Where to find assistance with 8(a) program?

The 8(a) Business Development Program has been a major success for those US based small businesses that have joined this SBA program. The benefits, resources and opportunities accessible to it’s program members are untouchable when compared to any other small business certification or program.

The first step in becoming certified would be to complete and have an active System for Award Management (SAM) Registration in place with at least 6 months of validity left prior to expiring. Then of course you would want to create and optimize your DSBS Profile, SBA Profile, Capabilities Statement, and any other registration or profile that pertains to your industry and/or business itself.

Once you begin the 8(a) Program certification application process, it normally takes about 3-6 months to reach completion. The application process is quite tedious and must be completed with full accuracy and without errors. Submitting an application with any errors or omissions will delay the approval of said application by at least another 2-3 months.

The Office of Government Contracting and Business Development does have a Help Desk that 8(a) Program applicants can call for assistance regarding any issues, obstacles or technical problems that arise during the application process iteself. And yes, there will be many.

The Office of Government Contracting & Business Development’s Help Desk is ONLY available on the 3rd Wednesday of each month from 2pm to 3pm EST. The phone number to call is 202-765-1264.

USBRI was established in 2011 to provide the level and type of assistance that most businesses need in order to successfully complete this certification and reap the benefits of having said certification actively in place. This also include attending to and updating all the other remaining profiles, platforms, registrations, capabilities statements, narrative statements, FEMA/SEMA (if applicable) and whereever else your business information is presented to Contracting Officers and Prime Vendors for directly awarding contracts and subcontracting opportunities.