On Sept. 25, 2026, the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) issued a Final Rule which replaced the Interim Final Rule (IFR) from Oct. 3, 2025. This rule change, which eliminates the presumption of disadvantage based on race and gender, affects both the DBE and ACDBE programs.

Key takeaways from the final rule

Revising previous guidance, applicants may include race and gender in their Personal Narratives, but these details alone do not establish social disadvantage. You must provide additional evidence to demonstrate social disadvantage.

• Washington State businesses that have not submitted a reevaluation application must do so by March 24, 2027 to maintain active DBE or ACDBE certification. However, we strongly encourage you to submit your reevaluation application to OMWBE by December 1, 2026 if you have not already.
• Out-of-state businesses must get reevaluated where they originally received certification, which is known as Jurisdiction of Original Certification (JOC), before we can restore DBE or ACDBE certification with OMWBE.

The final rule applies new applicants as well as businesses that were certified with OMWBE prior to Oct. 3, 2025. In order to apply for or maintain your DBE or ACDBE certification, you must submit a Personal Narrative (PN) and Personal Net Worth (PNW) Statement to OMWBE.

Feel free to use our Personal Narrative Form to develop your statement!

Please Note - We are currently updating our guidelines and processes to align with the Final Rule. Expect additional updates soon.