Women’s Set-Aside Program: How to Qualify SBA has released a road map for woman-owned businesses to qualify for the new set-aside contracting program. The program is set to begin in February for companies in 83 eligible industries. Woman-owned businesses must provide documentation to prove their eligibility. SBA’s compliance guide details how to file the documentation. The 60-page guide, available at www.sba.gov/wosb, “explains in plain language the legal requirements of the WOSB Program, as set forth in the final rule,” according to a notice in the Oct. 28 Federal Register. Companies will be allowed to self-certify or to qualify on the basis of certifications by third parties, such as federal or state agencies or an approved private certifier. The private certifiers have not yet been chosen. SBA will accept certifications of woman-owned companies participating in the 8(a) program. However, certifications in the Transportation Department’s Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program will not be automatically accepted because those certifications are granted by state and local agencies, and not all of them comply with SBA rules. SBA said it will publish a list of the states and localities whose certifications will be recognized. In December SBA plans to open a new database, called the WOSB Program Repository, where companies must upload their documentation. The certification process requires companies to jump through a number of hoops: registration in the Central Contractor Registration, in SBA’s Global Log-In System and in the Online Representation and Certifications Application (ORCA). Various forms of documentation will be required depending on whether a company self-certifies or relies on third-party certification and whether it is an economically disadvantaged woman-owned small business. An additional hoop: Before a set-aside contract can be awarded under the program, the apparent winning bidder must authorize the contracting officer to view its documentation in the SBA repository. This takes more clicks and data entry. That authorization must be repeated each time a company is the successful offeror on a set-aside contract. If this sounds complicated, it is. SBA has said the elaborate certification process is needed to prevent fraud and to ensure that the women’s contracting program will stand up to any court challenge. For details about the program, see the story in the Oct. 8 issue of Set-Aside Alert.