By law, District agencies will exercise their contracting and procurement authority so as to meet, on an annual basis, the goal of procuring and subcontracting 50 percent of the dollar volume of its goods and services, including construction goods and services, to Small Business Enterprises (SBEs) with the expendable budget. 

District agencies whose contracts are in excess of $250,000 require a 35 percent SBE subcontracting utilization plan and monitoring throughout the life of the contract unless a waiver is granted. However, for contracts that fall beneath the $250,000 threshold, these purchases must be set aside for CBEs. 

The DSLBD monitors three (3) Agency Compliance areas:

• Agency expendable operating budget and capital budget compliance for SBE expenditures.
• Contracts over $250,000 (construction and non-construction) that have a subcontracting plan.
  • DC Official Code 2-218.46 requires that bidders submit a subcontracting plan at the time of responding to a DC government agency's request for a proposal. Prior to awarding a contract in excess of $250,000, a subcontracting plan must be submitted, or the Director must approve a waiver of the requirement. The Department only accepts waiver requests from the District Government agency associated with the RFP notice, not bidders. 
  • All contracts under $250K not set aside to SBEs must have a completed Determination and Findings Memorandum before going to the open market. Click here for the form.

Agency Waiver Requests

District government contracts exceeding $250,000 require a 35 percent subcontracting set aside with small businesses certified under the CBE program unless a waiver has been granted.  

• Learn more about Agency Subcontracting Requirement Waiver Requests

SBE Forms and Instructions

• Instructions & Timeline for Agency Compliance Monitoring 
• SBE Subcontracting Plan
• Vendor Verification Form Template
• Outreach Activities - Non-Construction 
• Outreach Activities - Construction

For additional Agency Waiver Request information, please email [email protected].