State Contracting — Arizona Has No Veteran-Owned Business Set-Aside or Certification
Arizona’s procurement set-aside reaches certified nonprofit agencies serving individuals with significant disabilities and Arizona Correctional Industries, at a one per cent endeavour. A.R.S. § 41-2636 names no veteran category, the State Procurement Office’s own programme page names none, and no state veteran-owned or service-disabled-veteran-owned business certification was found in Title 41 this session.
Verified August 23, 2026
What this benefit is
Arizona’s procurement set-aside reaches certified nonprofit agencies serving individuals with significant disabilities and Arizona Correctional Industries, at a one per cent endeavour. A.R.S. § 41-2636 names no veteran category, the State Procurement Office’s own programme page names none, and no state veteran-owned or service-disabled-veteran-owned business certification was found in Title 41 this session.
What it's worth: No state veteran-owned business certification and no veteran set-aside — the federal SBA route is the one that exists
- The State Procurement Office states: "In accordance with ARS § 41-2636 of the Arizona Procurement Code all state governmental units are required to endeavor to set aside one percent (1%) of new purchases or contracts for products, materials, and services from certified nonprofit agencies that serve individuals with disabilities (CNAID) and Arizona Correctional Industries (ACI)."
- A.R.S. § 41-2636 was read in full this session. The set-aside reaches two categories: certified nonprofit agencies serving individuals with significant disabilities, and Arizona correctional industries. Veterans and veteran-owned businesses do not appear anywhere in the section.
- The Set-Aside Committee’s published membership is drawn from the State Procurement Office, Arizona Industries for the Blind, the Department of Transportation, the Arizona State Retirement System, the Department of Economic Security and a nonprofit foundation — no veterans body sits on it.
- Every section of A.R.S. Title 41 containing the words veteran or military was listed this session. None creates a veteran-owned business certification or a procurement preference.
- The one per cent figure is an "endeavor", not a quota, in the words the State Procurement Office uses.
Who is entitled to it
- You served, which is what this route is written around.
- Your home is in Arizona.
Not sure whether that describes you?
Answer a few questions about this benefit specifically — we only ask what this one actually depends on, and we stop as soon as we know.
How to claim it
- 1Do not wait for an Arizona veteran-owned certification. There is none to apply for, and time spent hunting one is time not spent bidding.
- 2Go to the federal route instead. The U.S. Small Business Administration runs the veteran-owned and service-disabled veteran-owned small business certification used in federal contracting, and it is a separate thing from state procurement.
- 3Register as a supplier in the Arizona Procurement Portal on the ordinary terms. That is the state’s e-procurement system for every supplier.
- 4If your business is a certified nonprofit agency serving individuals with significant disabilities, that is a different door and the set-aside does reach it — the statute requires an employment ratio of at least sixty per cent of programme employees with significant disabilities.
- 5Read the one per cent for what it says. State governmental units are required to "endeavor" to set aside one per cent of new purchases or contracts, which is an effort standard rather than a reserved share.
- Form
- Nothing to claim from the state
- File with
- Not applicable — register as a supplier in the Arizona Procurement Portal like any other business
- No renewal
- Once granted it does not need renewing.
Sources
- authority · statuteA.R.S. § 41-2636, Arizona Procurement Code set-aside (the set-aside applies to certified nonprofit agencies serving individuals with significant disabilities — defined as nonprofit activity centers for persons with significant disabilities organised under state or federal law, operated in the interest of disabled individuals, with no net income benefiting shareholders and an employment ratio of at least sixty percent of program employees with significant disabilities — and to Arizona correctional industries; veterans and veteran-owned businesses do not appear anywhere in the section)
- operating · published policyArizona State Procurement Office — Set Aside Program ("In accordance with ARS & 41-2636 of the Arizona Procurement Code all state governmental units are required to endeavor to set aside one percent (1%) of new purchases or contracts for products, materials, and services from certified nonprofit agencies that serve individuals with disabilities (CNAID) and Arizona Correctional Industries (ACI)"; the Set-Aside Committee convenes quarterly to determine materials and services provided by Arizona industries for the blind, certified nonprofit agencies serving individuals with disabilities and Arizona correctional industries and to establish a fair market price; committee membership listed from ADOA-SPO, Arizona Industries for the Blind, the Department of Transportation, the Arizona State Retirement System, the Department of Economic Security and Hozhoni Foundation, Inc.; the state uses the Arizona Procurement Portal as its e-procurement system) — read in the browser on 23 August 2026
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