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Caltrans District 1 Small Business Program

We’re Big on Small Business!

The District 1 Small Business Program exists to help small and growing firms in doing business with the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans). It is Caltrans’ goal to promote participation of Small Businesses (SB), Disabled Veteran Business Enterprises (DVBE), and Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBE) in our procurement and contracting activities. We are committed to achieving these goals through an approach that incorporates offering advocacy, outreach, and technical assistance services to qualifying firms within Humboldt, Del Norte, Lake, and Mendocino counties, as well as the State of California at large.

Upcoming Events

Outreach events for Small Businesses seeking education, networking, and other development opportunities can be found at the Caltrans Event Calendar, including both in-person and virtual offerings across the entire state of California.

Recent Events

Discover Upcoming Bid Opportunities

Benefits & Eligibility Requirements

Small Business Certification Benefits

As a certified Small Business you:

  • Qualify for a 5% bid preference on applicable state contracts.
  • Are eligible for benefits under the Prompt Payment Act, including higher interest penalties for late, undisputed invoice payments (interest penalties for construction firms are addressed under Public Contract Code 10261.5).
  • Are listed in the state's Internet Certified Firm Listing giving your firm more visibility and expanded business networking opportunities.

Small Business Eligibility Requirements

As a certified Small Business you:

  • Must be independently owned and operated.
  • Cannot be dominant in its field of operation.
  • Must have its principal office located in California.
  • Must have its owners (or officers in the case of a corporation) domiciled in California.
  • Together with your affiliates, be either:
    • A business with 100 or fewer employees, and an average annual gross receipts of $16 million or less over the previous three tax years, or
    • A manufacturer with 100 or fewer employees.

Small Business for the Purpose of Public Works Eligibility Requirements

As a certified Small Business for the Purpose of Public Works you:

  • Must be independently owned and operated.
  • Cannot be dominant in its field of operation.
  • Must have its principal office located in California.
  • Owners, Officers, Members/Managers, Partners must be domiciled in California.
  • Together with your affiliates, be a business with 200 or fewer employees.
  • Average $36 million or less in gross annual receipts over the last three tax years (including affiliates).

Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise (DVBE) Certification Benefits

As a certified Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise you:

  • Are eligible for the State 3% DVBE Participation Program.
  • Have your business opened up to business networking opportunities via OSBCR’s Internet Certified Firm Listing.
  • Are sought after by other governmental DVBE programs seeking to meet their own utilization goals.

Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise (DVBE) Eligibility Requirements

As a certified Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise you:

  • Must have at least 51% of your business be owned by one or more disabled Army, Navy, or Air Force veterans with a service-related disability of at least 10%.
  • Must have daily operations managed and controlled by one or more disabled veterans.
  • Must have your home office located in the United States.
  • Must have your owner(s) be a California resident.

Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) Certification Benefits

As a certified Disadvantaged Business Enterprise you:

  • Expand your opportunities for participating in Federally funded projects.
  • Are listed in the official California Unified Certification Program (CUCP) database used by prime contractors needing to meet DBE participation goal requirements.
  • Are sought after by local agencies in California, other states, and private companies who are the recipients of Federal funds or are otherwise seeking to meet their own DBE utilization goals.

Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Eligibility Requirements

As a certified Disadvantaged Business Enterprise you:

  • Must be at least 51% owned, or majority owned, by one or more social and economically disadvantaged individual(s).
  • Must be a for-profit Small Business.
  • Must have disadvantaged owner(s) whose personal net-worth does not exceed $1.32 million.
  • Must have owner(s) claiming disadvantaged status possessing managerial and operational control of the business.
  • Must have Disadvantaged owner(s) be either U.S. citizen(s) or permanent resident(s).
  • Must have average annual gross receipts for the firm’s previous three fiscal years not exceeding $26.29 million.

For additional information on these certifications, or to start the application process, visit the following websites:

Small Business/Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise Services (OSDS)

Cal eProcure

Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBE)

District 1 Small Business Liaison

Aaron Morgan, Small Business Liaison

P.O. Box 3700, Eureka, CA 95502-3700

(707) 296-4063

Additional Helpful Links

Caltrans Office of Civil Rights

California Department of General Services Office of Small Business/Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise Services (OSDS)

Cal-eProcure, California’s State Government Marketplace

Caltrans Emergency Contractor Interest Registry

California State Small Business Advocate Directory

Caltrans North Region Calmentor Program

Caltrans State Highway Operation and Protection Program (SHOPP)

Caltrans State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP)

 

Accessibility Assistance: Caltrans makes every attempt to ensure our documents are accessible. Due to variances between assistive technologies, there may be portions of this document which are not accessible. Where documents cannot be made accessible, we are committed to providing alternative access to the content. Should you need additional assistance, please contact us at (707) 296-4063 or visit Request ADA compliant Documents.