What NCEMA 7000 asks of organisations working in and with the United Arab Emirates.
NCEMA 7000 is the United Arab Emirates’ national standard for business continuity management systems, issued by the National Emergency Crisis and Disasters Management Authority. It sets out what an organisation needs in place to establish and run a business continuity management system (BCMS), and how far each requirement applies depends on the organisation’s environment and complexity.
If your organisation works in the UAE, or supplies or partners with organisations that do, you are likely to meet NCEMA 7000 requirements in tender and contract documents long before you meet them in regulation of your own. This page explains what the standard covers; it is not legal or compliance advice, and it is no substitute for reading the standard itself.
The UAE’s National Emergency Crisis and Disasters Management Authority.
The UAE standard for business continuity management systems.
Written to be relevant to organisations of any type, size and nature.
Consistent with ISO 22301 and ISO 31000.
NCEMA 7000 follows the ISO 22301 clause structure, and it keeps the management-system requirements in one group of clauses while the operational requirements sit in a clause of their own. Guidance sits alongside the requirements, so a reader gets the rule and its explanation together.
Who it applies to. The standard applies to organisations in the UAE, and suppliers and partners of UAE organisations often meet its requirements in tender or contract documents. Do not assume it applies only to government entities, and check how assessment applies to your organisation with NCEMA or your sector regulator.
Understanding the organisation and the parties it depends on.
Who directs the programme and what it is for.
How the programme is planned and kept current.
People, competence, awareness, resources, communication and documented information.
Business impact analysis, risk assessment, strategies and solutions, response structure and plans, exercising and testing.
Monitoring, internal audit, management review, and acting on nonconformities.
NCEMA 7000 follows the clause structure of ISO 22301 and is consistent with it and with ISO 31000 risk management. Neither standard substitutes for the other, and this summary is ours, not either body’s.
| What they share | What NCEMA 7000 adds | |
|---|---|---|
| Structure | The same clause structure as ISO 22301, covering a business continuity management system. | Requirements specific to the UAE’s national context. |
| Guidance | Guidance kept in a separate publication. | Introductory guidance alongside each clause, so a reader gets the requirement and its explanation together. |
| Grouping | Requirements set out across the management system as a whole. | A clear split: management-system requirements in one group of clauses, the operational requirements in a clause of their own. |
An illustrative readiness workflow. It organises the work and does not replace the standard.
| Step | What to do | Example evidence | Typical owner |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Agree the scope and how the programme is governed. | Approved policy and scope statement. | Executive sponsor, BC manager. |
| 2 | Identify critical activities and analyse business impact. | Signed-off business impact analysis. | Process owners. |
| 3 | Assess continuity risks to those activities. | Risk assessment records. | Risk and process owners. |
| 4 | Map dependencies and external providers. | Dependency map. | Procurement, IT. |
| 5 | Design strategies, solutions and plans. | Approved plans and contact lists. | Plan owners. |
| 6 | Exercise the plans. | Exercise reports. | BC manager, IT. |
| 7 | Act on what the exercises surface. | Corrective action log. | Process and plan owners. |
| 8 | Evaluate performance and review the programme. | Internal audit report and management review minutes. | Internal audit, executive sponsor. |
ADOX’s training and consulting solutions are developed in adherence to ISO 22301, UAE NCEMA 7000 and the BCI Good Practice Guidelines (GPG 7.0). These are the ADOX services that help organisations working towards the standard:
Business continuity programme framework review.
Business continuity programme peer review, auditing and benchmarking.
Business impact analysis (BIA) and risk assessments.
Business continuity exercises and crisis simulations.
Business continuity awareness training and e-learning.
Design and implementation of business continuity and crisis management frameworks.
ADOX is not NCEMA-accredited, does not issue NCEMA certificates, and does not guarantee compliance, certification or acceptance by any authority. Check how assessment applies to your organisation with NCEMA or your sector regulator. See also the BCMS Framework, the BCM Maturity Model and the CBCI 7.0 Certification Course.
This page is an awareness summary only. Read the current standard from NCEMA itself, and check how it applies to your organisation with NCEMA or your sector regulator.
Background reading: An executive’s guide to NCEMA 7000 · NCEMA 7000: what the UAE business continuity standard asks for
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