8a Application Program

Application Submittal

The application is received by the Division of Program Certification and Eligibility (DPCE). The SBA Associate Administrator of Business Development (AA/BD), the reviewer of the application, then has 15 days to review the application after receipt.

Complete Application

The SBA will then advise each program applicant if the application is complete and suitable for evaluation. If the application is not complete the AA/BD will notify the applicant of what additional information or clarifications are required in order to process the application.

Failed Review for Completeness

If the application is found to be incomplete and not-suitable for review by the DPCE the application will be returned to the applicant (this occurs approximately 70 percent of the time). This is because the burden of proof to demonstrate eligibility is on the applicant concern. The SBA will presume that the disclosure of missing information would adversely affect the firm and would demonstrate lack of eligibility in which the information relates. Note: An application that fails a review for completeness can be resubmitted because the SBA did not render a decision on the application.

Decision Timeframe

Once the additional information that has been requested by the AA/BD had been received and the application is viewed to be complete the SBA then has 90 days to process the application (currently the SBA is behind and taking the full 90 days). The SBA in most cases will ask for additional clarification for items within the application. In addition the applicant must be eligible as of the date the AA/BD issues a decision.

Failed Application

If the application is rejected by the SBA the applicant has 45 days to ask the SBA to reconsider the SBA’s initial decision. The AA/BD will issue a written decision within 45 days of the SBA’s receipt of the applicant’s request. If the application is unsuccessful the applicant firm will be barred from reapplying to the 8a program for a period of 1 year. Please feel free to give us a call. In a 10-minute call we can determine if your firm is eligible for 8a certification. The fee for our full application package is $3,975.