Foreign firm registration with PEC
A foreign constructor, operator or consulting firm licensed to bid in Pakistan, in joint venture with a Pakistani firm holding at least 30%.
- Foreign constructors and operators bidding on Pakistani engineering work (FC-1 to FC-A, FO-1 to FO-A)
- Foreign consulting engineers, who register project by project
- Pakistani firms entering a joint venture with a foreign partner
- Documents
- 11
- Steps
- 06
- Council fee
- $5,000+
The work.
- 01Check eligibility: at least 51% foreign-owned, SECP-registered, and at least 70% Pakistani engineering staff
- 02Match the category to the tender and to your paid-up capital
- 03Get the profile, passports and financials embassy-verified or apostilled
- 04Structure the joint venture with a Pakistani firm of compatible category, at 30% or more
- 05File for the provisional licence with 50% of the fee and PCPs — stamped “Only for Bidding”
- 06On award, convert to the standard licence with the balance before work starts
- FC-1 / FO-1 — provisional licence, bidding only (50%)USD 5,000Source · Verified 2026-10-06
- FC-B / FO-B — provisional licence, bidding only (50%)USD 6,000Source · Verified 2026-10-06
- FC-A / FO-A — provisional licence, bidding only (50%)USD 12,000Source · Verified 2026-10-06
Council challans are paid to the authority. Our professional fee comes on WhatsApp.
Three rungs, priced in dollars.
- FC-1 · FO-1
- Project limit
- $25M
- Paid-up capital
- $0.8M
- PCPs
- 90
- Trainee REs
- 02
- Full fee
- $10,000
- FC-B · FO-B
- Project limit
- $40M
- Paid-up capital
- $1M
- PCPs
- 120
- Trainee REs
- 03
- Full fee
- $12,000
- FC-A · FO-A
- Project limit
- No limit
- Paid-up capital
- $1.5M
- PCPs
- 200
- Trainee REs
- 05
- Full fee
- $24,000
Half the fee and half the PCPs buy a provisional licence stamped “Only for Bidding”. The balance converts it to a standard licence once work is awarded, before it starts. Unused provisional licences are renewed until a project comes.
Consulting engineers are different: pre-registration with PEC, then a separate registration for each project, in association or JV with a Pakistani consulting engineer, limited to expertise not available locally.
The paperwork.
- Passports of owners and the CEO, attestedYou already haveAttested by the High Commission or embassy, or apostilled.
- Authority letter for your person in PakistanYou already haveNames who deals with PEC on the firm’s behalf.
- Engineer appointment letterYou already haveIssued by the firm, naming the engineer and the role.
- Organisational chart, signedYou already haveChain of command, signed by the CEO, a shareholder or a partner.
- SECP incorporation certificateFrom SECPCertificate, digital memorandum and articles — the name that will go on PEC.
- Paid PEC challanFrom PECGenerated on the portal for the right category, paid in the firm name.
- Biometric verificationFrom PECAt the PEC office PEC currently names for the file. We cannot skip it.
- Engineer’s PEC cardFrom the engineerA live Registered or Professional Engineer card — copy from the engineer, verify on the portal before you file.
- Company profile, embassy-verified or apostilledOtherBrochure or profile and completed work, verified by the Pakistani embassy in your country, your embassy in Pakistan, or by apostille. New registration only.
- Last year’s financial statement, CA-verifiedOtherTranslated into English and verified by a registered chartered accountancy firm.
- Joint-venture agreement with a Pakistani firmOtherWith a Pakistani firm of equivalent or compatible category holding at least 30%, given to the employer before bidding.
File these first
Related files
Alqaim Engineers is an independent consultancy. We are not the Pakistan Engineering Council, FBR or SECP, and approvals are those bodies’ decisions.