Executive Order
Jan 2025
EO 14173, 'Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity' (Jan 21, 2025)
Executive Order 14173, issued January 21, 2025, rescinds prior executive orders directing federal agencies to pursue diversity, equity, and inclusion in contracting and employment. The order does NOT amend the underlying statutory federal small-business set-aside framework, which remains in force.
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CFR Amendment
Jan 2024
49 CFR § 26.68(a); 89 FR 24898, 24971 (Apr. 9, 2024, eff. May 9, 2024)
Effective May 9, 2024, the US DOT raised the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) program's personal net worth cap from $1,320,000 to $2,047,000, and excluded qualified retirement accounts from the calculation for the first time.
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Court Case
Jul 2023
Ultima Servs. Corp. v. U.S. Dep't of Agric., No. 2:20-cv-00041 (E.D. Tenn. July 19, 2023)
A federal district court ruled that the SBA's longstanding rebuttable presumption that members of certain racial and ethnic minority groups are 'socially disadvantaged' for 8(a) purposes violates the Equal Protection guarantee of the Fifth Amendment. The 8(a) program continues to operate, but every applicant must now affirmatively demonstrate social disadvantage.
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SBA Rule
May 2023
13 CFR § 124.104(c)(2); 13 CFR § 127.203(c)
Effective December 19, 2022, the SBA raised the personal net worth cap for 8(a) and EDWOSB economic disadvantage from $750,000 to $850,000, with proportional increases to the adjusted gross income cap ($350,000 to $400,000) and total assets cap ($6 million to $6.5 million). The same $850,000 cap applies throughout the 9-year 8(a) term; there is no separate, higher continuing-eligibility threshold.
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CFR Amendment
Jan 2023
13 CFR Part 128 (effective January 1, 2023)
Effective January 1, 2023, the Small Business Administration took over federal veteran small-business certification from the Department of Veterans Affairs's Center for Verification and Evaluation (CVE). All veteran small businesses now apply through SBA Certify regardless of which agency they sell to.
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CFR Amendment
Dec 2022
13 CFR Part 121; 87 Fed. Reg. 69118 (Nov 17, 2022)
Effective December 19, 2022, the SBA raised its revenue-based small-business size standards by approximately 13.65% to account for inflation since the prior adjustment. Employee-based size standards were not affected. The change made thousands of firms newly eligible as 'small' for federal set-aside purposes.
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Agency Guidance
Jun 2022
13 CFR § 126.200(d), § 126.602; 89 FR 102448 (Dec. 17, 2024, eff. Jan. 16, 2025)
HUBZone certification requires that at least 35% of a firm's employees reside in a HUBZone, measured by each employee's actual residence (13 CFR 126.200(d)). SBA proposed a stricter rule for fully remote firms in 2024, then declined to adopt it: the December 2024 final rule left the 35% standard unchanged for every firm, telework or not.
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CFR Amendment
Nov 2020
13 CFR § 125.9; effective November 16, 2020
Effective November 16, 2020, the SBA consolidated the All Small Mentor-Protégé Program (ASMPP) and the legacy 8(a) Mentor-Protégé Program into a single SBA-administered program covering all federal small-business set-aside categories — 8(a), HUBZone, WOSB / EDWOSB, SDVOSB.
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CFR Amendment
Oct 2020
85 Fed. Reg. 27650 (May 11, 2020); 13 CFR § 127.300 et seq.
Effective October 15, 2020, the SBA eliminated self-certification for the Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) and Economically Disadvantaged Women-Owned Small Business (EDWOSB) federal set-aside programs. All WOSB and EDWOSB participants must now obtain SBA certification or third-party certification through approved organizations.
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FAR Clause
Oct 2020
FAR Subpart 19.15
FAR Subpart 19.15 codifies the WOSB and EDWOSB set-aside framework, including the 'Rule of Two' that requires contracting officers to set aside an acquisition for WOSB or EDWOSB if there's reasonable expectation of competitive offers from at least two such firms at fair market price.
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