Broward County Federal Small Business Element (FSBE) Certification

 
Broward County has implemented a Federal Small Business Element, under its Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) Program Plan, as a DBE-neutral means of promoting small business participation. The FSBE does not consider race or sex as eligibility requirements for certification. It is designed to facilitate competition by small businesses on Broward County contracts receiving funding from the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT).

Firms recognized by Broward County as FSBE-certified will be listed in its Certified Firm Directory, within the County's Business Management System (BMS), powered by B2Gnow – https://broward.gob2g.com. The FSBE certification application is also available on the BMS portal.


Eligibility Requirements:


To be considered eligible to participate under this program, firms must meet the following criteria:

  • Majority owners must be legal residents and citizens of the Unites States of America

  • Firm must be a small business as defined by the federal Small Business Administration (SBA)[1] under 13 CFR 121.201.

 
https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-13/chapter-I/part-121/subpart-A/subject-group-ECFRf12a11421b08a31/section-121.201.
 

    • Be a for-profit business of any legal structure

    • Be independently owned and operated

    • Not be nationally dominant in its field

    • Be physically located and operate in the U.S. or its territories

 

  • Personal Net Worth (PNW): The FSBE PNW cap is equal to that of the federal DBE Program, which is currently $2.047 million (excluding personal residence and ownership interest in the company).

 
(The DBE PNW cap may be subject to adjustment, by the Secretary of USDOT, every three years to account for inflation - https://www.transportation.gov/DBEPNW.)
 

  • Gross Receipts: Revenues averaged over the previous five years must not exceed the Small Business Administration (SBA) size standards for the primary NAICS code of the firm. For firms working on FTA or FHWA funded projects, the revenues averaged over a five-year period must not exceed $30.72 million. (As of March 1, 2024)

 
Broward County will utilize the following strategies to foster FSBE participation.

1.     Establishing an FSBE set-aside for prime contracts up to $2.5 million in value. These set-asides will be reserved for FSBEs with, documented and supported, PNWs under $10 million.

2.     Requiring prime vendors, responding to Broward County solicitations for multi-year design-build contracts or megaprojects (very large projects), to specify elements of the contract or specific subcontracts that are of a size that FSBEs and firms certified under the federal DBE program can reasonably perform.

 
3.     On prime contracts for which no DBE contract goals have been assigned, requiring the prime contractor to provide subcontracting opportunities of a size that small businesses, including DBEs, can reasonably perform, rather than self-performing all the work involved.
 

Mandatory Support Documents (to be uploaded in BMS)
 

  • Signed FSBE Affidavit for qualifying owner(s)

  • Personal Net Worth Statement

  • Personal federal tax returns for the past 3 years

  • Federal signed tax returns filed by the firm and its affiliates with all schedules, for the past 5 years (and requests for extensions as applicable)

  • Proof of previous certification(s)

  • Documented proof of any transfers of assets to/from your firm and/or to/from any of its owners over the past 2 years

  • Documented proof of contributions used to acquire ownership for each owner or notarized letter

  • Proof of legal residency/ citizenship status

 
Required Support Documents (to be uploaded to BMS)

  • Professional licenses as applicable

 
 
Online Application – How to Apply
 ​
As of January 26, 2026, small business certification applications and renewals will be accepted through the new Broward County Business Management System (BMS). Please visit the BMS to set up your BMS vendor profile and to apply for certification.

APPLY NOW!​


Upon submitting your certification application, the next step is to become a registered vendor with Broward County in BPRO, Broward County's new Electronic Procurement System . Register to access all current Broward County solicitations and systems. The process is free! To learn more, visit the Purchasing Division website.

Continuing Eligibility Under the FSBE Program

On an annual basis, firms certified by Broward County must demonstrate their continued eligibility to remain certified under the FSBE program. Within 30 days of their anniversary date, which is the month and day on which they were initially certified under the program, the following documents must be uploaded in the BMS - https://broward.gob2g.com.

  1. Completed FSBE Continuing Eligibility Affidavit

  2. Personal Net Worth Statement

  3. Personal federal tax returns for the past 3 years

  4. Federal signed tax returns filed by the firm and its affiliates with all schedules, for the past 5 years (and requests for extensions as applicable)

  5. Additional required documentation/updated information (as applicable) – e.g., new corporate lease agreement, renewed professional licenses, change in company ownership, change in contact information, etc.)

 

For more information about the FSBE Program, please contact us at (954) 357-6400.



[1] For information on SBA size standards, visit: http://www.sba.gov/content/determining-size-standards. (13 C.F.R. Part 121.103.)


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