The Department of General Services has revised the Statement of Policy relative to the certification of Small Diverse Businesses which include minority, women, veteran, and service-disabled veteran business enterprises. Beginning September 1, 2012, DGS will no longer accept applications for certification from small diverse businesses; the bureau will instead verify that small diverse businesses have been certified by an approved third party.

Interim Verification Process: The Commonwealth's verification program is still in the development stage. In the near future the Commonwealth intends to enable companies to become verified through an electronic process. In the meantime, the Bureau of Small Business Opportunities (BSBO) is implementing an interim verification process to assist those companies interested in becoming verified as a Small Diverse Business. Below are the steps to become a verified Small Diverse Business with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

If you haven't registered as a supplier to do business with the Commonwealth through the PA Supplier Portal, you must complete that process first. This process assigns your company a vendor number and ensures that if awarded a contract, the Commonwealth has all the necessary information for your company to be paid. Additional information and instructions for this process can be found in the Supplier Registration Guide.

If you already have a PA Vendor Number proceed to Step 2.

Businesses which have a PA Vendor Number and are interested in becoming verified as a Small Diverse Business must then self-certify in the new Small Business Procurement Initiative (SBPI) as a "small business." Attached is the link which will direct you to the appropriate instructions for beginning the SBPI on-line certification process, www.smallbusiness.pa.gov. This website also contains specific program guidelines, Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), and step-by-step instructions for the self-certification process. Completion of this self-certification is a prerequisite for verification as a Small Diverse Business.

To self-certify and participate in the Small Business Procurement Initiative, a business must meet each of the following requirements:

• The business must be a for-profit, United States business.
• The business must be independently owned.
• The business may not be dominant in its field of operation.
• The business may not employ more than 100 full-time equivalent employees.
• The business, by type, may not exceed the following three-year average gross sales:
• Procurement Goods - $20 million
• Procurement Services - $20 million
• Construction - $20 million
• Building Design Services - $7 million
• Information Technology Goods and Services - $25 million

Businesses will also be required to upload the following pages of the company's three most recent federal tax returns, which are required to verify annual gross sales. You may redact your federal tax identification number if desired. Acceptable file formats for tax upload include Portable Document Format (PDF), Joint Photographic Group (JPG) or Tagged Image Format (TIF).

• Pages 1-5 of Federal form 1120 or 1120S, the U.S. Corporation Income Tax Return
• Pages 1-5 of Federal form 1065, the U.S. Return of Partnership Income
• Pages 1-2 of Federal form 1040 schedule C, Profit or Loss from Business, Sole Proprietorship

To begin the self-certification process go to the PA Supplier Portal, and click "Supplier Logon". At this point you will be asked to enter your User Name and Password which was created when you received your PA Vendor Number. Once in the portal click the "Bidder Tab" and then choose "Enterprise Applications". The link for the "Small Business Procurement Initiative" will be the first option listed under "Welcome to the Enterprise Application Portal" where you will begin the self-certification process.

Please be reminded that the SBPI certification is a one-year certification which will require your renewal (application) annually.

Once an applicant business has successfully registered in the SBPI and obtained an approved third party certification they must complete the Verification of Small Diverse Business Status form. The Verification of Small Diverse Business Status form and all required documentation, including the Small Business Procurement Initiative certificate and the third party certification, must then be submitted to BSBO by email (preferred) or certified/overnight mail. Documents should be emailed to RA-bsboverification@pa.gov or if using certified/overnight mail to:

Bureau of Small Business Opportunities (BSBO)
Verification Division
North Office Building
401 North Street, Room 611
Harrisburg, PA 17120-0500

Department of General Services will accept approved third-party certifications from any of the below entities:

• Unified Certification Program (UCP)*
• United States Small Business Administration (SBA) 8(a) Program
• National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC)
• Woman's Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC)
• VetBiz Vendor Information Pages (VIP) at vetbiz.gov

* Please note: Every state has its own Unified Certification Program. This links to the Pennsylvania Unified Certification Program.

Once BSBO has received and verified all information, the applicant business will be sent a letter notifying it that the business has been verified as a Pennsylvania Department of General Services Small Diverse Business and that its business information has been included in the online database located at Searching for Small Diverse Businesses.