An Applicant to Qualify as a Small Business Administration (SBA) Veteran or Service-Disabled Veteran (SDV) Owned Small Business, Must First be Designated by Veterans Affairs as a Veteran or SDV [38 U.S.C. § 101; 38 U.S.C. § 8127(f)(2)(B)]
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (“the VA”) is the only entity that may establish Veteran or SDV status for the purposes of the SBA Veterans Small Business Certification Program. [National Defense Authorization Act 2021 Section 862 (B) (i)]: ‘‘the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall: ‘‘… verify an individual’s status as a Veteran or a service-disabled Veteran.
The VA verifies designations of qualifying Veterans, including disability designations, for all of SBA’s VetCert application via the following statutory excerpts:
“The term “Veteran” means a person who served in the active military, naval, or air service and who was discharged or released under conditions other than dishonorable” (38 U.S.C. § 101(2)).
“The term “active duty” means— (A) full-time duty in the Armed Forces, other than active duty for training… (38 U.S.C. § 101(21)).
“A Reservist or member of the National Guard called to Federal active duty or disabled from a disease or injury incurred or aggravated in line of duty or while in training status also qualifies as a Veteran” (13 C.F.R. § 128.102).
What this effectively means:
An individual must have served in the United States Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, or Coast Guard or a reserve component thereof.
Service can be for any length of time but must be more than entry level training periods and or other follow-on training periods.
The regulation requires that the individual applying for Veteran’s status has been discharged or released from the military under other than a dishonorable status.
If you believe the VA has come to the wrong Veteran or SDV status designation:
You must contact the VA’s Veteran Benefits Administration or other VA offices to have your designations updated in their records:
May include requests to you for additional service documentation (DD214’s etc.).
May include additional requests/processes for other documentation to determine SDV status.
May require VA to acquire/ analyze documentation from DOD service records (may take additional time).
SBA VetCert and SBA’s Office of Hearings and Appeals are not able to make determinations of Veteran status or disability.