Guidance to Submitting an 8(a) Application 

Purpose: 

On August 24, 2016, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA)’s 8(a) Business Development (BD) Program updated Title 13 of the Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.) Part 124. These changes included the requirement that all 8(a) applications along with supporting documentation must now be filed electronically. As a result, the 8(a) BD program is establishing an interim business process for 8(a) Applicant Firms to meet this requirement. For electronic filing, we have established a website portal for you to upload your 8(a) application and supporting documentation to the SBA. 

Interim Application Process: 

Step 1: You will need to complete your 8(a) application in the BDMIS system. 

Step 2: You will need to upload the 8(a) application and supporting documentation via https://Certify.sba.gov/8a-docs. 

Supporting Documentation for 8(a) Application: 

Please see Appendix A for the required documents that need to be submitted to the SBA as part of your application for certification in the 8(a) BD Program. Ensure that you have thoroughly reviewed the information and have provided all of the applicable documentation. Please note that SBA may still request additional information from you if it is necessary to make an eligibility determination. 

Naming Convention When Saving File and Uploading File: 

Each pdf file should be named in the following format as you save it: 

FIRM NAME_DUNS NUMBER_ TYPE OF FILE.pdf. 

For example, if you are uploading your 2015 personal Federal tax return, the pdf file should be named: 

ABC LLC_123456789_2015 Personal Federal Tax Return.pdf 

You will need to upload the following: 

1. One file that contains the BDMIS application package which includes the executed signature pages. 

2. Supporting documentation files; please note that you will need to upload each type of supporting document separately. NOTE - do not load each page separately. 

Important Reminders: 

1. Documents requiring signatures and dates should be dated as close to the time of submission as possible. 

2. Interim business financial statements should be as recent as possible (i.e., as close to the submission date as possible and preferably no older than 90 days). The net income reported on the income (profit & loss) statement should match that reported on the balance sheet. 

3. Economic disadvantage narratives are no longer required. For the economic narrative section in BDMIS, you can simply enter: “Please see SBA Form 413”. 

4. The information on the SBA Form 413 should be no older than 30 days. 

5. Applicants should obtain & review their/the firm’s credit reports. If there are any outstanding liens/judgments, they should be resolved before the application is submitted. Applicants should provide a copy of the lien release, cancelled check or bank statement verifying payment, or letter verifying satisfaction of the judgment. Credit reports are not required to be submitted to SBA. 

6. Although SBA will exclude the equity in the primary residence, equity in the applicant concern, and the value of all legitimate retirement accounts from the net worth calculation, applicants are still required to report these assets on the personal financial statement (SBA Form 413). 

7. If an applicant(s) or the firm filed an extension with the IRS, the SBA still requires three years of individual and business income tax returns. For instance, if the applicant requested an extension for the 2016 tax return, SBA will require tax returns for 2013- 2015. 

8. If the individual income tax returns indicate a value on line seven (7), you must provide W-2’s matching this value. 

9. If the individual income tax returns indicate an amount due to the IRS, you must provide a copy of a cancelled check or bank statement verifying payment of the taxes owed. If an IRS approved installment agreement exists, provide a copy of the agreement and copies of the last three cancelled checks evidencing payment in accordance with the agreement. 

10. You are not required to submit every contract/invoice for the previous two years unless specifically requested to do so by the analyst reviewing the application. 

11. When determining economic disadvantage, community property laws are not taken into consideration. However, a transmutation agreement, or other such document, may be necessary for the purposes of establishing 51% unconditional ownership of the applicant firm. 

APPENDIX A 

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