 million equivalent, price in the offset duty before you bid, if you are a foreign supplier.
Check GPA and FTA coverage before counting on the 15% preference, for or against you.
Look beyond mr.gov.il: municipalities, the Ministry of Defense and government companies tender on their own platforms.

Doing it with askTender

In Israel, the bid must carry the bidder’s own e-signature, so you log in and press submit yourself, in a guided session with askTender. Everything before that is prepared for you. You sign only what the law reserves to you: swearing the affidavits, signing the declarations, the offset undertaking and the guarantee applications, and applying your electronic signature to the bid. The askTender Desk prepares the Hebrew package, the affidavit forms and the threshold evidence and tracks your certificates; askTender Partners, such as a CPA, an advocate or a tender consultant, do the steps their licence covers.

Questions

Which affidavits do Israeli government tenders ask for?

Every tender asks for the Public Bodies Transactions Law affidavits: one on convictions under the Foreign Workers Law and the Minimum Wage Law, and one on the Equal Rights for Persons with Disabilities Law. Manpower-intensive services such as cleaning, security and catering add a labour-rights compliance affidavit. Your own control holders or signatory swear them before an advocate; the forms can be prepared for you.

Who issues the books-of-account confirmation, and does a foreign company need one?

An authorised tax officer, a certified public accountant or a licensed tax adviser issues it, confirming that you keep books under the Income Tax Ordinance and the VAT Law and report income and VAT. It is a threshold condition in every tender, but section 2 of the Public Bodies Transactions Law applies only to Israeli residents, so a foreign supplier is outside it.

Can a consultant submit my bid to the Yahalom tender box?

A consultant can prepare the Hebrew bid and, if you grant them access through the box’s permissions module, work in the box under their own identification. The electronic bid itself must carry your company’s own secure or certified electronic signature, applied by your authorised signatory. Nobody else should hold your signature card.

How do I claim the women-controlled business tie-break?

Attach two documents when you submit: a certified public accountant’s certification that the business is controlled by a woman, and the controlling woman’s own affidavit, sworn before an advocate. It applies to unlisted companies and partnerships registered in Israel. If the documents are missing at submission, the tie-break is lost.

Do foreign documents need an apostille in Israel?

Yes. Israel has been a party to the Apostille Convention since 14 August 1978, so public documents from other party countries need an apostille from the issuing country. Hebrew translations are typically certified by an Israeli notary.

Sources

This guide explains the rules in plain English; it isn’t legal advice. Procurement rules change, and each tender document sets its own conditions — it always prevails.