Back to Basics: HUBZone Eligibility

When exploring the world of SBA socioeconomic programs, the Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) Program isn’t always the first program on a business’ radar.  One reason for this could be the distinct eligibility requirements an applicant must meet to qualify for HUBZone certification.

This is the only socioeconomic program where SBA requires a company’s principal office and employees to reside in a designated area, i.e., a HUBZone. SBA provides a HUBZone map showing the areas designated as a HUBZone. Keep in mind that this map is reevaluated every five years, so it’s important to stay up-to-date on any updates made to the map.

We have previously covered the basics and overall benefits of the HUBZone Program. Here, we’ll go through the eligibility requirements more in-depth.  

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Rezoning (Part 1): A Look at SBA’s Proposed Changes to the HUBZone Program

A few weeks ago, SBA released a proposed rule that would, among other things, modify the HUBZone program. We took a look at some of these changes when the proposals were released. As we promised in that post, we stated we were going to discuss some other aspects of the proposed rule in later posts. Today, we’ll be looking at some of the other changes that SBA is proposing for the HUBZone program, as there’s a lot. In this post, we’ll be focusing on other changes to how HUBZone employees are determined, new rules on certification and decertification, and changes to the “attempt to maintain” rule with regards to maintaining 35% HUBZone resident workforce. Some of these changes reflect a stricter approach from SBA that contractors should be on the lookout for.

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