Women-Owned Small Business Program Requirements

To qualify as a Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB), a business must be:

• Considered “small” as defined by the relevant NAICS code
• Be at least 51% directly owned and controlled  by one or more women who are U.S. Citizens
• To be deemed “Economically Disadvantaged”, owners must demonstrate economic disadvantage in accordance with the rule (see below)

4 Steps to participate in the Women-Owned Small Business program

1. Read the Women-Owned Small Business Federal Contract program regulations in the Federal Register and the WOSB Compliance Guide.
2. Register and represent your status in the System for Award Management (SAM)as WOSB or EDWOSB.**
3. Log onto SBA’s General Login System (GLS).*Obtain an account now if you don’t already have one
4. Go to the WOSB program repository (through GLS) and upload / categorize all required documents.

Women-Owned Small Business Program Repository

To access the Women-Owned Small Business Program Repository, users must first login to SBA’s General Login System (GLS). If you do not have an account:

• Log onto SBA’s General Login System (GLS)
• Click on “Instructions for GLS” for information on how to request an account
• Go to “Request SBA User ID” to create an account

Once you are in GLS, click the “Access” button at the top of the screen. Then select “Women-Owned Small Business Program Repository” and press submit. You should then be able to access the repository. Once you are in the repository, you can click the “Help” button at the top of the screen for instructions on how to use the repository.

**A complete list of required documents to upload to the Repository can be found in the Compliance Guide for the WOSB Program. All eligibleWomen-Owned Small Businesses and EDWOSBs who would like to participate in this program must complete and sign the WOSB or EDWOSB certification form below and upload it into the repository.

WOSB Certification (SBA Form 2413)
EDWOSB Certification (SBA Form 2414)

Questions about the WOSB Program?

SBA Answer Desk
1-800-U-ASK-SBA (1-800-827-5722)
Answer Desk TTY: (704) 344-6640
Email: wosb@sba.gov

Disclaimer on this Post

• Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) Determinations can be used for several purposes, but the focus of this post is within Federal Contracting.
• There are complicated factors that can play into this, such as affiliated entities, the ostensible subcontractor rule, the non-manufacturer rule, various mentor-protégé rules. So, complete your Due Diligence to assure that your self-certification is 100% accurate.
• There are many links to the SBA website’s specific instructions, and all readers are encouraged to take any action based on content issued from the SBA. GSA Focus takes no liability for any actions taken by a Contractor from the content of this post.