Eligibility Requirements
Michigan Department of Transportation Small Business Program (MDOT SBP)
The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) SBP is a race and gender-neutral certification program established by the MDOT to ensure that smaller construction and contracting firms are provided with proportionate access to MDOT-let contracts. All MUCP-certified DBE/ACDBE firms qualify for participation on any contract as an MDOT SBP - if your firm is already certified as a DBE/ACDBE it will not need to apply for the MDOT SBP. Firms seeking certification as an SBP from the MUCP partners Wayne County Human Relations Division, or the Detroit Department of Transportation should not apply for certification through this portal, but by contacting those agencies. In order to qualify for certification in the MDOT SBP a firm must demonstrate to MDOT by a preponderance of available evidence that it meets all of the following eligibility criteria:
Small Business Concern
In order to be certified, a business must qualify as a small business concern as defined by the U.S. Small Business Administration regulations, 13 CFR Part 121, as amended. The applicable size standard for each applicant shall be determined by identifying the firm's primary area of work, locating the applicable North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code, and applying the corresponding Small Business Administration (SBA) size standard.
Economic Disadvantage
Firms must be 51% or more owned and controlled by individual(s) for whom a reasonable person would not consider to be disproportionately wealthy. Applicants must demonstrate that the sum total of their personal assets minus the sum total of their overall liabilities (an individual's personal total equity) does not exceed $3.41M. The calculation will not include the value of the assets that are owned or principally used to the benefit of the business seeking certification except for all equity and assets owned by affiliate firms.
Independent
Applicants must establish that they are fully independently owned and operated. MDOT will closely review a firms' personnel, management, financials, business relationships, and agreements - whether written or otherwise - to determine whether there is a reasonable suspicion that the firm may not be independent of other firms that have a vested interest in MDOT contracts.
Established Business Concern
MDOT will only certify firms that have demonstrated experience performing work within NAICS codes that are directly related to the kinds of work MDOT regularly utilizes on contracts. MDOT will not issue SBP certifications to aspirational businesses, business plans, or start-up firms, only firms that have significant, demonstrated experience performing the kinds of work typically found on MDOT contracts; typically, this experience could be demonstrated after at least one year of work in the field or after the satisfactory completion of at least one MDOT contract/subcontract.