Why DBE Certified?
Are you a Minority or Women owned firm that meets the requirements for a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE)? If so, become a certified DBE with INDOT and take advantage of this opportunity to grow your business.
The Ohio River Bridges Project's Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) programs help DBE-eligible businesses identify and access opportunities within the Bridges Project. The DBE programs in both Kentucky and Indiana help pair small, disadvantaged, minority- and women-owned firms with prime contractors, local and state agencies, private companies and other businesses involved in the Bridges Project. These mentoring and assistance relationships allow DBEs to interact with some of the world's leading design and construction firms.
Qualifications for DBE Certification
To qualify as a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise, a firm must be:
- At least 51 percent owned by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals who:
- Are US citizens or permanent residents
- Possess expertise in the field
- Control the daily business operations
- Have a personal net worth less than $1,320,000 (excluding the value of their
primary residence and assets of the firm applying for DBE certification)
- The following groups are presumed by law to be socially and economically disadvantaged:
- Black Americans
- Hispanic Americans
- Native Americans Asian-Pacific Americans
- Subcontinent Asian Americans
- Women
- A small business as defined by the Small Business Administration (SBA) which means:
- The firm's average annual gross receipts may not exceed Small Business Administration size standards
- In any case a firm's gross receipts may not exceed a $22,410,000 average over the previous three fiscal years
