Small businesses that self-certified as service-disabled veteran-owned with the Department of Veteran Affairs are facing an agency change that may call for recertification with the U.S. Small Business Administration — an impending requirement for eligibility to compete for sole-source and set-aside federal contracts.
At least 3 percent of all federal contracts are set aside, each year, for certified service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses. The VA expands this to 7 percent for both certified veteran-owned small businesses and certified service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses. As of Jan. 1, the certification process was transferred from the VA to the U.S. Small Business Administration. The SBA has created a streamlined process that, in some cases, requires less paperwork.
Businesses are eligible for the VOSB designation if they are 51 percent owned by a veteran, have registered as a small business in the System for Award Management (sam.gov) and are a small business (fewer than 500 employees), according to the U.S. Small Business Administration. It is important to state that although there are circumstances that may offer a grace period or even certification transfers, there is no grace period for sole-source or set-aside contracts with the VA. These specific contracts require certification through the SBA by Jan. 1, 2024.
Kia Palmer
VOSBs and SDVOSBs that fail to comply with the requirements of the new Veteran Small Business Certification Program risk losing their VOSB or SDVOSB certification and the ability to compete for federal contracts. There are additional factors to consider with the new VetCert process. The Colorado Veterans Business Outreach Center at Mt. Carmel has had questions arise regarding VA Center for Verification and Evaluation transfer, goaling credits, verification of certification dates, and more. To answer questions, Colorado VBOC at Mt. Carmel and the APEX Accelerator (formerly the Colorado Procurement Technical Assistance Center) are coming together to help local veteran-owned small businesses understand the new VetCert program.
On Nov. 2, from 1 to 3 p.m. at Mt. Carmel Veterans Service Center, the two organizations will host an educational workshop about veteran-owned small business certifications and the benefits. Participants can learn about eligibility, timelines for submitting their application, and the new MySBA portal.
In addition to learning about VetCert, VOSBs not yet competing for federal contracts will hear about the three-day, in-residence veteran entrepreneurship training programs offered by the National Center for the Veteran Institute for Procurement. Since 2010, more than $17 billion in federal prime contracts were awarded to the 2,307 businesses trained by VIP. At its inception, the federal government was not meeting its goal of providing 3 percent of its contracts to service disabled, veteran owned businesses. Today, VIP not only meets that goal, but exceeds it each year. The Colorado VBOC at Mt. Carmel is excited to collaborate with Colorado APEX Accelerators and welcome VIP to participate in this educational workshop.
The local event introduces veteran business owners to the VetCert program and VIP. It’s all part of National Veteran Small Business Week, which starts Oct. 30 in Pueblo with the Southern Colorado Rural Resource Forum. This forum, in partnership with the Southern Colorado Small Business Development Center, seeks to bring together community leaders and small business owners to support the start, growth or rebuilding of veteran-owned small businesses in southern Colorado. Other events include a Boots to Business Reboot to be held at Mt. Carmel Veterans Service Center. For more information or to register for a specific event, visit veteranscenter.org/vboc.
Kia Palmer is the director of the Colorado Veterans Business Outreach Center at Mt. Carmel. The Colorado VBOC opened in May 2023, and is hosted by Mt. Carmel Veterans Service Center and funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration. All opinions, conclusions, and/or recommendations expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the SBA.
