USDOT issues new final rule on DBE program

News - Published Apr 12, 2024

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has completed the process of issuing a new final rule that affects the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) program. The rule was initially proposed and a notice relating to the proposed rule was issued in 2022, and it is now being nationally implemented.

The changes accomplished by the issuance of the final rule include: raising the personal net worth cap for DBE certification eligibility, from $1.32 million to $2.047 million, as well as excluding retirement assets from the net worth calculation; requiring all state DBE programs to allow for interstate certification procedures in which a DBE must simply prove its certification in one state, rather than requiring a separate application; expanding reporting requirements USDOT operates under, in order to gather more and better data on the DBE program; requiring all state DBE programs to institute new prompt payment provisions; and numerous other procedural changes.

"Through this rule change, we've addressed many of the challenges DBEs and ACDBEs have faced over the years," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg in a statement.

Read the press release from USDOT at https://www.transportation.gov/briefing-room/usdot-significantly-modernizes-disadvantaged-business-enterprise-program-and-airport.

Find USDOT's page for the Final Rule at https://www.transportation.gov/DBEFinalRule.

For prior updates from DBE GoodFaith on the new rule, see https://www.dbegoodfaith.com/item.php?item_type=news&news_id=2331 and https://www.dbegoodfaith.com/item.php?item_type=news&news_id=2348.