Courtesy Small Business Administration
The Veteran Small Business Certification Program will move from the federal Department of Veterans Affairs to the Small Business Administration in January as part of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2021, an announcement from the SBA said earlier this month.
Companies that were certified veteran-owned or service-disabled veteran owned through the VA will have a year to switch their certification from the VA to the SBA.
“The decision to extend the certification will make a real difference for our nation’s veteran business owners as we move forward with transitioning this certification from the Department of Veterans Affairs,” said Larry Stubblefield in a press statement. He is the associate administrator for the SBA’s Office of Veterans Business Development. “In addition to supporting a smooth transition for currently certified firms, we will be able to focus on certifying new entrants and growing our base of certified firms.”
The certification opens up federal contracting opportunities to veteran-owned businesses. This includes “set-aside” contracts, meaning that most contractors cannot bid as the contract is set aside for veteran-owned businesses. Usually competitive, the contracts are at times sole-source, the SBA website says.
“Not only do veterans possess the skills necessary for entrepreneurship, but they also give back to their community and work to create jobs for returning service members,” Bernard J. Paprocki said in a statement. He is the SBA Upstate New York district director. “Federal contracting is an opportunity that veterans and any small business owner looking to grow should consider.
"The SBA Upstate New York District Office stands ready to provide local training and counseling as the launch of the new Veteran-Owned Small Business program approaches, and I encourage interested businesses to contact our office directly,” Paprocki said.
From the press materials:
Updates in the new program will include:
- Firms verified by the VA Center for Verification and Evaluation (CVE) as of January 1, 2023 will be automatically granted certification by SBA for the remainder of the firm’s eligibility period.
- All firms verified by VA as of the January 1, 2023 transfer date will receive a one-year extension to their eligibility giving veterans an extra year to get recertified under the new SBA system.
- The extension will allow SBA to process applications from new entrants into the program and grow the base of certified firms.
New applicants certified by SBA after January 1, 2023, will receive the standard three-year certification period.
Along with the recertification extension, the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act grants a one-year grace period for self-certified SDVOSBs until January 1, 2024.
- During the grace period, businesses have one year to file an application for SDVOSB certification and may continue to rely on their self-certification to compete for non-VA SDVOSB set-asides.
- Self-certified SDVOSBs that apply before the expiration of the one-year grace period will maintain eligibility until the SBA makes a final eligibility decision.
- Beginning January 1, 2024, both veteran and service-disabled veteran small business owners will need to be certified to compete for federal contracting set-asides, unless an application from a self-certified firm is pending an SBA decision.
Read more about the SBA Veteran Assistance Program page here.