Certification for the Women-Onwed Small Business Federal Contract Program

Attachment 4
As referenced in Item 1 in the Supporting Statement, the Small Business Administration
(SBA) is currently updating its certification and information collection platform, Certify, for the
intake and processing of Women-Owned Small Business Federal Contracting Program (WOSB
Program) applications. The update is scheduled to coincide with the final rule becoming
effective. Once the rule is effective and Certify is updated, a firm will have the option to submit
documentation of certification from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Center for
Verification and Eligibility (CVE) to support its application for the WOSB Program. Because the
update is still in progress, SBA is including a description of what the option will look like.
Upon opening a WOSB Program application in Certify, an applicant firm will indicate if
it wants to apply for certification from the WOSB Program office, or if it wants to submit
documentation of its certification through the 8(a) BD Program, CVE, or a third-party certifier
(TPC) in support of its application. If an applicant firm elects to submit documentation of CVE
certification, it will upload its approval letter from VA verifying the firm as CVE-certified and
answer questions to confirm its compliance with the eligibility requirements for women-owned
small businesses (WOSBs) and economically-disadvantaged women-owned small businesses
(EDWOSBs) as laid out in 13 CFR § 127.200. Specifically, a firm applying for certification as a
WOSB will confirm that, in addition to being small, it is not less than 51% owned and controlled
by one or more women who are United States citizens (13 CFR § 127.200(b)). A firm applying
for certification as an EDWOSB will confirm that, in addition to being small, it is not less than
51% owned and controlled by one or more women who are United States citizens and are
economically disadvantaged (13 CFR § 127.200(a)).