The Historically Underutilized Business Zones (HUBZone) program helps small businesses in urban and rural communities gain preferential access to federal procurement opportunities.
HUBZone program fuels small business growth in historically underutilized business zones with a goal of awarding 3% of federal contract dollars to HUBZone-certified companies each year.
In order to qualify for the program, entities have to meet the SBA definition of a “small business” and have their headquarters in a “historically underutilized business zone”.
HUBZone makes business eligible to compete for program’s set-aside contracts. HUBZone-certified businesses get 10% price evaluation preference in full & open contract competitions.
By funneling a portion of government purchases to such entities, the program aims to incentivize entrepreneurship & increase employment in places where jobs are harder to find.
You’ll need to recertify for HUBZone once a year and examination will be required every 3 years. There is no limit to the length of time a business can participate as long as it continues to qualify.
There are several types of contracts you can use like competitive HUBZone set-aside contract, sole-source HUBZone contract and full and open competition contract.