Woman Owned Small Business

Woman Owned Small Business (WOSB) Program

The WOSB Federal Contract Program provides equal access to federal contracting opportunities for WOSB and economically disadvantaged woman-owned small businesses (EDWOSBs). The program allows contracting officers to set aside specific federal contracts for WOSBs and EDWOSBs.

General Program Details:

The WOSB Program became effective in SBA's regulations on February 4th, 2011. On that date, small businesses began taking steps to participate in the Program.

Eligibility Requirements for the WOSB Program:

Be a small business
Be at least 51% unconditionally and directly owned and controlled by women who are United States citizens
A woman must manage the day-to-day operations, make long-term decisions for the business, hold the highest officer position in the business and work at the business full-time during normal working hours

To be an eligible EDWOSB, a company must be:

Meet all the requirements of the WOSB Federal Contracting Program
A woman is presumed economically disadvantaged if she has a personal net worth of less than $750,000 (with some exclusions), her adjusted gross yearly income averaged over the three years preceding the certification is less than $350,000, and the fair market value of all personal assets being less than $6 million

Eligibility requirements to qualify as a WOSB or EDWOSB are fully defined in Title 13 Part 127 Subpart B of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)
**Please note that for both WOSB and EDWOSB the 51% ownership must be unconditional and direct.**

Certification:

To participate in the program a WOSB or EDWOSB must meet the eligibility requirements and either

*Self-certify their business OR
*Be certified by a SBA approved Third-Party Certifier

*apply for certification at certify.sba.gov

The certification process for WOSB and EDWOSB changed in 2020. WOSB Federal Contracting program regulations were published in the Federal Register, May 2020. These updates detail changes to the certification process.

Third-Party Certification: A third party certifier is a national certifying entity approved by the Administrator that may engage in the certification process for the WOSB program.

Additional information about WOSB can be found on the SBA website at sba.gov

Contracting Details:

Eligible Industry Codes: Qualifying 4-digit North American Industry Classification Systems (NAICS) Codes that are eligible for federal contracting under the WOSB Program, regularly maintained by the SBA.
Contracting officers may set aside a requirement for WOSBs if:

The NAICS code is in an industry in which SBA has designated that WOSBs are substantially underrepresented.
The contracting officer has a reasonable expectation that two or more WOSBs will submit offers.
The anticipated award price of the contract does not exceed $5 Million in the case of manufacturing contracting and $3 Million in the case of all other contracts.
The contracting officer believes the contract can be awarded at a fair and reasonable price.

Contracting officers may set aside a requirement for EDWOSBs if:

The NAICS code is in an industry in which SBA has designated that WOSBs are underrepresented.
The contracting officer has a reasonable expectation that two or more EDWOSBs will submit offers.
The anticipated award price of the contract does not exceed $5 Million in the case of manufacturing and $3 Million in the case of all other contracts.
In the estimation of the contracting officer, the contract can be awarded at a fair and reasonable price.

**For more information, please read the WOSB Federal Contract Program Regulations in the Federal Register and the Compliance Guide for the WOSB Federal Contract Program. Additional information can also be obtained by visiting the WOSB Federal Contract Program web page www.sba.gov/wosb
This guide is for the Federal Contracting Officer's Guide in complying with all aspects of the WOSB program. CONTRACTING OFFICER'S WOSB COMPLIANCE GUIDE
This guide for the WOSB is to ensure understanding and compliance with aspects of the WOSB and how it is monitored. COMPLIANCE GUIDE FOR WOSB PROGRAM

Department of Defense (DoD) WOSB Program

The DoD WOSB Program highlights the DoD efforts to achieve the 5% goal for prime and subcontract awards to small business concerns owned and controlled by women.
The program objectives are:

To facilitate, preserve, and strengthen full participation for WOSB concerns in the DoD acquisition programs for goods and services.
Through programs and activities, including outreach and technical assistance, support the growth of women-owned small business concerns.

NAVFAC WOSB Program

NAVFAC is committed to providing assistance to WOSBs to meet their needs in doing business with the Navy. Our commitment is demonstrated in consistently exceeding the DoD 5% goal in the past five years for both prime and subcontract awards to WOSB concerns. NAVFAC is proud of this record and continues to seek qualified WOSB participation in procurement actions.