Category Archives: Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses

Congress Approves Government-wide SDVOSB Certification Requirement; Transfers CVE to SBA

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The House and Senate have agreed to eliminate service-disabled veteran-owned small business self-certification and adopt a government-wide SDVOSB certification requirement, while transferring control of the certification process from the VA to the SBA.

The Conference Report on the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act would require government-wide SDVOSB certification (eventually) and transfer control of the the Center for Verification and Evaluation from the VA to the SBA. Assuming the President signs the bill into law (which, unlike the typical NDAA, remains to seen), SDVOSB self-certification–which is still the law for non-VA contracts–is on its way out.

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OHA: CVE Appeals Go Directly to Us, Not CVE

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OHA recently confirmed it lacked jurisdiction over a CVE appeal mistakenly filed with CVE, not OHA, by the deadline. You might be thinking: “Oh come on, the CVE appeal was filed with CVE on time!” But OHA’s strict timeliness rules make no exception for any such mistakes in the CVE appeal process. In fact, OHA disclaims the authority to even consider a late appeal, regardless of whether or not it was timely (but improperly) filed with CVE itself.

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VA CVE Applications: Average Processing Time is 34 Days

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In some circles, the VA CVE application process for SDVOSB/VOSB certification has a reputation as being very cumbersome and time-consuming. But while applying for verification isn’t exactly fun, it doesn’t take an extraordinarily long time for most new applicants to be verified. In fact, according to the VA’s Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization, the average processing time is a mere 34 days.

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OHA: Multiple Service-Disabled Veterans Control Company, Despite Internal Dispute

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Control over a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business can be held by multiple service-disabled veterans. Having control reside in multiple individuals can make things a little more complicated, though. SBA Office of Hearings and Appeals recently examined a situation where multiple service-disabled veterans shared control of a company, but did not have a united front when responding to information requests concerning a company’s eligibility.

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SDVOSB vs. AbilityOne: VA Violated Rule of Two Again, Court Says

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A federal court has ruled that the VA violated the SDVOSB Rule of Two, as well as a more recent statute, by moving SDVOSB set-aside requirements to the AbilityOne program.

If you think you heard this before, you’re not going crazy or living your own personal Groundhog Day. The court’s ruling is just the latest in a long-running debate about how the VA should balance the SDVOSB and AbilityOne contracting preferences.

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Five Things You Should Know: The SDVOSB “Extraordinary Circumstances” Rule

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If you’re part of a service-disabled veteran-owned small business, you’ve probably heard of the “extraordinary circumstances” rule–but there’s a lot of confusion out there about what the rule is and how it works.

So let’s get right to it. Here are five things you should know about the SDVOSB extraordinary circumstances rule.

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House-Passed 2021 NDAA Creates Government-Wide SDVOSB Certification Requirement

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Ever since the VA set up its SDVOSB verification program, critics of SDVOSB self-certification have been pushing for the government to expand SDVOSB verification government-wide. Now, it might finally happen.

Section 831 of the House of Representatives’ version of the Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act would expand SDVOSB verification government-wide, formally rename it “certification,” and transfer certification authority from the VA to the SBA.

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