District Government contracts exceeding $250,000 require a 35 percent subcontracting set-aside with small businesses certified under the CBE Program. Subcontracting requirements may be waived by the Department of Small and Local Business Development (DSLBD) if an agency submits an official waiver request to DSLBD justifying why the requirement cannot be met. Below is a listing of waiver requests submitted by District Contracting Officers to the Department.

Before the DSLBD Director can approve an agency’s waiver request the Director shall:

• Send an electronic notice to all CBEs notifying them of the agency’s waiver request; and,
• Post a copy of the agency’s waiver request on DSLBD’s website (or other location established by DSLBD) for ten (10) days to provide the public reasonable notice of the waiver request. (During this time, CBEs will have the opportunity to review the waiver justification and reach out to the Contracting Officer and DSLBD. DSLBD is no longer required to post the Director’s determination on its website.)