Women-owned small businesses seeking reserved U.S. federal contracts will have a free Small Business Administration certification route under a final rule published May 11, 2020. SBA plans to end its program’s self-certification option on October 15. Paying an outside certifier will remain optional. A pending application can support a competitive bid under specified conditions, but certification must come before a contract award. [S1][S2]
SBA says firms can begin submitting applications for initial processing on July 15, with certification decisions due to start on October 15. Existing participants are told to download their documents from the Women-Owned Small Business Program Repository before July 15. The May announcement leaves businesses time to save those records before the application transition begins. [S1]
The new requirement is narrower than a ban on calling a business woman-owned. It covers the Women-Owned Small Business, or WOSB, contracting program and its economically disadvantaged category, EDWOSB: set-aside contracts reserved for eligible firms, sole-source contracts and reserved pools within multiple-award contracts. Women-owned small businesses outside that program can continue to self-certify their status, receive other federal awards and count toward agencies’ women-owned-business contracting goals. [S2]
A certification bill will not be compulsory. The rule allows approved third-party certifiers to charge a reasonable fee, but requires them first to tell applicants in writing that SBA offers certification free. The same program eligibility requirements apply whichever route a firm chooses. The choice is therefore about how to obtain certification, not whether paying buys a different eligibility standard. [S1][S2]
Free certification still requires records. SBA’s application provisions call for evidence of eligibility that may include corporate records, signed personal and business tax returns, and bank statements. The agency can request more information. Under the October processing rules, SBA will advise applicants within 15 calendar days whether a submission is complete; the determination window is 90 calendar days after receipt of a complete package, whenever practicable. That qualification matters for bid planning: the rule does not promise approval 90 days after the first upload. [S2]
For a competitive WOSB or EDWOSB set-aside, the October rules allow an offer from a firm that has submitted a complete certification application to SBA or an approved third-party certifier and has not received a negative determination. The firm must also be small under the size standard assigned to that contract. A sole-source opportunity has an earlier checkpoint: the business must already be certified when seeking it. Both routes require certification before an award. [S2]
A pending application creates a short clock if the bidder becomes the apparent winner. The contracting officer must immediately notify SBA, which then prioritizes the application for a determination within 15 calendar days of receiving that notice. If the application is with a third-party certifier, SBA must immediately ask it to complete its determination within 15 calendar days. Without a determination, the officer may presume the bidder ineligible and award accordingly, unless the officer grants an extension. [S2]
Source documents
- SBA Issues New Regulations for Women-Owned Small Business Federal Contracting Programhttps://legacy.sba.gov/article/2020/may/11/sba-issues-new-regulations-women-owned-small-business-federal-contracting-program
- Women-Owned Small Business and Economically Disadvantaged Women-Owned Small Business Certification — Final rule, 85 FR 27650https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2020-05-11/html/2020-09022.htm