SDVOSB Certification for Cleaning Companies

Certification authority for veteran-owned federal contractors moved from the VA to the Small Business Administration on January 1, 2023, when the SBA stood up the Veteran Small Business Certification Program, commonly shortened to VetCert, at veterans.certify.sba.gov. That transfer matters to a janitorial contractor for one practical reason: applications, document uploads, and status checks all run through SBA systems now, not the VA's old Center for Verification and Evaluation. As of an August 2025 VA notice, contracting officers are directed to confirm SDVOSB/VOSB status through the SBA's Dynamic Small Business Search (DSBS) database as the official system of record, with the older VetCert list retained only for legacy firms not yet migrated into DSBS.

VOSB versus SDVOSB: two statuses, one application system

Veteran-Owned Small Business (VOSB) status requires that veterans hold at least 51 percent unconditional ownership and control day-to-day management and long-term decision-making of the firm. Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) status carries the same ownership and control test, narrowed to veterans with a VA-documented service-connected disability rating of any percentage; there is no minimum severity threshold, only the requirement that the rating be on file with the VA and that the disabled veteran actually control operations, not merely hold equity. Both statuses run through the same SBA certification portal and the same 13 CFR Part 128 regulatory framework; a firm applies once and SBA determines which designation, or both, the business qualifies for based on the documentation submitted.

Reviewers spend most of their time on the control test, not the ownership percentage. Operating agreements, bylaws, and buy-sell provisions get checked line by line for supermajority voting requirements, non-veteran manager authority, or any clause that could let a minority owner override the veteran's decisions, a common rejection point for cleaning companies that brought in a business partner or outside capital after founding.

Why the VA matters more than most agencies for this certification

The VA sets aside a defined share of its annual contract dollars specifically for certified VOSBs and SDVOSBs under its Vets First program, a priority structure that predates the 2023 transfer of certification authority to SBA and still governs how VA contracting officers sequence their acquisition strategy: VOSB/SDVOSB set-asides are considered before the agency opens a janitorial solicitation to full and open competition. Outside the VA, SDVOSB-certified firms (not VOSB alone) are eligible for set-aside and sole-source opportunities government-wide, meaning a certified janitorial company can pursue custodial work at GSA, DoD, and other agencies under the same certification, not just VA medical centers and regional offices.

Building a clean application file

Before starting the online application, a cleaning company should have SAM.gov registration active (certification cannot proceed without it), articles of incorporation or organization with all amendments, bylaws or an operating agreement showing voting rights and management authority, the veteran owner's DD-214, and for SDVOSB specifically, the VA disability rating letter. Financial records demonstrating that capital contributions match the claimed ownership percentage matter too. A 51 percent ownership claim unsupported by proportional capital investment invites reviewer scrutiny. Processing time depends on application completeness and current SBA caseload; firms that submit a complete package on the first pass avoid the multi-round document-request cycle that stretches out incomplete applications by weeks or months.

Certification is not permanent. SBA conducts continued-eligibility reviews, and a change in ownership structure, a departing veteran owner, or new equity partners can trigger a re-review or loss of status mid-contract, a real risk for firms that grow past a single-founder structure without updating their filings.

Sole-source authority and how it changes your sales motion

Beyond competitive set-asides, SDVOSB status carries sole-source contracting authority that a contracting officer can use to award a contract directly to a certified firm without a competitive solicitation, up to statutory dollar thresholds. For a janitorial company, that authority changes the sales conversation entirely: instead of waiting for an RFP to post and competing against other bidders, a certified SDVOSB can build a direct relationship with a facility manager or contracting officer and be considered for a sole-source award if the anticipated contract value falls under the applicable ceiling and the officer determines the firm can perform the work. This is why many veteran-owned cleaning companies treat relationship-building with agency facilities staff as a core business development activity, not a supplement to formal bid response. The certification exists specifically to enable that direct path.

Sole-source use still requires the contracting officer to document a reasonable basis for the award and to confirm your SDVOSB status is current in the SBA's Dynamic Small Business Search at the time of award, so keeping your certification renewal current is not optional paperwork; it is the difference between being eligible for that direct conversation and being invisible to it.

Recertification and what triggers a review

SBA's continued-eligibility framework means a verified SDVOSB is not verified permanently. Recertification cycles, ownership changes, changes in the controlling veteran's role, bringing on new equity partners, or a change in the company's principal place of business can all trigger a fresh eligibility review. Cleaning companies growing through acquisition or bringing in outside capital to fund equipment and staffing expansion should model the recertification risk into that growth planning, since diluting the veteran owner's stake below 51 percent, even temporarily during a financing transaction, can jeopardize status that took months to establish.

Documenting past performance as a newly certified firm

A common gap for freshly certified SDVOSB janitorial companies is a thin past performance record specific to government work, even when the company has years of solid commercial cleaning history. Contracting officers evaluating a set-aside proposal generally accept comparable commercial past performance as a substitute when a firm is new to federal contracting, provided the referenced work matches the scope and scale of the solicitation reasonably well. Document commercial contracts with the same rigor you would a federal one: contract value, square footage or facility type, duration, and a point of contact who will actually respond to an evaluator's call. Pairing a strong commercial track record with active SDVOSB certification gives a newly certified firm a credible path to its first federal or VA award without waiting years to build a CPARS history first.

Frequently asked questions

Does self-certifying as veteran-owned in SAM.gov give me set-aside eligibility? No. SAM.gov self-representation is not a verified status. Only SBA certification through veterans.certify.sba.gov qualifies a firm for SDVOSB set-aside or sole-source contracting.

What happened to the old VA CVE verification process? CVE verification responsibilities transferred to SBA on January 1, 2023, under the National Defense Authorization Act of 2021. Firms previously verified by CVE needed to migrate their status into the SBA's system.

Is a minor disability rating enough to qualify for SDVOSB? Yes. Any documented service-connected disability rating qualifies on the disability requirement; the ownership and control tests are the elements that most often disqualify an otherwise eligible applicant.

How do contracting officers check my certification status today? Through the SBA's Dynamic Small Business Search database, which is now the official system of record; older static VetCert listings are being phased out as SAM.gov records are updated.