Veteran-Owned Preference

In accordance with Minnesota Statutes 16C.16, subd. 6a, eligible verified veteran-owned small businesses with their principal place of business in Minnesota may receive up to 6 percent preference when responding to solicitations issued by state agencies. The preference is applied only to the first $1 million of the response. Eligible veteran-owned small businesses must be either certified as such by the Office of State Procurement or currently verified by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' Center for Veterans Enterprise (US CVE) prior to the solicitation opening date and time to receive the preference.

If the preference is being applied in a solicitation, the solicitation document will include language and a form relative to the preference. Eligible veteran-owned small businesses should complete the Veteran-Owned Preference Form, and include any required documentation. Only eligible, verified, veteran-owned small businesses that provide the required documentation will be given the preference.

In addition, we have the authority to set goals which require prime contractors to subcontract a portion of the work to eligible veteran-owned small businesses on contracts for construction or consulting services.

Veteran-owned small businesses may apply for certification through the Minnesota Small Business Certification Portal, where federal, state and local governments have partnered to provide a consoidated web portal for businesses seeking certification in one or more of our programs. Information regarding verification by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs may be found at http://www.va.gov/osdbu/.

Agencies may verify the status of US CVE veteran-owned businesses at the VA Office of Small & Disadvantaged Business Utilization.