Application and Certification

April 13, 2006

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Prior to applying for certification, the SBA highly recommends that you take their online training course on SBA certification eligibility available at http://www.sba.gov/training/courses.html. Look under the topic "Government Contracting" and click on "Certification Programs." It would be nice to be certain you meet the criteria before investing your time.

Recently, the SBA has automated the 8(a)/SDB process to speed it up and eliminate bottlenecks. The SBA hopes this process will revolutionize the way the Business Development Program Office oversees 8(a) and Small Disadvantaged Business certification, resulting in a more streamlined, user-friendly, and an easier method for the applicant to apply for certification. You can now apply online at the SBA web site, but there are some details you must do first.

To do business with the Federal government and to be certified under the 8(a) Program or as an SDB, you must register in the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) database, and complete the Small Business Supplemental Page within CCR. This Supplemental Page is identified at the completion of your CCR registration and before you close out of the site. As a government-wide single point of vendor registration, CCR is a key aspect of streamlining and integrating electronic commerce into the federal procurement process.
You must register for an account in the SBA's General Log-in System (GLS), the single log-in point for all of its services. This assists SBA in improving its service delivery to their clients.
You must download, sign and submit your notarized Authorization form, also referred to as a "signature" authorization. This authorization is sent separately to the SBA. Upon the receipt of this document, the SBA will begin the time frame for screening and reviewing of the entire electronic application.
Log-in to the 8(a)/SDB Application via SBA General Log-in System.
Complete and submit your application form. Make sure you use the help screens designed to guide you along when you submit your application.

The length of time needed to review your application will depend on its complexity. For example, a sole-proprietorship 100-percent-owned by a designated group member will not take as long as a multi-owned corporation located in a community property state. The regulatory time frames are 90 days for a response from an 8(a) application and 75 days for a response from an SDB application. There are two parts to reviewing any application. First, the SBA makes certain they have all the information required to process the application, and then the information is reviewed and analyzed.

Your electronic application information is protected by a username/password-based authentication system for all interactions. The process uses secure, 128-bit encrypted communications to ensure that system passwords cannot be detected by network intruders. For further information regarding SBA's Internet Privacy Policy, see this site.

Please make sure that your submitted answers are truthful and accurate, as there are serious legal consequences for falsifying information in an 8(a)/SDB application that may include fines, imprisonment or both. Should you have questions, e-mail the SBA at 8ABD@sba.gov or call (415) 744-6784.