DDOT Announces Modified Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) Reciprocity Certification Program

Memorandum of Understanding between: District Department of Transportation (DDOT), the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT), the Commonwealth of Virginia Department of Minority Business Enterprise (DMBE) and the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA)

On September 12, 2008 at the regional summit which addressed transportation and safety issues in the metro area, the District of Columbia’s Mayor Fenty, Maryland’s Governor O’Malley and Virginia’s Governor Kaine committed to a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) ^[PDF] agreeing to streamline the certification process for Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) firms and Airport Concession Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (ACDBE) wanting to participate in federally funded transportation projects throughout the Washington metropolitan region.

Any MD, VA or DC firm that is certified as a DBE/ACDBE in its home state by one of the following five agencies is eligible to participate:

• the District Department of Transportation (DDOT);
• the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (Metro);
• the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT);
• the Virginia Department of Minority Business Enterprise (DMBE); and
• the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA).

Under the MOU, DBE firms applying for certification in the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) that are already certified by one of the agencies above will need to submit only the following documents to DDOT to initiate the certification process:

• the Uniform Certification Application;
• a Personal Net Worth statement;
• individual federal tax return for latest tax year;
• firm's federal tax return for the latest tax year;
• a copy of the latest letter of certification received by the DBE/ACDBE from its Home State.

The goal of the regional certification consortium and streamlined application process is to increase the number of certified DBEs and ACDBEs in the local marketplace and, subsequently, to increase the participation of small disadvantaged businesses in federally funded contracts in the Washington region.

The UCP Certified DBE Vendor Directory

The Metropolitan Washington Unified Certification Program (MWUCP) has been approved by the US Department of Transportation (DOT), Federal Transit Administration, and Federal Highway Administration for implementation. This was done to create efficiencies and streamline the certification process. A UCP has been formed between the District of Columbia Department of Transportation (DDOT) and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA/Metro). The database is searchable by NAICS Code.

Public Notice Regarding DBE GOAL

DDOT hereby provides notification of its proposed goal for obtaining participation by certified Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) firms in US Department of Transportation financially assisted contracts. The proposed DBE goal for Federal Fiscal Year 2009, which begins October 1, 2008 and ends September 30, 2009, is 21.46% of which 15.46% will be race/gender conscious on all federal aid construction and non-construction.