ZimCompany › Guides › PRAZ and the vendor number
PRAZ supplier registration and the government vendor number are two registrations with two offices. PRAZ registration puts a company on the list of registered bidders, because public entities may contract only with registered suppliers. The vendor number comes from the Ministry of Finance, government needs it to pay a supplier, and Treasury asks for a company bank statement first.
By The ZimCompany desk in Harare, a Lioncap Ventures service. Published . Last updated , with every source read on the date listed at the end.
The Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe explains its role in its own column on the registration of bidders: public entities shall enter into contracts with only registered bidders or contractors, under section 4(2) of the procurement regulations, and it is PRAZ’s sole mandate to register all providers of products and services in the public sector.
PRAZ compiles an annual list of registered bidders. A company registers on PRAZ’s portal, uploads its documents and pays the registration fee set in the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets (General) (Amendment) Regulations, 2021. It can apply in more than one category if it shows the capacity to supply, and once approved it stays on the list for that category up to 31 December of the year, renewed annually.
A tender asks for more than the PRAZ registration. ZIMRA lists a valid tax clearance certificate as required when bidding for tenders, so a company that wants to bid needs its ZIMRA registration and its ITF263 in place too.
The vendor number is allocated by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development through its Public Finance Management System, not by PRAZ. Treasury’s requirements document asks for an application letter from one of the company’s directors, on the company’s letterhead, giving the registered name, the physical and postal addresses, the name of the company’s bank, branch and account number, and a contact person and their position.
This is why a brand-new company cannot start here. Until it has a bank account in its own name it has no statement, and without the statement there is no application.
Treasury processes a government vendor number in 2 or 7 working days, depending on the route, counted from the day the complete application is lodged. The document explains the clock: documents submitted on a Monday on the two day route are out on the Thursday of the same week, and on the seven day route on the Thursday of the following week. Treasury takes submissions on Mondays and Thursdays only, and treats documents submitted on a Thursday as if they were submitted on the following Monday.
PRAZ supplier registration is filed through our partner, and each item takes five working days from the day we have your complete documents, confirmed in writing by our filing partner. Where one item depends on another they run in sequence, so a ZIMRA registration waits for the certificate of incorporation and a tax clearance waits for the ZIMRA registration.
The order follows from the documents. The company is incorporated first, then registered with ZIMRA, then cleared for tax, before a tender is worth bidding for. The bank account comes before the vendor number, because Treasury will not take the application without the company’s statement.
PRAZ registration is done on a portal with uploaded documents. The vendor number is different: it needs the originals delivered in Harare, and proof of residence for two directors in the form of water or electricity bills or prepaid ZESA receipts in their own names. A company whose directors all live outside Zimbabwe should plan for that requirement before it plans a tender.
Our fees in Zimbabwe, one per item:
PRAZ charges US$50 to US$75 per category per year for a locally registered SME and US$850 a year for a foreign bidder. Paid to PRAZ at cost, on top of our fee. Treasury's processing fee is included in the US$400, whichever processing route applies, and is not charged on top. Our fees and the government fee are always shown as separate numbers.
Each item takes five working days from the day we have your complete documents, confirmed in writing by our filing partner. Where one item depends on another they run in sequence, so a ZIMRA registration waits for the certificate of incorporation and a tax clearance waits for the ZIMRA registration.
You pay in full when you instruct the job, in one payment rather than in stages. Our fee and the government fee are separate numbers on the quote, and government fees are passed through at cost. Your quotation arrives by email. Reply to it and we confirm your timeline in writing before you pay. If we cannot confirm a timeline in writing, anything you have paid comes back in full. Prices were last verified on 10 September 2026. The full price list is at ZimCompany pricing.
PRAZ registration is for bidding: it puts your company on PRAZ’s list of registered bidders, and public entities may contract only with registered bidders. The vendor number is for being paid: the Ministry of Finance allocates it through its Public Finance Management System, and it needs a company bank statement.
Treasury’s requirements include an original or certified bank statement for the company, in the same name as the certificate of incorporation. A company that has just been registered has no bank account yet, so it applies once it has one.
Treasury processes a government vendor number in 2 or 7 working days, depending on the route, counted from the day the complete application is lodged. Treasury takes submissions on Mondays and Thursdays only.
Yes. Treasury's processing fee is included in the US$400, whichever processing route applies, and is not charged on top.
PRAZ says an approved company stays on the list of registered bidders for its approved category up to 31 December of the year, and renews annually.
Yes. ZIMRA lists a valid tax clearance certificate as required when bidding for tenders.
Nothing in this guide is legal or tax advice. Anything that amounts to legal advice is referred to a legal practitioner. Get an estimate.
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