Service Disabled Veteran-Owned and Veteran-Owned Small Business (VOSB and SDVOSB) Contracting

Contracting Opportunities for VOSBs and SDVOSBs

If you are a Veteran or Service Disabled Veteran entrepreneur, you will need to understand the programs and preferences in place to support your participation in federal government contracting.  There are two distinct programs that provide agencies authority to set aside acquisitions for exclusive competition among Veteran-owned small business concerns:

Basic eligibility requirements for both of the Veteran-owned Small Business programs are set by the US Small Business Administration (SBA) in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 13 C.F.R. § 125.11-125.16. However, the manner in which a Veteran owned business is “certified” under the two programs is considerably different.  Details on each of the programs can be found below.

Basic Eligibility: To be eligible for set-asides as an SDVOSB, the following criteria must be met:

  • The Service Disabled Veteran (SDV) must have a service-connected disability as determined by the VA or Department of Defense (DoD)
  • The SDVOSB must be small under the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code assigned to the procurement
  • One or more Service Disabled Veterns must unconditionally own 51% of the business, control its management – including long-term decision making – and daily operations, AND hold the highest officer position (or in the case of a veteran with permanent and severe disability, the spouse or permanent caregiver of such veteran).
  • There is a rebuttable presumption that a service-disabled veteran does not control the firm if he/she is not able to work for the firm during the normal working hours and live within a reasonable commute to the firm’s headquarters and/or job-site locations.
  • Ownership by one or more service disabled veterans must be direct ownership. A concern owned principally by another business entity that is in turn owned and controlled by one or more service-disabled veterans does not meet this requirement

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SBA’s Service Disabled Veteran-owned Small Business Concern Program

The Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Concern (SDVOSBC) Program was developed to help agencies meet the government-wide goal that not less than 3% of the total value of all prime contract and subcontract awards be made to small businesses owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans stipulated by the Veterans Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development Act of 1999. It does not provide a priority or preference to SDVOSBs, it simply allows contracting officers to create SDVOSB set-asides or make sole source awards if they choose to do so in an effort to meet the 3% goal.  Each agency is required by Executive Order 13360 to have a strategy to meet its SDVOSB contracting and subcontracting goals. (See Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 13 C.F.R. § 125.11-125.33).

Self-Certifying
The SDVOSBC program is self-certifying, meaning that no verification process is currently required. It will be necessary to indicate the status of the business as “Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business” in the section of the federal System for Award Management (SAM) applicable to socio-economic categories. Individual Contracting Officers may require documentation of eligibility before awarding set-aside or sole source contracts under the program and awards may be subject to protest if the eligibility of the successful bidder is in question. Documentation may include a copy of DD214 and evidence for Department of Veterans Affairs award of service-connected disability (0% to 100%). Significant penalties, including prison sentences, have been imposed on some contractors found to have fraudulently claimed SDVOSB status.

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Vets First Verification Logo

Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Veterans First Contracting Program:

Within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the procurement hierarchy for open market acquisitions places the highest priority on SDVOSBs, followed by VOSBs, putting Veteran owned businesses ahead of 8(a), HUBZone, Woman owned and other small businesses. This is the only program that gives first priority to veterans and the only program that provides a preference for veteran business owners who are not service-disabled. The VA is one of the largest federal procurement organizations, awarding over $3 billion to Veteran owned small businesses.

Verification:To qualify for the Veterans First Contracting Program, businesses must be found eligible through the VA’s Verification process, which is administered by the VA’s Center for Verification and Evaluation (CVE).  The eligibility requirements outline above apply to both veteran-owned and service-disabled veteran-owned, and the verification process and requirements overall are outlined in 38 CFR part 74.

The Applicant bears the burden of proof of adequately establishing its claimed status.

Verification Assistance:  To help Veteran business owners more easily (and successfully) navigate the verification process, the VA has developed a number of tools and guides (see the right sidebar) in addition to creating the Verification Assistance Program through which assistance counselors (including many PTAC specialists) have been specially trained to provide free assistance to veterans seeking verification.  Click here to find a Certified Verification Assistance Counselor near you.

 

PTAC SDVOSB Successes

Greenleaf Services pictureGreenleaf Services Inc. For those who serve in the military, there is no greater honor than to be buried alongside fellow soldiers in Arlington National Cemetery. For Brad Winemiller and Greenleaf Services Inc., a service-disabled, veteran-owned small construction and landscaping business based in Delaware, there is no greater honor than tending to those sacred grounds.

Beginning in 2005, the Delaware PTAC worked closely with Greenleaf to help formulate a government marketing strategy and was pivotal in establishing connections, directing them to disabled service seminars, and helping them get past the initial red tape of government contracting. Although initially unsuccessful, Winemiller did not become discouraged, and Greenleaf’s main focus has been on government contracts since 2008. The company provides services to government grounds such as the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Wilmington, Delaware; Togus National Cemetery in Maine; Beverly National Cemetery in New Jersey; and many others. Greenleaf’s success has allowed Winemiller to hire other veterans, a hiring practice that helps boost the culture of respect differentiating Greenleaf from other businesses. Most exciting is a recent contract awarded in September, 2014 which gave Greenleaf the authority to take care of 640 acres at Arlington National Cemetery for a base year with two option years. Greenleaf still keeps regular communication with the PTAC and welcomes the advice from the team. Click here to read a Januaryy 6, 2015 article about Greenleaf that appeared in the University of Delaware Daily.

 

Read more about PTAC client successes in government contracting!

 

See how PTACs help Veterans


At no cost, your local PTAC can help you:

  • Determine if you may be eligible for the Veterans First or SDVOSBC program
  • Complete SAM and other registrations necessary to bid
  • Navigate the Vets First Verification process
  • Market your SDVOSB or VOSB status
  • Understand SDVOSB and VOSB opportunities for state and local government contracts
  • Find contracting opportunities even if you don’t qualify as an SDVOSB/VOSB!

Contact your local PTAC today!

 

CVE Booth 2013

PTAC and VA CVE Counselors assist Veterans at
the National Veterans Conference

 

Additional Resource Links


VA’s Vets First Verification Program page

Verification Webinars and Town Halls

Verification Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

VA Office of Small Business Utilization Media Library

Verification Assistance Briefs

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4 Steps to Verification

Contact your nearest PTAC before you begin – they can provide invaluable help with this process!

  • Complete the Pre-Application steps and meet with a certified Verification Counselor.
  • Submit all documentation in the key areas of ELIGIBILITY, OWNERSIP & CONTROL.
  • Respond quickly to “Additional Document Requests” and provided detailed “Letters of Explanation” where needed.
  • Get updates on their verification status from CVE-provided emails.

.Another PTAC SDVOSB Success

Samaritan Emergency Medical Services is a division of CLV Enterprises, a Service Disabled Veteran Small Business wholly owned by Charles and Casandra Vetters of Skiatook, Oklahoma. With the help of the Oklahoma Bid Assistance Network (OBAN) PTAC, Samaritan EMS recently received a multi-year contract to operate ambulance services -including Paramedic level emergency response and patient transport services – at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma.

Under the contract, the company will provide two, twenty-four hour Paramedic staffed ambulances dedicated to the Base. OBAN’s Tulsa, Oklahoma office helped Samaritan EMS identify this opportunity, and OBAN Counselor Larry Findeiss provided additional assistance in reviewing the proposal format and content and ensuring that the proposal content was compliant with the Performance Work Statement. Although initially not selected as the winning bidder, they submitted to the Contracting Officer a Size Standard protest in accordance with SBA guidelines, which was sustained and the Contract Award was issued with an adjustment to the initial performance period.