Independent · not SAM.gov

Government contracting for veterans

Updated 13 November 2026

SAM.gov registration and veteran certification are two different things, run through two different systems, and neither needs a paid "veteran certification package," whatever a sales page tells you. Finishing SAM.gov registration does not flag your business as veteran-owned for set-aside purposes. That status has to be applied for and approved on its own, which is what the rest of this page walks through. ZeroGov is an independent site, not SAM.gov, the VA or SBA, so confirm anything that matters with SBA or SAM.gov before you rely on it.

Registration and certification are not the same step

Basic SAM.gov registration gets you a Unique Entity ID, a CAGE code, and a set of self-certifications about your business, including whether you qualify as small under your NAICS code. If you have not done that part yet, the SAM.gov registration checklist walks through it in order, which matters because the entity validation step is where most people get stuck.

Veteran status is a separate layer on top. Being a small business does not make you a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business, even if the founder is a veteran with a service-connected disability. You have to apply, provide documentation, and be approved. Skipping this step is a common reason veteran-owned companies never see the set-aside contracts they assumed they would qualify for.

What "service-disabled veteran-owned" actually means

To qualify as an SDVOSB, a business generally has to be at least 51 percent owned by one or more veterans with a service-connected disability, and those veterans have to control the company's day-to-day management and long-term decisions (13 CFR 128.200). Ownership on paper is not enough if someone else runs the business. It is the same kind of ownership-and-control test used for other SBA programs such as 8(a) or WOSB, applied to a different group.

SDVOSB versus VOSB: the difference that trips people up

VOSB (Veteran-Owned Small Business, without the disability requirement) and SDVOSB get used interchangeably in casual conversation, and they should not be. Since January 1, 2023, SBA certifies both through its Veteran Small Business Certification program, called VetCert, at certifications.sba.gov. A certified VOSB can compete for set-aside and sole source work at the VA. A certified SDVOSB can compete for set-aside and sole source work across the federal government as well as at the VA. SBA says VA set-aside and sole source work requires certification, with no self-certification option (SBA veteran contracting programs).

The government-wide SDVOSB set-aside is a choice, not an automatic rule. A contracting officer may set work aside for SDVOSBs when market research gives a reasonable expectation that two or more eligible SDVOSBs will bid and that award can be made at a fair market price (FAR 19.1405). The mandatory small business Rule of Two sits elsewhere in the FAR and is a different test. The model text in the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul keeps the same "may" for SDVOSB set-asides. The overhaul is still proposed rulemaking applied by agency deviation, as the FAR overhaul explainer describes.

Where certification actually happens

Certification runs through SBA at certifications.sba.gov, not through SAM.gov, not through the VA and not through a private firm. You submit documents establishing your veteran status, your disability rating if you are applying as an SDVOSB, and proof of ownership and control, and SBA reviews them. If a company asks you to pay a flat fee to "get you certified," ask what it does that you cannot do yourself by filling out the application and submitting the same documents. Often the honest answer is paperwork assembly, which can help if your time is tight, but it is not a certification only they can obtain.

New to contracting? You are not disqualified

Plenty of veterans hesitate because they have no federal past performance history. Contracting officers may consider related experience, including state, local and private contracts and subcontract work, when they evaluate a new company (FAR 15.305). It is a real disadvantage compared with a firm that has a decade of federal history, but it is not a locked door. Once you land a first award, it is also worth understanding how contractor status differs from federal employment in a shutdown, since the protections are not the same; the page on how a government shutdown affects your contract covers that gap.

A first award also brings employer duties that have nothing to do with your own veteran status. A contract of $200,000 or more means listing your job openings with the state job bank and filing an annual VETS-4212 report on your workforce, whatever your headcount. Our page on affirmative action rules for small federal contractors sets out those lines.

Your veteran status does not count for anything in federal contracting until the right agency certifies it. Claiming it on a form is the easy part. SBA approval is what opens the door to set-aside contracts.

Independent information, not legal advice. Confirm status and rules on sam.gov and the current FAR text.