How to get SDVOSB and veteran-owned certified

For years, veteran-owned certification was split. The VA verified firms for its own contracts through the Center for Verification and Evaluation, and for the rest of the federal government firms could simply self-certify in SAM. That produced a well-known integrity problem.

Congress fixed it in Section 862 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021, Public Law 116-283, which set a transfer date two years after enactment. SBA published the implementing final rule on 29 November 2022 at 87 FR 73412, effective 1 January 2023. Since then, SBA runs certification for both VA and non-VA federal purposes, under 13 CFR Part 128.

The self-certification phase-out

The transition had two separate deadlines, and people still confuse them.

• For SDVOSB set-aside and sole-source contracts outside the VA: self-certification ended for firms that had not filed a complete application by 31 December 2023. No self-certification has been permitted for these since 1 January 2024.
• For SDVOSB goaling and subcontracting credit: a second grace period, added by the NDAA for FY2024, ran to 22 December 2024. That has also now closed.
• For VA contracts: self-certification never applied. Certification was always required.

The upshot is simple. There is no remaining federal purpose for which you can self-certify as an SDVOSB. If your SAM profile still asserts SDVOSB status without a VetCert certification behind it, that is a compliance exposure, not a marketing advantage.

The relevant regulatory amendments are at 87 FR 73412, 89 FR 48269 and 89 FR 102508 if you need the chapter and verse.

Ownership

At least 51% ownership by one or more veterans, for VOSB status, or by one or more service-disabled veterans, for SDVOSB status. Where a veteran has a VA-rated permanent and total disability and cannot manage daily operations, a spouse or permanent caregiver may qualify to hold the control role.

Control

13 CFR 128.203 sets out the control test. The qualifying veteran must hold the highest officer position in the concern and have the managerial experience of the extent and complexity needed to run it. The regulation sets out specific rules for corporations, LLCs and partnerships covering board control, voting rights and management authority.

This is where applications fail. If a non-veteran partner holds the license the business trades on, controls the bonding relationship, or has veto rights over ordinary operating decisions, the control test is not met regardless of the ownership percentage.

Small business status

The concern must qualify as small under the SBA size standard for its primary NAICS code.

Documentation

13 CFR 128.303 governs required documents, and SBA publishes the current minimum list on its certification site. Expect to provide formation documents, ownership records, evidence of the veteran's capital contribution, resumes, tax returns, and, critically, the DD-214 and, for service-disabled status, the VA disability rating letter.

One useful shortcut: firms already certified under the 8(a) Business Development Program or as a WOSB can leverage recent annual review documentation rather than reproducing everything from scratch.

1. Get your SAM registration current and accurate. Certification is tied to it, and a stale or mismatched SAM record will hold up the application.
2. Gather your service documentation first. The DD-214 and the VA disability rating letter are the two documents applicants most often have to chase, and requesting a replacement DD-214 takes time.
3. Apply at veterans.certify.sba.gov. This is SBA's veteran certification portal, part of its wider certifications platform.
4. Answer follow-up requests quickly. As with every certification, the elapsed time is driven far more by how fast you respond to information requests than by SBA's own review speed.

On cost: there is no fee provision anywhere in 13 CFR Part 128, and SBA states on its certifications platform that it does not charge any costs for applying to its programs. Be sceptical of any consultant who implies the application itself carries a government fee. It does not. Paying someone to help you prepare the application is a legitimate choice; paying a government fee is not a thing.

On timing: SBA publishes a 90 calendar day target after a complete package for its 8(a) and WOSB programs. We did not find an equivalent published day-count specific to VetCert, so plan conservatively and do not commit to a bid that depends on certification landing by a particular date.

The federal government's SDVOSB contracting goal is 5% of contracting dollars, which is the largest socioeconomic goal after the overall small business goal. That creates genuine, sustained demand from contracting officers who need to move dollars to certified firms.

The mechanisms are set-asides (contracts reserved for SDVOSBs, where you compete only against other certified firms), sole-source awards under certain thresholds, and subcontracting credit, where large primes need SDVOSB subcontractors to satisfy their own subcontracting plans.

That third one is worth as much attention as the first two. Large federal primes maintain small business subcontracting plans with SDVOSB targets, and they actively look for certified subcontractors. Getting known to a handful of primes in your discipline is often a faster route to revenue than winning your own prime contract.

What it does not get you

SDVOSB status is a federal credential. It does not automatically satisfy a state or city veteran-owned participation goal. Those programs run their own certifications, covered below. And, as with every certification, it changes which competitions you are in rather than whether you win them. Contracting officers still evaluate past performance, technical capability and price.

Several states run their own veteran-owned business programs, entirely separate from VetCert, with their own eligibility rules and their own applications.

California DVBE

The Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise program is administered by the Department of General Services through its Office of Small Business and Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise Services. Eligibility requires a service-connected disability of at least 10%, California residence for the veteran, at least 51% ownership by disabled veterans (with LLCs required to be wholly owned by disabled veterans) and day-to-day operations controlled by disabled veterans, though the controlling veteran need not be an owner.

California sets a DVBE participation goal of at least 3% of overall annual state contract dollars, alongside a 25% small business goal. The relevant authorities are the California Code of Regulations at sections 1896.80 to 1896.88, Government Code sections 14837 to 14838, and Military and Veterans Code sections 999 to 999.13.

Texas VetHUB

Texas has restructured its Historically Underutilized Business program entirely around veterans. Under rules the Comptroller published as effective 12 May 2026, the race, ethnicity and sex-based categories were eliminated and the program rebranded VetHUB (Veteran Heroes United in Business), covering service-disabled veterans only.

Eligibility requires at least 51% ownership, management and operation by a Texas-resident owner who is a service-disabled veteran with a service-connected disability of 20% or more, with the business primarily based in Texas and its principal place of business in Texas, meeting SBA size standards under 13 CFR 121.201. Certification is free, valid for four years, and processing takes up to 90 days. Memoranda of agreement with third-party certifying partners have been terminated, so no outside certification is currently accepted.

If you are a service-disabled veteran-owned business in Texas, this is now a materially stronger position than it was, because the eligible pool has narrowed considerably. More detail on the state programs generally is in state small business certification programs.

New York SDVOB

New York operates a separate Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Business program through its Division of Service-Disabled Veterans' Business Development, distinct from the state's MWBE scheme. Confirm current eligibility criteria and the certification term directly with that office.

If you are a veteran or service-disabled veteran who owns and genuinely runs your business, VetCert is close to a straightforward yes. It is free, it is now mandatory for any federal SDVOSB opportunity, and it attaches to a 5% federal goal that contracting officers are actively working to meet.

The caveats are the usual ones, and they are worth stating plainly. Certification does not create capability. A newly certified firm with no federal past performance, no facility clearance where one is needed, and no relationships with primes will not see contracts appear. What VetCert does is put you inside a smaller competitive pool. Winning inside that pool still requires the ordinary work: a compliant proposal, a defensible price, and evidence you have done this before.

The most common mistake we see is a veteran-owned firm spending a year on certifications (VetCert, then a state program, then HUBZone) and no time at all on past performance. Certifications stack; references do not appear on their own. If you have not yet delivered a public contract, prioritize winning one. how to respond to an RFP covers the mechanics, HUBZone certification explained covers whether HUBZone is worth adding, and live opportunities are at open opportunities.