Federal Contracting Glossary
WOSB / EDWOSB Certification
SBA programs reserving certain federal contracts for women-owned and economically disadvantaged women-owned small businesses.
Definition
The Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) Federal Contracting Program lets agencies set aside contracts for women-owned small businesses, with a parallel category for economically disadvantaged women-owned small businesses (EDWOSB). Set-asides are limited to industries (by NAICS code) where women-owned firms are determined to be underrepresented, and the government carries a 5% prime-contracting goal for WOSBs.
Eligibility now requires formal certification — firms must be certified as WOSB or EDWOSB (through SBA or an approved third-party certifier) rather than self-certifying, and must maintain an active SAM.gov registration.
How this affects your proposal
Complete formal WOSB/EDWOSB certification before relying on the set-aside — self-certification is no longer sufficient. Confirm the solicitation's NAICS code is an eligible industry before investing in the bid.
Common questions about wosb / edwosb certification
Do I have to be certified to win a WOSB set-aside?
Yes. The program requires formal WOSB or EDWOSB certification (via SBA or an approved third-party certifier) plus an active SAM.gov registration. Self-certification alone no longer qualifies.
What is the difference between WOSB and EDWOSB?
EDWOSB is a subset of WOSB that also meets economic-disadvantage criteria (net worth, income, asset limits). Some set-asides are open to all WOSBs; others are reserved for EDWOSBs.
Related terms
Set-Aside
A procurement reserved for a defined category of small business — limiting competition …
NAICS Code & Size Standard
The industry classification code assigned to a solicitation and its associated SBA size…
Small Business Offeror
An offeror that qualifies as a small business under the SBA size standard for the solic…
SAM.gov
The U.S. federal government's official system for contract opportunities and entity reg…
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