12 FAQs On CIDB Registrations For Local Contractors

All contractors in Malaysia must register with the Malaysian Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) to engage in construction work, and for local ventures, this means a Local Contractor Registration Certificate or PPK.

To help contractors who want to manage their own applications, our FAQ consolidates information from the following official CIDB sources into a single comprehensive guide:

• CIDB contractor registration guide
• Act 520
• CIDB SCORE
• CIDB MCORE
• CCD Point System
• Contractor categories and specialisation codes

Readers are welcome to refer to them; just note all are long and most only available in Bahasa Melayu!

Otherwise, let’s begin. 

1. What types of CIDB licenses are there?

The primary CIDB ‘license’ is known as the Local Contractor Registration Certificate or Sijil Perakuan Pendaftaran Kontraktor (PPK). Once registration is complete, the holder may apply for several optional licenses which we address later in our FAQ.

For now, keep in mind that while all CIDB-registered contractors hold a PPK certificate, they are separated into different classes based on technical and financial capabilities.

2. How does CIDB categorise contractors?

CIDB separates contractors according to technical expertise and organisation size based on three factors:

• category
• specialisation, and
• grade 

Where categories and specialisations demonstrate technical proficiency, a contractor’s grade indicates financial capability and is mainly based on paid-up capital (though higher grades also require key staff).

When registering, the applicant must select options that are relevant to their operation.

Category

This refers to the four broad areas of construction work recognised by CIDB, and applicants may opt for more than one if they possess the required documents to demonstrate expertise:

1. CE: Civil engineering
2. B: Building construction
3. ME: Mechanical & electrical
4. F: Facilities

Specialisation

Under each of the categories are many specific disciplines that CIDB indexes with their own coding system:

• Building Construction (B) has 29
• Civil Engineering (CE) has 43
• Mechanical (ME) has 23
• Electrical (E) has 35
• Facilities (F) has just 2

Contractors may select any of the specialisation codes relevant to them as long as it is under a category they belong to and they can satisfy the technical requirements.

Grade

There are seven grades a contractor can apply for from G1 to G7, each of which allows them to undertake tenders and projects with progressively higher limits:

Grade	Project Limit
G1	Up to RM200,000
G2	Up to RM500,000
G3	Up to RM1 million
G4	Up to RM3 million
G5	Up to RM5 million
G6	Up to RM10 million
G7	No limit

While the table above is generally correct, it is an oversimplification, and strictly speaking the actual limits also depend on the type of project – for full details, see our complete breakdown of CIDB grades.

Additional classification for Electrical contractors

Electrical contractors under the E04 specialisation are graded based on their Suruhanjaya Tenaga class.

Suruhanjaya Tenaga (ST) Registration Class	CIDB Grade
D	G1
C	G2
B	G3
A	G4 and above

3. What are CIDB registration requirements?

While it varies from case to case, a contractor registering with CIDB must generally satisfy the same four main requirements tied to their category, specialisation and grade:

• registered business entity
• financial capability in the form of paid-up capital
• technical personnel requirements, and
• permitted applicant

Business registration

The application must be made by a registered business entity, which can be a:

• Sdn Bhd
• Limited Liability Partnership (LLP)
• SSM Enterprise
• cooperative registered under SKM
• society registered under ROS

Paid up capital

The applicant must maintain the following minimum paid up capital throughout the registration period.

Grade	Paid-up Capital
G1	RM5,000 / RM10,000 (if under SPKK)
G2	RM25,000
G3	RM50,000
G4	RM150,000
G5	RM250,000
G6	RM500,000
G7	RM750,000

Technical personnel

Technical personnel include owners, directors, and full-time employees who must be Malaysian citizens with relevant technical certificates, diplomas, or degrees in the field of construction from institutions recognised by CIDB or the Malaysian government.

The higher the qualification level of your technical personnel, the higher the grade you can apply for.

Permitted applicant

The application must be made by one of the owners, directors, or board members. A director / owner is only allowed to submit one company registration application.

4. Can you apply for a CIDB license online?

Yes, all applications are via CIDB’s online portal, the Centralised Information Management System (CIMS). 

If it’s your first time, you’ll need to register an account – and remember it must be a company director or owner!

For a smooth registration, have the necessary documents on hand, which brings us to our next question.

5. What are required supporting documents?

The documents required are based on the type of business entity and area of construction specialty.

Legal & administrative documents

• partnership agreement (for partnerships under ROB, PLT)
• SKM or ROS registration certificate and board of directors list
• latest SSM profile

Technical & competency documents

• academic certificates for all declared technical personnel
• facility management (FM) resume (Category F applications)
• competent person certificates (e.g. Suruhanjaya Tenaga) if applicable
• registrations with other relevant regulatory agencies, if required

Financial documents

• Sdn Bhd / Bhd (ROC): Annual Return (where applicable)
• Sole Proprietorship, Partnership, PLT, SKM & ROS: latest financial statements or bank statements

Documents for special registrations

• foreign contractors: academic certificates, proof of paid-up capital, and tender advertisement / invitation
• JV / consortiums: JV or consortium agreement and proof of awarded work
• international contractors: proof of projects within past 3 years and valid ISO 9001:2008/2015 certificate

6. How much does CIDB registration cost?

As of June 2026, a self-managed application will incur two main costs:

• application processing fee
• license fee

All applications incur a one-off RM50 fee, and the license approval fee is annual and based on grade:

Grade	Annual Fee (RM)
G1	RM20.00
G2	RM80.00
G3	RM150.00
G4	RM350.00
G5	RM700.00
G6	RM1,000.00
G7	RM1,400.00

7. How long does CIDB registration take?

If all required documents are prepared, a typical CIDB application can be completed in one to two weeks:

1. Day 0: Submit your CIDB registration application through CIMS.
2. Within 7 days of submission: Pay the processing fee.
3. Within 5 working days: CIDB processes and approves your PPK application.
4. Within 14 days of approval: Pay the registration fee to complete your registration.
5. Immediately after payment: Download your virtual CIDB certificate from CIMS.

Of course, in practice factors like high application volume and incomplete documentation can cause delays.

8. How long is a PPK certificate valid for?

A new PPK certificate is valid for two years from the date the registration fee is settled. During this period, new contractors are required to attend certain courses to be eligible for renewal later:

• Integrity and Code of Ethics Course (all)
• Business Management Course (G1 – G3 contractors without technical personnel)
• Facility Management Training (Category F contractors)

In addition to the above, all contractors must accumulate enough CCD points and earn a suitable SCORE star rating for their grade.

9. What are CCD points?

The Contractor Continuous Development or CCD serves to keep contractors up to date, and certificate holders must earn a certain number of CCD points within a year to renew their license.

The number of points goes up based on CIDB grade.

Grade	1 Year (Minimum Points)
G1& G2	10
G3 & G4	20
G5 & G6	30
G7	40

Common ways to accumulate CCD points include:

• Attending programs that involve knowledge enhancement, forums, seminars, and courses
• Participation in relevant associations
• Contributions to knowledge programs as speakers, panelists, or related roles, and
• Social and civic contributions

A PPK license may be renewed for up to three years, depending on CCD points accumulated (for example, a G7 contractor who has accumulated 80 points may renew their certificate for two years).

10. What is the CIDB SCORE star rating?

The Contractor Capability and Capacity Evaluation Program (SCORE) is a programme used to measure the capability and capacity of G2 – G7 CIDB contractors and identify any gaps to address.

In short, it evaluates and scores contractors across seven key parameters:

1. business performance
2. financial capability
3. technical capability
4. project management
5. procurement management
6. best practices
7. management capability

Each carries a maximum of 30 marks for a possible total of 210, and contractors are assigned a star rating based on their total percentage and performance in individual metrics:

• 2 stars: 31% – 50%
• 3 stars: 51% – 70%
• 4 stars: 71% – 84%
• 5 stars: 85% – 100%

G2 contractors must receive at least two stars to qualify for renewal, while G3 – G7 contractors require at least three stars.

MCORE for G1 contractors

The Micro Competitiveness Rating For Enhancement (MCORE) is a simpler version of SCORE for G1 contractors that evaluates them based on four metrics:

1. financial capability
2. technical capability
3. business capability
4. business management

Once more, each parameter is scored out of 30, and contractors are assigned a level based on percentage:

• level 1: 0% – 40%
• level 2: 41% – 70%
• level 3: 71% – 100%

G1 contractors do not need a specific level to renew their PPK certificate, but this is often used by decision makers to find capable G1 contractors, making a higher level beneficial.

11. What is CIDB SPKK?

Government Procurement Certificates (or ‘Sijil Perolehan Kerja Kerajaan’ and ‘SPKK’ in Bahasa Melayu) is an additional qualification that entitles contractors to participate in government construction projects.

Contractors must have a valid CIDB license before applying for a Government Employment Certificate and fulfil SPKK eligibility requirements or read our guide to SPKK registrations.

12. What is CIDB STB?

STB stands for Bumiputera Status Certificate (Sijil Taraf Bumiputera), which allows Bumiputera contractors to bid on construction projects reserved for Bumiputera businesses.

To obtain the STB, contractors must:

• first secure CIDB’s PPK and SPKK certifications, and
• meet specific Bumiputera status criteria

For more details, check out our guide to CIDB STB registrations.

That’s it from us – we wish you all the best with your PPK certificate application 😊

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