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Skip Navigation LinksBroward CountyEconomic and Small Business DevelopmentFederal Certification Programs

 Federal Certification Programs

  

Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) 

The Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) program is administered by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to provide a vehicle for increasing the participation of minority business enterprises in state and local procurement. The DOT DBE program is implemented by recipients of DOT Federal Financial Assistance. The Office of Economic and Small Business Development (OESBD) works to certify local firms under the DBE program and to establish annual DBE participation goals for Broward County's aviation and transit projects.

The DBE Program Title 49 Code of Federal Regulations Part 26 (49 CFR 26), the guidelines for this program, can be viewed in entirety online. As mandated in 49 CFR 26, OESBD accepts applications for DBE certification through the State of Florida Unified Certification (UCP) Program, a "one-stop shop" for DBE applicants managed by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT). FDOT maintains an electronic DBE Directory of its certified firms. 

DBE Eligibility Requirements

  • A business that is 51% owned, controlled and managed by socially and economically disadvantaged U.S. citizen or legal resident who belongs to one or more of the following categories:
  •  Afric​an-American / Black
  • Asian-Pacific
  •  Hispanic
  • Native
  •  Subcontinent-Asian 
  • Woman
  • Any other group classified as disadvantaged by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).

Note: An individual who is not a member of the groups listed above may still be DBE certified by establishing socially disadvantaged status. 

 

  • An individual owner's Personal Net Worth (PNW) must not exceed $1.32 million excluding personal residence and ownership interest in the company
  • Must be a small business as defined by the SBA
  • Must be organized as a for-profit business
  • Must be independent

DBE Materials

Airport Concessions Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (ACDBE)

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) maintains the Department of Transportation (DOT) Airport Concessions Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (ACDBE) program. The purpose of the ACDBE program is to increase opportunities for minority and women-owned small businesses to operate as concessionaires in airports around the country. OESBD works to certify local firms as ACDBEs and to establish annual ACDBE participation goals for the County's airport projects.

The ACDBE program for airport concessions is implemented under Title 49 Code of Federal Regulations Part 23 (49 CFR 23) which can also be viewed online. Florida's certified ACDBE firms are also listed in FDOT's UCP DBE Directory.

ACDBE Eligibility Requirements
  • A business that is 51% owned, controlled and managed by socially and economically disadvantaged U.S. citizen or legal resident who belongs to one or more of the following categories:
    •  African​​-American / Black
    • Asian-Pacific
    •  Hispanic
    • Native
    •  Subcontinent-Asian 
    • Woman
    • Any other group classified as disadvantaged by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).

    Note: An individual who is not a member of the groups listed above may still be DBE certified by establishing socially disadvantaged status. 

  • An individual owner's Personal Net Worth (PNW) must not exceed $1.32 million excluding personal residence and ownership interest in the company
  • Must be a small business as defined by the SBA
  • Must be organized as a for-profit business
  • Must be independent
  • Gross receipts averaged over the three previous years must not exceed $52.47 million

Application

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