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Veteran Business Enterprise Certification (COBID)
State certification for a veteran-owned or service-disabled veteran-owned firm, opening state, county, city and special district contracting. It does not expire.
Verified August 22, 2026
What this benefit is
State certification for a veteran-owned or service-disabled veteran-owned firm, opening state, county, city and special district contracting. It does not expire.
What it's worth: Certification opening state, county, city and special district contracting
- The certification is an access route, not a payment. What it is worth depends entirely on the contracts a firm goes on to win.
- The certifying office states that certifications do not expire.
Who is entitled to it
- You served in the U.S. armed forces.
- You served in the armed forces.
- You can document an honorable discharge.
- You own, or are forming, a business.
- Your home is in Oregon.
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
- 1Check the service test before anything else: an honorable discharge plus 90 or more days of active duty for service before 1955, 178 or more days for service after it, or a single day of combat deployment.
- 2Confirm the ownership test — 51 percent or more owned AND controlled by the veteran, who must also manage day-to-day operations and have made a contribution of capital.
- 3Check the size ceiling: a three-year average of gross annual receipts not exceeding $31.84 million.
- 4Be a for-profit business registered with the Secretary of State, with whatever professional licensing your trade requires.
- 5If you are claiming service-disabled status, add the owner's disability award letter showing a service-connected rating.
- 6Apply through the Certification Management System e-application, or ask the office for a hard copy.
- Form
- Certification Management System e-application
- File with
- Certification Office for Business Inclusion and Diversity, Business Oregon — biz.cobid@biz.oregon.gov
- Documents you will need
- dd214 · va rating decision
- Automatic until something changes
- The office states that certifications do not expire, so the obligation is to report changes rather than to re-apply.
CorrectionThe certification is no longer limited to service-disabled owners. The certifying office describes a Veteran Business Enterprise covering veteran-owned firms, while the veterans agency's own page still names it the Service-Disabled Veteran Certification. Read the certifying office's page, not the older description.
Worth knowingThe days-of-service test splits on 1955: 90 or more days of active duty before it, 178 or more after it — or one day of combat deployment, which carries either way.
Worth knowingOwnership alone is not enough. The owner must control the business, manage daily operations and have contributed capital — three separate tests the application asks about individually.
Sources
This finder provides an informational match, not a government eligibility determination. The responsible agency decides your application.