Veteran-Friendly Business Enterprise Procurement Program (VBE)

The state of Ohio's Veteran-Friendly Business Enterprise (VBE) Procurement program provides preference or bonus points to certified companies that compete to contract with the state to supply the goods or services it needs, including eligible construction services.

• Locate VBE-certified businesses (Excel)
• Check procurement and construction bid announcements

VBE Eligibility

To be eligible for certification, the applicant business must satisfy one of the following criteria:

• At least 10% of its employees are veterans or on active service.
• At least 51% of the applicant business is owned by veterans or persons on active service.
• If the applicant business is a corporation 51% of which is not owned by veterans or persons on active service, at least 51% of the board of directors are veterans or persons on active service.
• The business is certified by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs as a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business or a Veteran-Owned Small Business and the owner(s) of the business meets the definition of veteran as defined in Rule 123:5-1-01(II) of the Ohio Administrative Code.

Benefits of VBE Certification

The VBE program applies to all state agencies' purchases made by bid or proposal under chapter 125 of the Ohio Revised Code (R.C.). Essentially, the program allows for:

• Prices on bids submitted by veteran-friendly businesses to exceed those prices on bids submitted by businesses not certified as veteran-friendly by up to 5% and still be eligible for winning the award.
• Scores on proposals submitted by veteran-friendly businesses to be up to 5% lower than the proposal scores submitted by businesses not certified as veteran-friendly and still be eligible for winning the award.

Steps for VBE Certification

The applicant must complete a Unified Application through the Ohio Business Gateway and provide supporting documentation as required. Only complete applications, including all required supporting documentation, will be reviewed. Applications are subject to on-site review by state compliance officers. Upon application approval, the company receives its certification by email. Reviews take an average of 60 business days or less from the time a completed application is submitted.

For certain applications, however, a “fast track” system reduces application time to approximately five days. To qualify for “fast track” processing, the applicant must submit the application through one of the regional Minority Business Assistance Centers, which are operated by the Ohio Department of Development, and the applicant must have a pending contract award that requires certification or be a candidate for and in need of financing or bonding where certification is a requirement.