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Two Points for a Veteran-Owned Business — and Only if You Are Local

A certified veteran-owned business enterprise gets two points on a proposal or 2% off on a bid. Certification first requires being a local business enterprise, and all preferences together cap at 12.

Verified August 22, 2026

What this benefit is

A certified veteran-owned business enterprise gets two points on a proposal or 2% off on a bid. Certification first requires being a local business enterprise, and all preferences together cap at 12.

What it's worth: Two points on a proposal, or 2% off on a bid

  • § 2-218.43(a)(1) gives "two points for a veteran-owned business enterprise" on proposals; § 2-218.43(a)(2) gives "two percent for a veteran-owned business enterprise" as a price reduction on bids.
  • The schedule around it: small business enterprise 3, resident-owned business 5, longtime resident business 5 points or 10 percent, local business enterprise 2, local business enterprise in an enterprise zone 2, disadvantaged business enterprise 2, local manufacturing business enterprise 2, equity impact enterprise 5 points or 10 percent.
  • The cap is explicit: "in no case shall a certified business enterprise be entitled to a preference of more than 12 points or a reduction in price of more than 12 percent."
  • What a preference is worth depends on the contract and the field of bidders, so no figure is published here.

This record exists to correct a myth. Published summaries get this District of Columbia benefit wrong. The record below is what the source actually says.

Who is entitled to it

  • You run, or are forming, a business here.
  • Certification turns on the veteran’s own ownership and control of the business.
  • Your business is in the District.

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

  1. 1Check the local business enterprise requirement first. § 2-218.38 makes it the first condition of veteran-owned certification — a firm that is not a local business enterprise cannot certify as veteran-owned here at all.
  2. 2Confirm the ownership test: not less than 51% owned and operated by one or more veterans as defined in 38 U.S.C. § 101(2), with one or more veterans controlling management and daily operations. For a publicly traded company, not less than 51% of the stock.
  3. 3Apply for certification through the Department of Small and Local Business Development before you bid, not after — the preference attaches to a certified business enterprise.
  4. 4Stack deliberately. Veteran-owned is two points; combining it with resident-owned, longtime resident or equity impact status is how a bidder gets near the 12-point ceiling.
File with
Department of Small and Local Business Development
Documents you will need
dd214
Periodic recertification
Confirmed at intervals rather than annually.
Worth knowingThe local requirement is the real gate, and it is easy to miss because it sits in the certification section rather than the preference section. Veteran status adds two points to a local firm; it does not open the door to a non-local one.
Worth knowingA longtime resident business gets a 10% price reduction against the veteran-owned 2%. The preference schedule rewards length of local presence far more than service, which is worth knowing before choosing which certifications to chase.
Worth knowingThe veteran definition is federal — 38 U.S.C. § 101(2) — so the certification does not invent its own service test.

Sources

This finder provides an informational match, not a government eligibility determination. The responsible agency decides your application.