Thank you for your interest in participating in the District Department of Transportation’s (DDOT) Certification Program to become a Small Business Enterprise (SBE). Our objective is to ensure that small business firms have the maximum opportunity to participate in US DOT-assisted contracts.

DDOT’s Office of Civil Rights certifies firms that are owned and controlled by one or more economically eligible citizens or lawful permanent residents of the Unites States, and any other individual determined to be economically eligible by the Small Business Administration pursuant to Section 8(a) of the Small Business Act. A business or firm must meet the definitions specified in Section 3 of the Small Business Act and the Small Business Administration regulations implementing it (13 CFR Part 121). DDOT defines a small business as a business that is independently owned and operated, organized for-profit and not dominant in its field. Depending on the industry, size standard eligibility is based on the average number of employees for the preceding 12 months or on sales volume averaged over a three (3) year period.

SBE certification affords small businesses an opportunity to participate in the performance of contracts and subcontracts financed in whole or in part, with federal funds.

Applicants must complete the online application process. It is the responsibility of the applicant to provide information deemed necessary by the Office of Civil Rights to determine eligibility.

Any person who knowingly establishes, assists in the establishment of, operates or assists in the operation of a sham or front company, will be punished to the fullest extent of the law under DC Code § 22-3221.

DC Code § 47-2861 et seq, as amended, requires firms to be registered and in good standing with the Department of Regulatory Affairs in order to do business in the District of Columbia. Please find the following SBE program documents here:

1. SBE Certification Application with DDOT’s supporting documents checklist;
2. U. S. Department of Transportation Personal Net Worth Statement;
3. U.S. Small Business Administration Size Standards (2016)

Once you have successfully completed the online certification application process, you will be issued a letter of certification, complete with certification number, effective date of certification and NAICS codes included. Please download and print a copy for your records and for proof of certification in the program. Your firm’s contact information and industry profile will be listed in the DDOT SBE database. If you are unable to complete the application process online, please download and print a copy of your application and submit with supporting paperwork to:

District Department of Transportation
Office of Civil Rights – Small Business Enterprise Program
55 M Street, SE, 7th Floor
Washington, DC 20003

It is strongly suggested that if you are submitting your application manually for processing that you submit your application by mail with a tracking capability, such as UPS, USPS Priority Mail or Federal Express; otherwise, the District Department of Transportation will not be responsible for any submissions through the mail. Please be advised that a manual submission may take up to 90 days for processing and a determination made on the status of the application.

Please do not submit a manual application if you have already submitted an application online, in the event your firm’s application was rejected in the online system. You may send an email for reconsideration of your application to [email protected]. A response will be provided within 30 days of the request.