
Certifications
Small Business Certification
When you register in SAM, you will provide average annual receipts over the past 3 years and average number of employees, which is used to determine if your firm meets the SBA Small Business Size Standards for your primary NAICS code and any additional NAICS selected. If you are under the identified annual revenue or number of employees for your selected NAICS code(s), you are considered a small business and may be eligible to compete for small business set asides procured under the applicable NAICS code.
There is no formal small business certification for federal contracting. The annual self-certification in SAM is sufficient.
NEXT STEP: It’s important to understand how relationships with other entities can impact your ability to claim small business status. This is a good time to read up on affiliation.
Additional Federal Socioeconomic Certifications
- Small Disadvantaged Business
- SBA 8a Business Development Program
- SBA HUBZone Program
- Federal Women Owned Small Business Program
- Federal Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business
- VA Veteran Owned Small Business (required by the VA and Federal Aviation Administration)
- Washington State Socioeconomic Certifications
- WA State Women and Minority Owned and Disadvantaged Business Enterprise
- WA State Veteran Owned
Contact us for help understanding eligibility and any application requirements!

Next Steps
It’s important to understand how relationships with other entities can impact your ability to claim small business status. This is a good time to read up on affiliation.