Heads up
Verify DBE status carefully right now: under the USDOT Interim Final Rule issued October 3, 2025, existing DBE and ACDBE certifications are being re-evaluated and may not be counted toward contract goals until a firm is recertified. Confirm a firm's current status before relying on it.
Washington state directories
Start with the official state directory. It lists firms Washington has certified, and it is the source public buyers and prime contractors use to confirm a firm counts toward state and federally funded contract goals.
OMWBE Certified Business Directory
The Office of Minority and Women's Business Enterprises directory of certified firms, searchable by certification type (state MBE, WBE, MWBE, CBE, LGBTQBE, and SEDBE; federal DBE, ACDBE, and SBE), commodity code, and location. OMWBE tells buyers to confirm status against the directory, not a firm's certification letter.
Open the directory ↗Northwest Mountain Minority Supplier Development Council
The regional National Minority Supplier Development Council affiliate serving Washington. Corporate buyers source certified Minority Business Enterprises (MBEs) through its network.
Northwest Mountain Minority Supplier Development Council ↗Federal set-aside firms in Washington
For federal contracts and subcontracting plans, search SAM.gov and filter by location and socioeconomic status: 8(a), Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB), Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned (SDVOSB), and HUBZone. These are separate from the state and council certifications above, and buyers count them differently.
Verify before you rely on a certification
A certificate on its own is not proof. Before you count a Washington supplier toward a diverse spend goal or a subcontracting plan:
- Confirm the record is active, not expired, in the issuing directory above.
- Check the certification type matches what your program counts. MBE, DBE, WOSB, and CBE are not interchangeable.
- Keep a dated screenshot or export of the directory record for your compliance file.
More Washington resources
- Washington certification and contracting programs on SupplierDiversity.com.
- The national directories (NMSDC, WBENC, NGLCC, Disability:IN, NaVOBA) for suppliers certified outside Washington.
- Every certifying body, what it certifies, and how to verify.