Doing Business with the State

Get Registered/Certified
The State of California provides Small Business (SB) and Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise (DVBE) certifications to give preferred status in government. Certification is completed online within the Cal eProcure system and requires the submission of a few standard business documents. Benefits include:

• Inclusion in the state’s goal to spend 25 percent of all contract dollars with Small Businesses and 3 percent with DVBEs
• A  5 percent bid preference on applicable state solicitations
• Access to contract opportunities exclusively available to certified businesses
• Coverate under the Prompt Payment Act

Find Agency Advocates
Almost every agency and department in the state of California has a small business (SB) and disabled veteran business enterprise (DVBE) advocate. The SB/DVBE Advocates help SBs and DVBEs pursue contract opportunities with the department they work for and work closely with the buyers in their department to include SBs and DVBEs in state procurement.

Find Agency Small Business Liaisons
Each state agency that significantly regulates or impacts small business must designate at least one person to serve as a small business liaison. This person is responsible for responding to complaints received by the agency from small businesses and making sure that the agency meets or exceeds the mandated goal of 25% small business participation. Legislation passed in the 2022-23 session also requires Liaisons to develop “economic equity first” action plans to provide strategies that help disadvantaged business enterprises benefit from the procurement process.