2024 Small Business Administration (SBA) Certifications Updates

By Pamela Racer, Government Contracting Assistance Counselor, NC SBTDC

In this article:

Systems upgrade and pausing of initial application submissions
Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) certification updates
Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) self-certification elimination

Systems Upgrade and Pausing of Initial Application Submissions

The SBA is upgrading how businesses apply for and manage their federal contracting certifications.

What do you as a business need to know?

SBA’s certification upgrade starts August 1, 2024. Initial certification applications will not be accepted during the upgrade period. The upgraded system is expected to be available for new certifications in early September.

What does this mean for your business?

Most certified firms will not be impacted by the pause in applications. New or prospective applicants are encouraged to wait to apply after the upgrade. Applications submitted before August 1 will be processed in the order received. Firms needing to renew should receive guidance from their certification program. Firms facing a critical contracting deadline can contact certifications@sba.gov (please provide proposal number, agency, and bid due date) for assistance.

Which federal certifications are impacted by the upgrade?

Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB)
Economically Disadvantaged Women-Owned Small Business (EDWOSB)
8(a) Business Development Program
Veteran Small Business Certification (VOSB)
Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB)
Historically Underutilized Business Zones (HUBZone) Program

Related Resources

SBA Certification Upgrade Website
SBA Certification Fact Sheet
Contact the SBA Certifications Office at certifications@sba.gov or 202-205-6459

Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) Certification Updates

The SBA has announced that SBA-certified Women-Owned Small Businesses (WOSB) and Economically Disadvantaged Women-Owned Small Businesses (EDWOSB) have provided an additional year of eligibility for those firms whose three-year certification renewal date occurs between June 1, 2024, and May 31, 2025. This means WOSB program participants whose renewal date is on or between June 1, 2024, and May 31, 2025, will not need to complete a three-year renewal until June 1, 2025.

Recertification applications for firms that have already submitted a renewal application and whose three-year expiration date is on or between June 1, 2024, and May 31, 2025 will be administratively removed by the SBA.

Learn more about this recent program change: WOSB Recertification Extension.

Participants must continue to meet the WOSB or EDWOSB requirements at all times while certified. Specifically, firms should remain aware of the regulation at 13 C.F.R. § 127.401: “Once certified, a WOSB or EDWOSB must notify SBA of any material changes that could affect its eligibility within 30 calendar days of any such change.”

Material change includes, but is not limited to, a change in:

Ownership
Business Structure
Management

The notification must be in writing and must be uploaded into the concern’s profile with SBA. Additionally, the method for notifying the SBA can be found on https://WOSB.certify.sba.gov. A concern’s failure to notify SBA of such a material change may result in decertification and removal from SAM and DSBS (or any successor system) as a designated certified WOSB/EDWOSB concern. In addition, SBA may seek the imposition of penalties under § 127.700. (Notice in full directly from webpage)

SDVOSB Self-Certification Elimination

After December 22, 2024, the SDVOSB self-certification will be eliminated. This regulatory change is a direct final rule being implemented by the SBA from the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024 (NDAA2024) to eliminate SDVOSB self-certification for subcontracts and agency SDVOSB goals.

Currently, under the SBA rules, firms “that meet the VetCert Program eligibility requirements may self-certify their SDVOSB status, receive prime contract or subcontract awards that are not SDVOSB set-aside or sole source contracts, and be counted toward an agency’s SDVOSB small business goals or a prime contractor’s subcontracting goal for SDVOSB awards.”

The new rule eliminates any ability to self-certify as an SDVOSB. The rule comes with a grace period so that firms that file a VetCert application by December 22, 2024 may continue to self-certify until SBA implements the final decision. Firms that are not certified or do not have a pending application filed by December 22 cannot self-certify for any purpose after December 22.

Here are the key regulatory text changes:

“A concern must be certified pursuant to § 128.300 to receive a prime contract that is to be counted by a Federal agency for the purposes of meeting participation goals for SDVOSBs or to receive a subcontract from a Federal prime contractor for the purpose of meeting subcontracting goals for SBVOSBs in Federal procurement contracts.” 13 CFR § 128.200. This means that large prime contractors with subcontracting plans will only be allowed to get credit for awarding subcontracts to certified SDVOSBs.
“Any small business concern that submits a complete certification application to SBA on or before December 22, 2024, shall be eligible to self-certify for a . . . subcontract that counts towards SDVOSB goaling purposes or SDVOSB subcontracting goals” until SBA makes its decision and any “small business concern that does not submit a complete SDVOSB certification application to SBA on or before December 22, 2024, will no longer be eligible to self-certify[.]” 13 CFR § 128.200.
“This updated regulation will close the last loophole allowing self-certified SDVOSB status. For those not already certified, please pay close attention to the December 22, 2024 date. After that, SDVOSB self-certification will be eliminated for good.” Shane McCall–SMALLGOVCON post.

Need further clarification or have concerns about federal contracting? Reach out to a member of the GCAP team to find out how we can strategically assist to provide customized growth strategies for procurement-ready businesses.