Must a woman-owned small business be certified in order to do business with the federal government?
The federal government does not require any formal certification for women-owned small businesses that are proposing as prime contractors on federal procurements. If your business meets the definition, as stated in question 2, and you are submitting a proposal for Federal procurement, you can “self-certify.” The reason that there is no certification requirement for prime contracts is because there are no preference programs to award prime contracts to women-owned small business. However, if you are submitting a proposal for a federal subcontract (and sometimes in the private sector as a prime) the prime contractor may require certification that your business is in fact woman-owned. NOTE: To self-certify your firm as a WOSB with the federal government, you must meet the definition listed in FAR 19.001. If you are interested in checking on the requirements for WOSB certification, you can contact the following organizations regarding the procedures and benefits of being certified as a wom
