SBA to streamline federal contracting certification process

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The U.S. Small Business Administration is making is easier for businesses to apply for federal contracting certifications. 

Administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman said Wednesday the SBA is launching a new certification tool called MySBA Certifications to enable customers to apply for and manage multiple federal contracting certifications in one place.  

The new certifications tool, slated to open for new applicants in September, is a key component of the SBA’s multi-year transformative modernization of the agency’s customer experience, she said. 

“Small businesses are vital to our federal supply chains – they bring innovation, agility, and competition into the marketplace while creating good jobs and strengthening local communities,” Guzman said in a release. “Under the Biden-Harris Administration, the SBA has been elevating customer experience and modernizing its delivery of products and services across its programs.” 

Through the new MySBA Certifications, customers applying for a new federal contracting certification will be able to reduce paperwork, apply for and manage all federal contracting certifications in one place, and access resources to help them win contracts. 

SBA said its federal contracting certification programs enables qualifying small business owners, including women, veterans, and small businesses located in historically underserved communities, to apply for and receive certifications that make them eligible to compete for and win small business set-aside prime and subcontracts.  

A White House analysis estimates that 40% of small businesses are eligible for multiple federal contracting certifications but only 10% currently hold more than one.  

The SBA said it is also making policy changes to simplify the application process, aligning many requirements across certification programs and reducing the paperwork burden for certifying firms, while maintaining a certification process to deliver against individual program objectives and continuing to ensure the program benefits communities intended to serve. 

Together, these changes will reduce the time it takes a small business owner to complete an application by an estimated 40% for a single certification and up to 70% for firms seeking multiple certifications, SBA said. These improvements are also expected to reduce average processing times for WOSB and 8(a) applications by up to 80%. 

 Small business owners who have already applied or are seeking a certification renewal will continue to be processed. To support a smooth transition, earlier this year the SBA extended certification renewal timelines for one year for many certified firms.