CERTIFICATION OVERVIEW
The WBENC certification for women-owned businesses is one of the most widely recognized and respected certifications in the nation. Accepted by major Fortune 500 corporations across the country and a number of federal and government agencies, your WBENC certification will be an important marketing tool for expanding your company’s visibility among decision makers in corporate supplier diversity and procurement.
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| The Certification Process
WBENC Certification is a great marketing tool that will help you access corporations interested in doing business with women business enterprises. Getting Certified with WBENC means that you have qualified as a bona fide woman owned business.
Getting certified can take up to 90 days and is an involved process that requires that your company can prove that it is majority owned by a woman or a group of women. First you must determine if you are eligible for certification. Once you have determined your eligibility, you must follow the 4 steps outlined below.
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Do You Qualify?
Criteria for Certification:
- Fifty-one percent ownership by a woman or women.
- Proof of effective management and control of the business (operating position, by-laws, hire-fire and other decision-making role, signature role on loans and contracts)
- Contribution of capital and/or expertise
- Independence
- U.S. Citizenship or U.S. Resident Alien Status
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| Step 1 |
Online application: www.wbenc.org has the certification application which must be completed on line: http://www.wbenclink.org. Please review all instructions before completing the application. An extensive list of documents is also required and must be submitted with your application. |
| Step 2 |
Certification Committee Review: A trained and experienced committee will review your application and supporting documents. |
| Step 3 |
Site Visit: A site visit will be conducted for all applications that are reviewed by the Certification Review Committee. The majority owner(s) must be present at the site visit. The site visit must take place at the company headquarters. |
| Step 4 |
Decision: A report is completed after the site visit which is presented at the next committee meeting and the committee decides to award or deny certification. In the event that an application is denied there is an appeals process which allows an applicant to request further review of the application if she feels that the committee made their decision in error. |
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WBENC Certificates are valid for one year and must be renewed annually.
Application Processing Fee is $500
Annual Recertification Process Fee is $400
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WBENC strictly adheres to its Standard and Procedures for application review. Please click here for a copy of the WBENC Standards and Procedures: http://www.wbenc.org/default/Documents/WBENC CERTIFICATION StandardsandProcedures.pdf
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