f you’re a small business owner, you can get certified as an official small business to be eligible for government contracts, corporate contracts, and more. If you’re a woman and/or a minority, even more doors can open up for you with a women-owned small business (WOSB) certification, but the process is neither clear or straight forward.
There are a few agencies who will help you with this for a fee, but having just gone through the process, I outlined the steps so that you can be prepared in your certification journey.
UPDATE AS OF OCTOBER 2020:
There is a new website to self-certify as a WOSB. Check out the Certification Options table below to see if you need to re-certify.
Some helpful links:
Steps to get certified as a women-owned small business:1. Know the requirements.
1. The applicant company must be at least fifty-one percent (51%) unconditionally and directly owned and controlled by one or more women who are U.S. citizens.
2. Management and daily operation must be controlled by one or more of the women owners.
3. The women owners must make long-term decisions for the business.
4. One of the criteria below must also be true for CORPORATIONS ONLY:
- Women must make up a majority of the Board of Directors OR have a majority of the Board votes through weighted voting.
- Women must make up 51% of the voting power, sit on the Board AND have enough voting power to overcome any supermajority requirement.
2. Find the NAICS code for your business.
You’ll need this code later. Link to find NAICS code.
3. Get a DUNS number (or know yours)
The Dun and Bradstreet D-U-N-S number is used by the government and lenders to make sure you have an active, live business with financial stability. Funny enough, I used to get mail from them when I first started my business to “Ranchel K Group” – since there was a typo, I always threw away these letters, and when I started this process, had to correct the entity name.
If you’re not sure you have one, start here.
If you need to apply for one, go here.
4. Create a SAM account.
SAM is the government’s system for “award management” (how they hire government contractors). To register for SAM:
- Create a login.gov account.
- Go to the SAM website and login with your login.gov username and password.
5. Request a CAGE code.
Login into your SAM account and request a CAGE code. As of today, the site states this will take up to 4 weeks. You’ll need this for the next step.
6. Register your business as a new entity SAM.
To do this, you’ll need the following:
- Your DUNS Number, Legal Business Name, and Physical Address from your Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) record.
- Your Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) and Taxpayer Name associated with your TIN.
- Your bank’s routing number, your bank account number, and your bank account type, i.e. checking or savings, to set up Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT).
7. Create an MPIN
This happens during the SAM registration process. You’ll need this for self-certification.
An MPIN is a personal code you create on the Business Information page of the SAM Registration process, and allows you to access other government applications and self certification for WOSB.
8. Get certified as a WOSB.
Previously, you were able to “self certify” as a WOSB at certify.sba.gov. The new site is beta.certify.sba.gov and you can still self-certify here, but it’s clear that the requirements have gotten even more burdensome than before. It’s almost like the government is forcing you to use an approved third-party.
If you were previously self-certified (like I was) and don’t have any active contracts, you will need to go through the whole process again.
For a list of documents you’ll be required to submit, see this checklist.
9. Submit a notarized letter formally appointing an Entity Administrator.
You need to mail a completed, signed, and notarized letter within 60 days of your SAM registration becoming active.
You can follow steps and download templates here.
Mail to:
FEDERAL SERVICE DESK
ATTN: SAM.GOV REGISTRATION PROCESSING
460 INDUSTRIAL BLVD
LONDON, KY 40741-7285
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
>>BONUS<<
If you also want to apply to be a Minority-Owned Business, you will need to fill out an 8(a) application.
You can submit an 8(a) application at certify.sba.gov.
This is an extensive process where you submit everything from your company financials and tax filings to certificate of good standing (from your Secretary of State) and stock certificates.
I will warn you that this is a tedious process where you might feel like you’re signing away your first child. It’s that intense.
Your application will be reviewed and might require you to submit additional or corrected documentation should anything be missing.The most important piece of advice I can give is to be patient with the process. It might take weeks or even months. But it will open up doors for government contracts, shorter net terms, and more.
Good luck and let me know how it goes!