Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business certification for businesses owned and controlled by veterans with service-connected disabilities, providing eligibility for set-aside contracts and federal contracting preferences.
SDVOSB stands for Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business. To qualify, you must be a small business that is at least 51% owned and controlled by a veteran with a service-connected disability rating. The VA issues disability ratings (10% through 100%), and you need a VA disability rating to qualify. You also need to be involved in day-to-day operations and demonstrate control over business decisions. The VA's Office of Veterans Business Development verifies SDVOSB status through the VA Vendor Information Pages (VIP) database.
The contracting advantage is powerful. The federal government has a 3% contracting goal for SDVOSB firms, and agencies actively seek to award set-asides to service-disabled veterans. Additionally, many SDVOSB firms find that contracting officers and program managers have genuine goodwill toward their businesses. There's an ethos in government that supporting veteran-owned companies is part of the mission. The VA also provides counseling, training, and mentoring through Veteran Business Outreach Centers across the country, many of which are tailored to government contracting specifically.
The practical reality: get your VA disability rating confirmed before you market yourself as SDVOSB. The verification process requires documentation from the VA, so don't claim SDVOSB status on proposals until you're registered in the VA VIP system. Once verified, you unlock not just set-asides but also noncompetitive sole-source contract authority for contracts under $5.5 million. That's comparable to 8(a) authority. Beyond federal contracting, many states and localities also provide contracting preferences and contracting set-asides for SDVOSB firms, expanding your total addressable market.