8(a) certification for a NEMT company: who qualifies, the nine-year term, and sole-source ride contracts

The 8(a) program is SBA’s business development program for small companies owned by socially and economically disadvantaged people, and one of the few federal programs that can send a contract to a single company without competition. A ride company needs to be at least 51 percent owned and controlled by disadvantaged U.S. citizens who stay under SBA’s income and asset limits, be small for its industry, and have two years in business. Certification lasts nine years. Its contracts come from federal agencies. Government NEMT contracts covers registering in SAM.gov and finding bids.

This page covers the program’s rules and where it stands today, because the rules for new applicants changed on September 10, 2026. The other SBA-run route that depends on where a company is located is HUBZone certification.

Where does the 8(a) program stand now?

New applicants meet rules that are weeks old, in a program SBA has been auditing since June 2025. SBA’s own releases and rules give this sequence:

• June 2025. SBA began what it calls the first audit of the program in nearly 50 years, covering high-dollar and limited-competition contracts going back 15 years.
• December 2025. SBA ordered all roughly 4,300 participants to produce three years of financial records.
• January 28, 2026. SBA suspended 1,091 firms, about a quarter of participants, for missing the January 19 deadline for those records.
• February and March 2026. SBA began termination proceedings against 154 firms in the Washington, D.C. area over the economic disadvantage limits, then against 628 firms for refusing to turn over records. SBA counted nearly 800 firms, about 20 percent of participants, in termination proceedings.
• June 11, 2026. SBA proposed removing the presumption of social disadvantage and said it had approved 65 new firms under the current administration, against roughly 2,100 from 2021 through 2024.
• August 11, 2026. The final rule was published at 91 FR 51568. It took effect on September 10.
• September 10, 2026. SBA published FAQs on returning pending individually owned applications so applicants can meet the new test, and on the potential for success requirement.

SBA’s September 10 guidance gives priority review to applicants in ten defense-critical manufacturing NAICS codes, which do not include transportation. Resubmitted applications are processed from oldest to newest by original submission date, and SBA says it cannot estimate processing times for resubmitted applications.

Who qualifies for 8(a)?

A company qualifies when it is a small business, unconditionally owned and controlled by one or more socially and economically disadvantaged individuals who are of good character, are U.S. citizens residing in the United States, and show potential for success (13 CFR 124.101).

• Ownership and control. At least 51 percent owned and controlled by the disadvantaged individuals.
• Size. Small under the size standard for the company’s primary NAICS code. Special needs transportation (485991) is $19 million in average annual receipts, and ambulance services (621910) is $22.5 million.
• Two years in business. Under the potential for success rule, the company must have operated and received contracts in its primary industry for at least two full years before applying. The rule counts private-sector, state or local and federal contracts. SBA’s September 10 FAQ asks for tax returns for each of the last two years showing operating revenue and proof of contract performance in the primary NAICS code for those two years without gaps. A waiver needs five conditions, from management experience to the ability to obtain people and equipment (13 CFR 124.107).
• Good character and no federal debts. A debarred or suspended company, or one whose principals owe significant unpaid federal obligations, is ineligible unless the debt is on an approved repayment plan or settled.
• One time only. A company and each disadvantaged individual it relied on can use 8(a) once (13 CFR 124.108). A tribe or Alaska Native Corporation can qualify another firm it owns later, within limits on firms in the same primary NAICS code.

Firms owned by Indian tribes, Alaska Native Corporations, Native Hawaiian Organizations and Community Development Corporations follow separate rules and do not have to show social disadvantage.

How does the social disadvantage test work now?

An individual applicant now shows that a government or private entity favored other groups or disadvantaged the applicant’s group, then certifies two things: membership in that group at the time, and material harm from the action. The test is open to any individual U.S. citizen. It replaced the earlier presumption for listed racial and ethnic groups, effective September 10, 2026 (13 CFR 124.103).

• Evidence of the group’s treatment. Websites, policies, official statements, reports and audits, court decisions, administrative rulings or specific Congressional findings. Other adequate evidence is allowed when those are hard to find.
• Material harm. The rule defines it as loss of access to, or diminished opportunities related to, economic advancement, and the discrimination must have occurred during the applicant’s lifetime.
• No long narrative. SBA’s FAQ says a lengthy narrative is not needed. The application asks the applicant to upload evidence and choose the type of entity and the type of action.

Participants already admitted do not have to show it again, and the rule does not touch economic disadvantage. Pending applications that were returned must be updated and resubmitted within 45 calendar days of the return notice, or the system closes them.

What are the money limits?

An owner must pass three financial tests, and the asset test counts the company itself.

These come from 13 CFR 124.104. SBA also attributes assets an owner moved to family for less than fair value in the two years before applying. For a fleet owner, the asset test is the one to run first, because the value of the company counts toward the $6.5 million, along with the primary home.

After admission, SBA treats large owner withdrawals as a warning sign. In a fiscal year, withdrawals above $250,000 for a company with sales up to $1 million, $300,000 for sales of $1 million to $2 million, and $400,000 above $2 million are excessive. SBA can respond with termination, early graduation or a requirement to reinvest (13 CFR 124.112).

How long does the nine-year term last?

The term is nine years from the date on SBA’s approval letter (13 CFR 124.2). SBA’s program page calls the first four years the development stage and the last five the transitional stage. Termination, early graduation or voluntary withdrawal can shorten it.

Each year the participant sends its servicing SBA district office:

• A certification that it still meets the eligibility rules and that nothing has changed.
• Personal financial information for each disadvantaged owner.
• A record of payments to owners, officers and directors.
• A report on each 8(a) contract performed during the year, including any joint venture work.

After approval, SBA lists the approval date and the exit date on the company’s profile in SAM.gov and in the Small Business Search.

How do sole-source and set-aside ride contracts work?

A federal agency offers a requirement to SBA, and SBA either accepts it for one 8(a) firm without competition or competes it among 8(a) firms. The dividing line is the contract value with options: $5.5 million, or $8.5 million for manufacturing codes. That figure is in FAR 19.805-1 and on SBA’s program page, after the inflation adjustment that took effect on October 1, 2025. SBA’s rule at 13 CFR 124.506 still prints the older $4.5 million and $7 million.

• Above the line. SBA competes the work among 8(a) firms when it expects two or more fair offers. Firms owned by tribes or Alaska Native Corporations are the exception and can receive sole-source awards above the line.
• No splitting. A requirement above the line cannot be divided into smaller pieces to give one firm a sole-source award.
• Below the line. The overhaul text of FAR Part 19 on acquisition.gov, at 19.108-7, tells contracting officers to try a competition among 8(a) firms on the government-wide contracts SBA has approved for that use before they award a sole-source contract.
• Doing the work. On a service contract, the 8(a) firm must perform at least 50 percent of the personnel cost with its own employees (19.108-8). Joint ventures and teaming agreements explains how to bring in partner fleets within that limit.

Ride work coded 8(a) is rare. USAspending.gov lists only three awards under NAICS 485991 coded as 8(a) that were active at any point since October 2019, and all are Army contracts. The two most recent:

• Warrior Transition Battalion transportation, W91QV120C0039. An 8(a) competition with three offers, a short base period plus four option years from May 2020, and $7.5 million obligated.
• Soldier Recovery Brigade transportation, W91QV125CA053. An 8(a) sole-source award with one offer, running from September 25, 2025 with a potential total of $7.67 million including options. The winner is listed as a tribally owned firm, and tribally owned firms can receive sole-source work above the $5.5 million line, which fits a potential total of $7.67 million.

VA wheelchair van contracts for Philadelphia, Baltimore and Orlando are coded as set-asides for service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses instead, and no VA special mode contract under 485991 carries an 8(a) code in that period. VA transportation contracts explains how those awards work.

How do I apply?

SBA decides within 90 days after it receives a complete application (13 CFR 124.204).

1. Choose a primary NAICS code and register in SAM.gov. For ride work, the special needs transportation code is 485991. A Unique Entity ID comes with registration.
2. Take the eligibility questionnaire on SBA Certifications. SBA suggests meeting a local district office or an APEX Accelerator counselor before applying.
3. Gather the documents. SBA’s guidance for returned applications lists the two most recent federal business tax filings, the three most recent personal federal tax filings, and a current balance sheet and profit and loss statement.
4. Submit and wait. The company has to be eligible on the day SBA decides. A declined applicant cannot reapply for 90 days.

How does 8(a) compare with the other programs?

• HUBZone. Based on where the office and employees are, not on the owner’s finances. See HUBZone certification. SBA says it is keeping HUBZone processing times at record lows.
• DBE. A separate certification run through state transportation agencies. DOT did not accept SBA 8(a) firms automatically, as DBE certification explains.
• VetCert. The SDVOSB set-asides that VA uses for ride work. See veteran-owned NEMT business.

Showing two years of contract history

SBA asks for proof of two full years of contract performance in your primary industry, which comes from contracts and tax returns. Every completed trip in HealthRide is saved with its payer, and the payers report breaks your work down by payer, so you can show which customers you served and how much work you did in each year. The trip log also exports to CSV or PDF for the detail behind those totals. See reports.