businessstate

Veteran Business Enterprise — Certified by the State, With a 3% Utilisation Target

The state certifies veteran business enterprises and sets an aggregate utilisation rate of 3% of the total dollar value of state procurement contracts and public works projects. The gate is 51% veteran ownership across all classes of stock, partnership interest or business assets, plus real, substantial and continuing control — day-to-day management, hiring and firing, financial oversight and strategic decisions. Surviving spouses and permanent caregivers of veterans can be within the definition. Certification is decided within 90 days and may involve a site visit.

Verified August 23, 2026

What this benefit is

What it's worth: State certification as a veteran business enterprise, against an aggregate utilisation rate of 3% of the total dollar value of state contracts and public works

A veteran business enterprise is a small business enterprise owned and controlled by one or more individuals who are veterans and economically disadvantaged.
The definition can extend to businesses owned by surviving spouses or permanent caregivers of veterans.
Veteran owners must hold at least 51% ownership across all classes of stock in a corporation, of partnership interests, or of business assets.
Control must be real, substantial and continuing: managing day-to-day operations, authority to hire and fire, financial oversight, and strategic decision-making power.
Certification is made by the Office of Diversity, Equity and Opportunity through its Minority Business Enterprise Compliance Office, with the assistant administrator of that office and the associate director of the office jointly determining eligibility.
The application requires business and personal tax returns, financial statements, and documentation of veteran status, economic disadvantage, 51% ownership, control and substantial investment.
Evaluation is completed within 90 days and may include a site visit.
Certification requires an annual update on the anniversary date, with periodic full recertification reviews requiring updated financial documentation.
The aggregate utilisation rate is 3% of the total dollar value of state procurement contracts and public works projects.
Certification may be revoked where ownership changes, control shifts, the business fails as a going concern, or the rules are violated, with an opportunity for a hearing before the certification review committee.
The regulation is made under RIGL §§37-14.3-4 and 37-14.3-5.

Who is entitled to it

You served.
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

1Test the control question before you test the ownership one. Fifty-one percent of the stock is not enough on its own — the regulation demands real, substantial and continuing control over daily operations, hiring and firing, finances and strategy.
2Assemble the financial pack early: business and personal tax returns, financial statements, and evidence of your substantial investment in the business. Certification also turns on economic disadvantage, which is proved from those documents.
3Expect up to 90 days and possibly a site visit. Do not bid on a contract on the assumption that certification will land before the deadline.
4If you are the surviving spouse or the permanent caregiver of a veteran, ask whether you come within the definition. The regulation contemplates it and most people in that position never ask.
5Diary the anniversary date. Certification requires an annual update, and letting it lapse is the commonest way a certified firm quietly stops being certified.
6Quote the 3% aggregate utilisation rate when you approach a state agency or a prime contractor. It is the number the state measures itself against, and it is the reason to take your call.
7Tell the office at once if ownership or control changes. Those are grounds for revocation, and disclosing beats being found out at a hearing.

Form: Veteran business enterprise certification application
File with: The Minority Business Enterprise Compliance Office, Office of Diversity, Equity and Opportunity
Documents you will need: dd214
Annual recertification: The office asks you to confirm each year.

Worth knowingA 3% aggregate utilisation rate is a target the state sets for itself across the whole of its purchasing, not a set-aside on your contract. It is leverage in a conversation, not a guarantee of an award.

Known gapThe regulation was read; the compliance office’s own application form, fee position and current processing times were not. Ask the office what the form asks for before you assemble the pack.

Sources

authority · regulation220-RICR-80-15-1 — Certification and Decertification of Veteran Business Enterprises and Participation by Veteran Business Enterprises in State Purchases of Goods and Services and Public Works Projects (made under RIGL §§37-14.3-4, 37-14.3-5)

Why only one source type: The regulation is the instrument that creates the certification, sets the ownership and control tests, names the certifying office and fixes the utilisation rate. It was read in full from the Secretary of State’s own rules server this session; no agency summary adds to it.

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