M/W/LBE Certification

GENERAL INFORMATION

The goal of the Business Development Division is to recruit, develop and retain emerging minority, women-owned and locally-based business enterprises.

Entry into the construction industry remains a challenge for minority- and women-owned business enterprises. To diminish these barriers, the SCA Business Development Division (BDD) helps qualified emerging construction and construction-related firms do business with the SCA. The Business Development Division recruits minority, women-owned and locally-based enterprises for certification through participation in various minority trade shows, conferences and forums.

The Minority, Women-Owned and Locally-Based Enterprise (M/W/LBE) program provides opportunities for minority-owned, women-owned and locally-based enterprises to participate in the SCA’s procurement process and gain valuable experience. To be eligible for the business development opportunities that the SCA provides, a business must become M/W/LBE-certified in addition to being prequalified.

Learn more about prequalification: SCA Prequalification Page.

THE BENEFITS OF BEING M/W/LBE-CERTIFIED

The SCA’s Mentor Program provides qualified and certified M/W/LBEs with training and opportunities to work on SCA projects.

To learn more about the Mentor Program, click the following link: SCA Mentor Program Page.

For firms that do not qualify for the Mentor Program, the SCA makes other provisions to encourage M/W/LBE participation on its contracts. For its construction projects, the SCA stipulates that contractors demonstrate a good faith effort in sub-contracting 20% of the work to a M/WBE and 10% to a LBE. On personal services contracts, one of the evaluation criteria is the extent to which a consultant firm uses a M/WBE, either as a sub-consultant or as a joint venture (JV) partner.

REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTIFYING AS A M/WBE

To be certified as a Minority/Women-Owned Business Enterprise, a business must:

Be in operation for at least one year;
Operate in New York or possess a license issued by New York City; and
At minimum, be 51% owned, operated and controlled by a woman or a member of an ethnic minority group.
- To complete the online certification application, click the following link: Certification Application.

REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTIFYING AS A LBE

In order to be certified as a Locally-Based Enterprise, a company must:

Derive 25% or more of its gross receipts from business conducted in Economic Development Areas within NYC;
Have average annual gross receipts of under $2.167 million for all construction and construction-related work during the past three years; and
Hire veterans and/or welfare recipients to comprise at least 25% of their workforce.

In order to establish these minimum requirements and provide other required information, M/W/LBE businesses should submit an application for certification with supporting documentation, such as ownership records, stock certificates and tax returns, to the Business Development Division.

To complete the online certification application, click the following link: Certification Application.

RECERTIFICATION

Firms are certified for a period of two years. In order to be recertified, firms are required to submit tax returns from the past two years along with a signed notarized affidavit indicating that there were no changes to the ownership. Firms are strongly encouraged to recertify at least six months before their certification status expires.

School Construction Authority Reports and Documents Employment Doing Business Contracting with the SCA Pre-Qualification M/W/LBE Certification Architecture & Engineering Claims & Disputes Freedom of Info. Requests Labor Law Compliance NDA - Confidentiality and Non-Disclosure Forms Programs Forms	M/W/LBE Certification E-mail to a friend GENERAL INFORMATION The goal of the Business Development Division is to recruit, develop and retain emerging minority, women-owned and locally-based business enterprises. Entry into the construction industry remains a challenge for minority- and women-owned business enterprises. To diminish these barriers, the SCA Business Development Division (BDD) helps qualified emerging construction and construction-related firms do business with the SCA. The Business Development Division recruits minority, women-owned and locally-based enterprises for certification through participation in various minority trade shows, conferences and forums. The Minority, Women-Owned and Locally-Based Enterprise (M/W/LBE) program provides opportunities for minority-owned, women-owned and locally-based enterprises to participate in the SCA’s procurement process and gain valuable experience. To be eligible for the business development opportunities that the SCA provides, a business must become M/W/LBE-certified in addition to being prequalified. Learn more about prequalification: SCA Prequalification Page. THE BENEFITS OF BEING M/W/LBE-CERTIFIED The SCA’s Mentor Program provides qualified and certified M/W/LBEs with training and opportunities to work on SCA projects. To learn more about the Mentor Program, click the following link: SCA Mentor Program Page. For firms that do not qualify for the Mentor Program, the SCA makes other provisions to encourage M/W/LBE participation on its contracts. For its construction projects, the SCA stipulates that contractors demonstrate a good faith effort in sub-contracting 20% of the work to a M/WBE and 10% to a LBE. On personal services contracts, one of the evaluation criteria is the extent to which a consultant firm uses a M/WBE, either as a sub-consultant or as a joint venture (JV) partner. REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTIFYING AS A M/WBE To be certified as a Minority/Women-Owned Business Enterprise, a business must: Be in operation for at least one year; Operate in New York or possess a license issued by New York City; and At minimum, be 51% owned, operated and controlled by a woman or a member of an ethnic minority group. To complete the online certification application, click the following link: Certification Application. REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTIFYING AS A LBE In order to be certified as a Locally-Based Enterprise, a company must: Derive 25% or more of its gross receipts from business conducted in Economic Development Areas within NYC; Have average annual gross receipts of under $2.167 million for all construction and construction-related work during the past three years; and Hire veterans and/or welfare recipients to comprise at least 25% of their workforce. In order to establish these minimum requirements and provide other required information, M/W/LBE businesses should submit an application for certification with supporting documentation, such as ownership records, stock certificates and tax returns, to the Business Development Division. To complete the online certification application, click the following link: Certification Application. RECERTIFICATION Firms are certified for a period of two years. In order to be recertified, firms are required to submit tax returns from the past two years along with a signed notarized affidavit indicating that there were no changes to the ownership. Firms are strongly encouraged to recertify at least six months before their certification status expires.