The Office of Minority and Women’s Business Enterprises appreciates your support in encouraging businesses to get certified with the state. Please consider using a survey during the bidding process to identify potentially qualifying businesses, then reaching out by email based on the response if appropriate. The survey can be provided as a form or on an agency-approved survey platform.

Suggested Survey Questions:

1. Is your business certified with the Washington State Office of Minority & Women’s Business Enterprise (OMWBE)? If yes, please provide us with your Certification number.
   1. If your business is not certified, is your business at least 51% owned by a minority, woman, or socially and economically disadvantaged individual?
   2. If yes, please visit the OMWBE Certification page to apply for certification or contact OMWBE Certification Technical Assistance.
2. Is your business certified with the Washington Department of Veteran’s Affairs (WDVA)? If yes, please provide us with your Certification number:
   1. If your business is not certified with WDVA, is your business at least 51% owned and controlled by a Veteran of any branch of the United States armed forces?
   2. If yes, please contact vob@dva.wa.gov for assistance with registering with DVA.
3. Will you be using subcontractors that are certified with OMWBE?
   1. If yes, please complete a Subcontractor Inclusion Plan.
   2. If you are working with a subcontractor that is interested in OMWBE certification please direct them to OMWBE Certification to apply for certification or contact OMWBE Certification Technical Assistance.

Email Message:

You can follow up with businesses that indicate that they are Veteran-owned or might qualify for OMWBE certification using the following message:

Greetings [BUSINESS CONTACT NAME],

We recognize and appreciate your investment in supporting our state by bidding and working with our agency. Your business might qualify for certification as a minority-, woman-, or veteran-owned business. We encourage you to consider making the investment of time to complete the state OMWBE certification and/or WDVA certification process. State agencies value this certification and are required to make active efforts to use certified business per Executive Order 22-01.

Please visit our Certification Eligibility page or contact OMWBE Technical Assistance if you have questions about eligibility and the certification process.

← Back to Outreach

Toolkit Workshops