SBA SDB Program

The program summary on this page was last updated on 06/08/2023. If any of the information or links are out-of-date, please contact us.

While the U.S. Small Business Adminstration (SBA) maintains many certification programs under which small businesses may be certified as receiving various types of preferential treatment in receiving federal contracts, the SBA states that small businesses may also self-represent their status as a Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB) without making an application to the SBA to do so other than registering in the System for Award Management website at https://www.sam.gov/portal/SAM/.

While an application to the SBA is not made, it is to be understood that self-representing as an SDB requires such a business to meet the criteria as listed on the SBA's website, including that the business must 51% or more owned and controlled by one or more persons who are both socially and economically disadvantaged and that the firm in question be defined as small according to the SBA's size standards.