Veterans Alliance is privately owned and operated to serve veterans. We are not affiliated with the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Veterans Alliance — Veterans Alliance
← All Illinois benefits
businessstate

Veteran-Owned Business Certification — a 3% Share of State Procurement

State agencies and universities are directed at a goal of not less than 3% of state contract dollars going to certified service-disabled and veteran-owned small businesses. Certification needs 51% ownership by qualified veterans living here, a home office here, and annual gross sales under $150 million.

Verified August 22, 2026

What this benefit is

State agencies and universities are directed at a goal of not less than 3% of state contract dollars going to certified service-disabled and veteran-owned small businesses. Certification needs 51% ownership by qualified veterans living here, a home office here, and annual gross sales under $150 million.

What it's worth: A 3% procurement goal across state agencies and universities — described by the state as over $300 million in contracts a year

  • A goal directed at agencies is not an entitlement to a contract. It changes who is looked for, and it is reported against.
  • The certification tests ownership AND control by qualified veterans, not equity alone.

Who is entitled to it

  • You served in the U.S. armed forces.
  • Veteran status is the gate; a service-connected rating opens the service-disabled tier as well.
  • You are in this state.

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 three thresholds first: at least 51% owned by one or more qualified veterans or service-disabled veterans living here, a home office in this state, and annual gross sales under $150 million.
  2. 2Decide which tier you are certifying into. The service-disabled tier and the veteran-owned tier are counted together toward the 3% goal, but they are separate certifications and some solicitations name one.
  3. 3If you already hold a federal VA certification, or a Cook County one, say so — expedited processing is available for businesses certified by either.
  4. 4Apply through the equity and inclusion commission, not through the procurement department. The programme is administered by the commission, which is where most veterans look last.
  5. 5Certify before you chase work. A goal is met by the agencies buying from certified vendors, and an uncertified business is invisible to that count however veteran-owned it is.
Form
Veterans Business Program certification application
File with
The Commission on Equity and Inclusion
Documents you will need
dd214 · va benefit summary letter
Periodic
Re-confirmed from time to time.
CorrectionRead the 3% as a target agencies are measured against, not as a set-aside you can claim. Neither administering page read this session describes a formal set-aside or a bid price preference — what certification buys is being counted, being findable, and being sought out by buyers under pressure to hit the number.
Worth knowingThe residence requirement attaches to the OWNERS, not only to the business: the qualified veterans holding the 51% must be living here, and the home office must be here too. A veteran who moved away but kept the company will not certify.
Known gapThe procurement code section carrying the goal could not be read directly — the legislature's statute server refused connections this session — so the goal is recorded as the two administering agencies state it. The public acts named on the certification page are the ones that created the programme.

Sources

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