Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise

The U.S. Federal Government has put in place programs to support veteran-owned businesses. These include training initiatives as well as government contracts that are set aside for veteran-owned businesses.

The State of California which has the highest amount of veterans of any state in the U.S. (over 1.6 million) has its own version of this program for disabled veteran business enterprises (DVBE). To be considered for the program the veteran must meet the requirements below (from Caltrans).

Who qualifies?

• A veteran of the U.S. military, naval, or air service;
• The veteran must have a service-connected disability of at least 10% or more; and
• The veteran must reside in California.

What are the benefits?

Once an enterprise meets those requirements they are able to bid on the state’s contracts set aside for DVBEs. This special contract pool amounts to at least 3% of. the state’s annual contract dollars.

• State-certified DVBEs are eligible for the state’s DVBE Participation Program. The program sets the goal to use DVBEs in at least three percent of the state’s overall annual contract dollars.
• State agencies may use a streamlined process known as the “SB/DVBE Option” by contracting directly with a California-certified DVBE business for goods, services, information technology and public works projects. The solicitation must be valued at more than $5,000, and the State agency must obtain price quotes from at least two California-certified DVBE businesses. For more information, see Government Code Sections 14838.5 and 14838.7.

As you can see, the program is designed to allow disabled vets to thrive in a number of different areas.

We are here to help

If you are a contractor looking for a certified DVBE for your construction project, please reach out to us here.

If you are a disabled vet looking to start your own venture, drop us a line here. We have started from the bottom and built a multi-millionaire dollar enterprise and we would like to see other vets do the same.

The Belcastro Group