Group C, classification 5: what a contractor's classification means, and why it is the first figure to check

Every other figure about a construction company is written by the company: its track record, its headcount, its achievements, its renders. One figure is set outside it, published in a public register, and actually constrains it — the contractor classification.

The framework is the Registration of Contractors for Engineering Construction Works (Classification of Registered Contractors) Regulations, 1988, which set five grades of classification. Each grade fixes the monetary scope a contractor may execute in its registered branch on a single site — and in residential construction, also a scope in square metres.

Five grades, three groups

Grade 1 is the lowest and grade 5 the highest. Alongside the grades there are three groups — A, B and C — which set different amounts for the same grade. The official table, in force from 1 April 2026 to 1 October 2026, shows the scopes in thousands of shekels:

The figures are not fixed: under regulation 6 they change on 1 April and 1 October each year by the rise in the residential construction inputs index.

What the scope includes — and excludes

The regulations define precisely what is measured. For engineering construction works other than residential building: the maximum monetary scope excluding value added tax, land costs, land taxes and building fees. For residential building: that same monetary scope, or the maximum scope in square metres — including built public areas such as shelters, storerooms and covered parking, all as set out in the building permit.

The practical meaning: a classification is not a measure of how much a company has built in total, but of how much it may build in a single project. A company with a low classification can accumulate long experience across small projects; a company with classification 5 may take on a single site of any size.

Raising a classification: what it takes

Since the amendment in force from 11 May 2017, a contractor seeking a higher classification must show "works of the required scope", meaning engineering construction works satisfying one of two tests:

1. The works were executed on a single construction site and their scope was not less than 70% of the maximum permitted in the contractor's current grade; or
2. The works were executed on two construction sites, with three conditions met together: the combined scope was not less than 100% of the maximum; the scope on each site separately was not less than 40% of it; and the work periods on the two sites overlapped by 50% of the actual execution durations.

The route is demanding by design: it requires proof of executed work at a given scale, not a statement of experience. A high classification is therefore a measure of documented delivery.

What the register records about the company

The register of licensed contractors is published as open data, and anyone can pull a record from it. The record for Tawfik Zidan Ltd shows:

A note that appears in the record itself: in this branch, registration rests on the employment of professional employees — that is, on people actually employed, not on the qualification of a single individual.

How to check a contractor yourself, in five minutes

1. Open the "Register of Licensed Contractors" dataset on the government data portal.
2. Search by company number, not by name — similar names are the most common source of error.
3. Confirm the branch: branch 100 is building. A contractor classified in another branch is not classified for building.
4. Read the group, the classification and the scope together, not separately.
5. Cross-check the company name against the Registrar of Companies record to confirm the company is active.

What a classification does not tell you

A classification measures financial and quantitative capacity to execute on one site. It does not measure finish quality, adherence to programme, or how buyers are treated after handover. A proper check therefore combines three sources: the classification in the contractors' register, the certifications the company holds, and the projects it has actually completed. The latter two are set out on the standards page and the projects page.