8(A) Certification
Our 8(A) Certification Specialists are standing ready to register your small business and enable you to capitalize on the socially disadvantaged opportunities within the Federal Sector.
8(A) Qualifications
To qualify & successfully register for 8(A) small business status, a business must meet all the following criteria:
- Qualifies for Small Business Status
- Have not previously participated in the 8(a) program
- Over 51% owned & controlled by economically or socially disadvantaged U.S. citizens
- Demonstrate good character & potential for success such as being in business for two years
- Business owners must have:
- An adjusted gross income is of $400K or less
- A personal net worth is of $850K or less
- A total asset value is of $6.5M or less
If you believe your business qualifies for 8(A) certification don’t wait and miss out on the federal opportunities you deserve. Speak with our 8(A) Certification Consultants to get started today.
8(A) Certification Benefits
In 1967 the U.S. Government merged two key federal systems to form the nation’s 8(A) program that gives Minority and Disadvantaged Small Business owners the support they need to succeed within their industry.
Flash forward to today and 5% of yearly federal contracts are reserved for 8(A) small business owners. That’s billions of dollars in exclusive work and grant opportunities that the rest of their competition in the federal marketplace can’t access.
For reference: In 2018 the Federal Government set aside $560 billion for annual contract spending. Over $71 billion of that fund were specifically reserved for the purposes of empowering 8(A) small businesses. Unfortunately, since there’s a severe lack of 8(A) small businesses that have successfully filed for certification to receive these lucrative benefits, most of those contract opportunities are just gathering dust. In fact, of the $71.5 billion reserved for 8(A) small businesses in 2018, only $29.5 billion of those work opportunities were claimed.
That means nearly 1-in-3 valuable 8(A) federal contracts are going to waste each year—and all that qualified businesses need to do to access them is registered as an 8(A) organization.
- Sole Source Awards – Sole Source Law dictates that a percentage of federal contracts and grants must be awarded directly to 8(A) organizations without competition.
- Set-Aside Awards – Set-aside contracts and grants are opportunities that only 8(A) registered businesses can bid and compete for.
- Special Preference – 8(A) small businesses also receive preferential consideration when competing for open-bid contracts that are available to the rest of the federal marketplace
- Subcontracting Options – 8(A) small businesses may subcontract on the jobs they are awarded. That way smaller organizations don’t miss out on any larger prospects because of potential operational size limitations.
- Private Sector Opportunities – 8(A) certified organizations are also eligible to access exclusive private sector contracting opportunities outside the federal government.
8(A) Certification Services vs. DIY
To access 8(A) small business opportunities, organizations first need to complete a detailed registration process with the federal government, where the difference between certification approvals and denials often come down to the tiniest filing errors.
The entire registration and certification processes take between roughly 70 – 80 hours of clerical labor to complete, and that’s not including the follow-up work of renewals, supplying business updates, and more.
FAMR – Let Us Register Your 8(A) Small Business
The value in working with a certification service like FAMR is that we streamline and simplify the process. To begin, we’ll ask you to send over some general information to get started and speak with you about what you can expect from your business’ registration process.
Then We’ll Take Over for You
Our 8(A) Certification consultants handle the minutiae of the certification process for you, using their experience and expertise to ensure every detail is in check throughout the lengthy federal registration process. Not only can you rest assured that your 8(A) application is being filed accurately, but we’ll also keep you informed with frequent updates so that you’re still in the loop.
After your 8(A) certification status is approved, we’ll stay with you to take care of your registration renewals and review your federal account to make sure everything is accurate, compliant, and optimized for the contracts you apply for in the future.
Benefits of Working with FAMR vs. DIY
- Effortless Registration – Simply put, we can ensure that your registration is completed faster and more accurately than if you were to register manually.
- Partners you can Rely On – Our Certification Specialists are a passionate and dedicated team specializing in registering qualified businesses to work alongside the federal government. We’ve helped businesses across a variety of industries achieve certification status and are more than happy to walk you through every step of your 8(A) certification process to assure your confidence.
(855) 718-1264
DIY – 8(A) Self Certification
DIY – 8(A) Self Certification
Minority and disadvantaged small business owners who want to take the time to file for themselves by learning how to navigate this lengthy application process.
But remember, the federal government requires a lot of information to certify your business and it all needs to be submitted without error.
Otherwise, if registration is not completed perfectly the first time around, minority and disadvantaged small business owners will likely find themselves needing to embark through the full certification process again under even harsher filing guidelines. What’s worse, if 8(A) small businesses do still get approved despite some inaccuracies when filing, that faulty information can go on to create payment problems and severely impede an organization’s ability to win future contracts.
Challenges of 8(A) Self Certification
- Dozens of Registration Hours – Registering 8(A) Small Business status with the federal government is an in-depth process that takes dedicated time, patience, and close attention to detail.
- DIY Registration – The self-registration process can be completed by those who learn the ins-and-outs of how to file their 8(A) information without error.