WOSB certification is free and you apply for it yourself at certify.sba.gov. Since 2020 that is the only route that counts for set-aside contracts. Third-party certifiers are no longer accepted for that purpose, whatever their marketing says.
Before you can apply at all
You need an active SAM.gov registration with a UEI. SBA pulls your application data straight from that record, so this genuinely has to come first. It is not a parallel task.
How to register in SAM.gov and get your UEIDo this first
Who qualifies
- Small business under the SBA size standard for your primary NAICS code.
- At least 51% owned by women who are U.S. citizens, unconditionally and directly.
- Women manage day-to-day operations and make the long-term decisions.
- A woman holds the highest officer position.
The steps
- Register at SAM.gov and get your UEI. Allow at least ten business days.
- Create your account at certify.sba.gov and start the WOSB application.
- Upload the ownership documents: operating agreement or bylaws, stock ledger or membership certificates, and the birth certificate or passport proving citizenship for each woman owner.
- Sign the attestations. You are signing under penalty of perjury, so read them.
- Submit, then watch your email daily. A Request for Information pauses everything until you answer it.
How long it takes
SBA says that whenever practicable it will decide within 90 calendar days of receiving a complete package. Read that carefully: the clock starts when the package is complete, and a Request for Information restarts it. A clean application is roughly three months. A messy one can run past six.
After you are approved
- You must recertify annually and update SAM every 365 days. Letting SAM lapse quietly kills your eligibility.
- Your certification shows in SBA's Dynamic Small Business Search, which is where contracting officers look for you.
- Being certified does not put contracts in front of you. You still have to find and respond to them.
certify.sba.govThe only certification route that counts. Free.