SDVO Small Businesses: Getting Started

If you are a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) targeting the federal market, you must take certain steps to qualify yourself to compete.

Steps to Documentation and Eligibility

Make Sure You Qualify: For a detailed definition of what constitutes an SDVOSB, visit the Small Business Administration website. This page explains eligibility, business control, and set-aside requirements and exemptions.

Certify Your Military Service: To be considered a veteran you must have your DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) in order to prove your service in the armed forces. Search here to request your service record.

Establish Service-Connected Disability: To be considered a Service Disabled Veteran you must have a letter from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), or your discharge paper from the branch of service you were in, stating that you have a service-connected disability rating ranging from 0% to 100% disability.

How to Self-Certify and Why: According to Veterans Affairs, Public Law 106-50, the Veterans Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development Act of 1999, there is no required minimum disability rating. This means a veteran with a zero-percent disability rating letter is eligible to self-represent as a Service Disabled Veteran for federal contracting purposes. The important factor is making sure that you have established a disability rating from your branch of the service—not the degree of the disability.