Small Business Programs

Select from the following Small Business Program links for information, descriptions and eligibility requirements

• Small Business
• Veteran-Owned / Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business
• Veteran Entrepreneur Portal
• 8(a) Business Development Program
• Women-Owned Small Business
• HUBZone Small Business

Find the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR)  - FAR Subpart 19.5 :

As part of government-wide efforts to develop new businesses, certain solicitations are set aside for small business. A small business set-aside reserves a buy exclusively for participation by small business concerns. A small business set-aside may be open to all small businesses. A small business set-aside of a single acquisition or a class of acquisitions may be total or partial.

For more information on small business set-asides, go to FAR 19.501 – General, FAR 19.502 – Setting-Aside Acquisitions, and FAR 19.503 – Setting-Aside a Class of Acquisitions for Small Business. 

A Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) set-aside is the reserving of an acquisition exclusively for participation by HUBZone small business concerns. For a procurement to be totally set-aside for HUBZone small business concerns, a contracting officer must have a reasonable expectation that offers will be received from two or more HUBZone small business concerns and awards will be made at a fair market price. 

For more information on HUBZone set-asides, go to FAR 19.1305 .

Section 8(a) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 637(a)) established a program authorizing the Small Business Administration to enter into all types of contracts with other agencies and award subcontracts for performing those contracts to firms eligible for program participation. This program is the “8(a) Business Development Program ,” often referred to as the “8(a) program.”

To help provide a level playing field for small businesses owned by socially and economically disadvantaged people or entities, the government limits competition for certain contracts to businesses that participate in the 8(a) program. The federal government fully defines who qualifies for the 8(a) program — including what counts as being economically and socially disadvantaged — in Title 13 Part 124 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) .

For more details on 8(a) program set-asides, see FAR 19.805-1.

Procurements may be set-aside for Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) . A SDVOSB set-aside is the reserving of an acquisition exclusively for participation by SDVOSB concerns. For a procurement to be totally set-aside, a contracting officer must have reasonable expectations that offers will be obtained from at least two capable SDVOSB firms and awards will be made at fair market price. 

For more information on SDVOSB set-asides, go to FAR 19.1405 .

Section 8(m) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 637(m)) created the Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) Program . This program provides for a Women-Owned set-aside and is aimed at expanding Federal contracting opportunities for WOSBs.  The WOSB Federal Contract Program authorizes contracting officers to set-aside certain federal contracts for Women-Owned Small Businesses (WOSB) or Economically-Disadvantaged Women-Owned Small Businesses (EDWOSB).

There are 6-Digit North American Industry Classification Codes designated for EDWOSB set-asides and for WOSB set-asides under the WOSB Program.

For more information on WOSB and EDWOSB set-asides, go to FAR 19.1505 .