The requirements to qualify as a WBE with the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) or a WBE program administered by a city, county or state are:

• A for-profit business located in the United States;
• 51% owned by a woman, or a group of women who, but for an inheritance, contributed a proportionate amount of capital to acquire ownership;
• When applicable, governing board is controlled by a woman or a group of women;
• Top executive officer, responsible for daily operations is a woman with a technical expertise (experience) in the firm’s primary business activity;
• Women business owners are U.S. Citizens or legal residents.

Any women-owned business that applies for WBENC Certification may also simultaneously apply for WOSB certification through WBENC.

• The applicant company must be “small” in its primary industry in accordance with SBA’s size standards for that industry, as identified in 13 CFR 127.
• The applicant company must be at least fifty-one percent (51%) unconditionally and directly owned and controlled by one or more women who are U.S. citizens.
  Management and daily operation must be controlled by one or more of the women owners.
• The women owners must make long-term decisions for the business.
• One of the criteria below must also be true for CORPORATIONS ONLY:
  • Women must make up a majority of the Board of Directors OR have a majority of the Board votes through weighted voting.
  • Women must make up 51% of the voting power, sit on the Board AND have enough voting power to overcome any supermajority requirement.
• WBENC uses a two part process to ensure that the applicant company meets the WBENC WOSB Standards. This will include a thorough review of the documentation presented and a site visit interview with the female owner/s.

The requirements to qualify as a MBE with the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC) or a local MBE program administered by a city, county or state are:

•  A for-profit business located in the United States;
•  51% owned, operated, capitalized and controlled by a member(s) of a presumed group identified below, who is the top executive officer responsible for managing daily operations with a technical expertise (experience) in the firm’s primary business expertise;
•  Legal residents (green cards) are accepted by most MBE programs administered by a city, county and state; however, the NMSDC require U.S. Citizenship (no exceptions).

Generally speaking, a member(s) of a presumed group includes:

• Black American: any Black racial group originating in Africa;
• Hispanic: origins in Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Central and South American, or other Spanish or Portuguese cultures;
• Native American: a Native of Alaska or Hawaii, or certified member of a federal or state recognized Indian Tribe;
• Asian Pacific: origins in the Pacific Islands, China, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, Thailand, Burma, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore or Philippines;
• Subcontinent Asian: origins in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Maldives Islands, Nepal or Sri Lanka.