The ABCs of Supplier Diversity Certification

The Small Business Administration (SBA) requires that businesses be qualified as small businesses in order to contract with the federal government, as well as institutions receiving federal funding. The SBA webisite provides a wealth of information about the criteria for qualifying as a small business.

The federal government sets annual goals for the procurement of goods and services from certified small businesses which register on the federal System for Award Managment (sam.gov). These goals are very important when the University receives federal funding exceeding $700,000 for research contracts or subcontracts. For more information on the relevance of these codes, see the Federal Small Business Subcontracting Plan Overview

The federal certification codes are:

SDB

Small Disadvantaged Business

WOSB

Woman-Owned Small Business

HUB Zone

Historically Underutilized Business

HBCU/MI

Historically Black Colleges & Universities and Minority Institutions

VOSB

Veteran-Owned Small Business

SDVOSB

Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business

ANC

Alaska Native Corporations (ANCs)  and Indian Tribes that have not been certified by SBA as Small Disadvantaged Businesses

ANC

Alaska Native Corporations (ANCs) and Indian Tribes that are not small businesses