Firm Has Already Been Claimed

Only the majority firm owner is permitted to claim the company within Certify. This is because Certify offers the ability to electronically sign and submit documentation for your current federal contracting assistance programs and the owner is solely responsible for verifying the information provided as complete and accurate. Additionally, the user that claims the firm will be named as the owner in Certify.

If you are the firm owner and are receiving the message that your firm has already been claimed, there are a few things that could’ve occurred:

  1. You previously claimed the firm with a different email address

  2. Someone within your company already claimed the firm

  3. Someone who is no longer with the firm previously claimed it

In order to resolve this issue, there are a few questions we recommend you think through first:

If the answer is yes, your Certify account could be tied to that old email. Even if a firm was claimed by an account created years ago and never accessed again, Certify still considers that firm “claimed”. The quickest way to see if your old email is tied to a Certify account is to request a password reset. The instructions for a password reset can be found at:https://sbaone.atlassian.net/l/c/zXVzJ0ks. Once you have requested a password reset, wait 10 minutes and then login to your old email address. If you have an email from Certify, follow the instructions in the email, login with your new credentials and you are all set!

Check with anyone at your company that has access to the firms information to ensure that they did not accidentally claim your business. Be sure to have them search “certify@sba.gov” in their mailbox to check if they ever received a confirmation email. Even if a firm was claimed by an account created years ago and never accessed again, Certify still considers that firm “claimed”.

Check with anyone that has left your company who had access to the firms information to ensure that they did not accidentally claim your business. Be sure to have them search “certify@sba.gov” in their mailbox to check if they ever received a confirmation email. Even if a firm was claimed by an account created years ago and never accessed again, Certify still considers that firm “claimed”.