What Is SWaM Certification? What It Means When You Hire a Virginia Tech Vendor

SWaM certification is Virginia's official designation for Small, Women-owned and Minority-owned businesses. It is issued by the Virginia Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity (SBSD) after the agency reviews a company's ownership, control and size. For buyers, it matters because Virginia state agencies have a long-standing goal of directing a large share of their discretionary spending to SWaM-certified firms, and because prime contractors on many state contracts are asked to plan how they will subcontract to small, women-owned and minority-owned businesses. If you are hiring a technology vendor in Virginia, knowing what the certification means, and how to check it, saves time and protects your procurement file.

Key takeaways

• SWaM is a Virginia state certification run by SBSD, covering small, women-owned and minority-owned businesses, with an optional micro business designation for very small firms.
• Buyers care because certified spend counts toward Virginia's SWaM goals and can support a prime contractor's subcontracting plan.
• Always verify a vendor in the SBSD directory, and check related registrations such as eVA, SAM.gov and E-Verify when they apply to your contract.

What SWaM certification is

SWaM is a state program, not a federal one. The Virginia Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity, usually shortened to SBSD, reviews applications and certifies businesses that meet its rules. Once certified, a business is listed in SBSD's public directory, which state buyers use to find qualified vendors.

A few practical facts from SBSD's own FAQ are useful to know:

• There is no fee to apply for certification in Virginia.
• Review takes time. SBSD says a certification officer typically needs about 60 business days to review a complete SWaM application.
• Certification lasts five years, and businesses must recertify at least 30 to 60 days before expiration to keep their status.

Certification is not an endorsement of quality. SBSD notes that a directory listing does not mean the agency vouches for a vendor's work, and buyers still need to do their own due diligence. Think of SWaM as a verified fact about who owns and runs a business and how big it is, not a review of its capabilities.

SWaM categories: small, women-owned, minority-owned and micro

A business can hold one or more SWaM designations. SBSD's definitions are summarized below; see the SBSD SWaM certification page for the current wording.

On size, Virginia's procurement law (Code of Virginia § 2.2-4310) describes a small business as one with 250 or fewer employees, or annual gross receipts of $10 million or less averaged over the previous three years, along with the ownership and control requirements.

Two related points often come up:

• Service-disabled veteran-owned businesses are not a separate SWaM certification. SBSD treats this as a designation within a SWaM profile, after the owner receives eligibility certification from the Virginia Department of Veterans Services.
• DBE is different. The Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program is a federal U.S. Department of Transportation certification for federally funded transportation work. SBSD processes DBE applications too, but DBE and SWaM are separate programs with separate rules.

Why agencies and prime contractors care

For a vendor, SWaM certification can open doors. For a buyer, it can help you meet obligations and goals that are already part of your job. There are three main reasons it matters.

State spending goals

Virginia has set a goal for executive branch agencies to direct a large share of discretionary spending to SWaM-certified businesses. According to SBSD's FAQ, Executive Order 20, issued under Governor McAuliffe, set a target of 42% of discretionary expenditures going to SWaM businesses and created the micro business designation. Later administrations and the General Assembly have revisited these goals, so check your agency's current written SWaM plan and procurement guidance for the exact targets that apply to you.

When an agency buys from a certified vendor, that spend can count toward the agency's SWaM utilization. That is why procurement officers often look for certified firms first on small purchases and why many solicitations ask offerors to state their SWaM status.

Subcontracting plans

Virginia's procurement law expects public bodies to run written programs that help small, women-owned and minority-owned businesses participate in public contracting (Code of Virginia § 2.2-4310). Many state solicitations, especially larger IT and services contracts, ask offerors to submit a small business subcontracting plan showing how much of the work will go to SWaM firms. For prime contractors, a reliable certified subcontractor makes that plan credible, and actual spend with that subcontractor is typically reported back to the agency.

Corporate supplier diversity programs

Outside government, many companies track spend with small, women-owned and minority-owned suppliers as part of their own supplier diversity programs. Each company sets its own rules on which certifications it accepts. A state certification like SWaM is one recognized form of verification, but check your own program's requirements before counting a vendor.

How to verify a SWaM certified vendor

Never rely on a logo on a website or a line in a proposal. Verifying takes a few minutes:

1. Open the SBSD directory. Go to the SWaM and DBE Directory on sbsd.virginia.gov.
2. Search for the vendor. You can search by legal company name, trade name (DBA), certification number, contact name, address, phone, email or website, and filter by certification type, NAICS code, NIGP code, city or ZIP code.
3. Use the certification number when you have it. SBSD notes that certification number searches are exact matches, which makes them the most precise way to confirm a specific firm.
4. Confirm the category. Check whether the vendor is certified as small, women-owned, minority-owned, micro or a combination, and make sure it matches what your plan or goal requires.
5. Check that the certification is current. Certifications run for five years, so confirm the vendor's status is active for the period you are contracting.
6. Keep a record. Save a screenshot or printout with the date for your procurement file or subcontracting report.

If a vendor claims certification but does not appear in the directory, ask them for their certification number and letter, then search again. Recently certified firms should appear once SBSD approves them.

eVA: Virginia's procurement system

eVA is Virginia's online, electronic procurement system. State agencies use it to post solicitations, issue orders and manage purchasing. According to the Department of General Services Vendors Manual, businesses that want to bid on or sell to Virginia state agencies and institutions are expected to register in eVA, and a vendor generally needs to be registered before it can be considered for an award.

SBSD also strongly recommends that certified businesses register in eVA, because that is where buyers find and pay vendors. For a buyer, an eVA-registered SWaM vendor is one you can actually issue an order to without delays. Some local governments and public bodies in Virginia also use eVA, so registration helps there too.

How SWaM relates to federal programs and SAM.gov

A common source of confusion: SWaM is a Virginia certification. It does not make a business eligible for federal set-asides, and federal certifications do not automatically make a business SWaM certified.

At the federal level:

• SAM.gov is the federal System for Award Management. Registration is free, and an active registration is required to bid on and be paid for federal prime contracts. SAM.gov registrations must be renewed every year. Registration is not a certification; it is the baseline for doing business with the federal government.
• Small and small disadvantaged business status can be self-certified by a business when it registers in SAM.gov, according to GSA.
• The SBA 8(a) Business Development program is a separate federal certification with its own eligibility rules, applied for through the SBA. It is not the same as SWaM minority-owned status.

For buyers, the takeaway is simple: match the certification to the goal. If your target is Virginia SWaM spend, check SBSD. If you are working on a federal contract, check SAM.gov and the relevant SBA program. Federal program rules have changed in recent years, so confirm current requirements with the contracting agency.

E-Verify and why it matters to buyers

E-Verify is a U.S. Department of Homeland Security system that lets employers confirm that new hires are authorized to work in the United States. It compares information from an employee's Form I-9 with records available to DHS and the Social Security Administration.

It matters for two reasons:

• Virginia state contracts. Under Code of Virginia § 2.2-4308.2, employers with an average of more than 50 employees over the previous 12 months that enter into a contract over $50,000 with a Virginia state agency must register and participate in E-Verify for new employees working on that contract. Employers that fail to comply can be debarred from contracting with state agencies for up to a year.
• Federal contracts. Under the Federal Acquisition Regulation E-Verify rule, federal contractors must use E-Verify for employees working under covered contracts, according to e-verify.gov.

Even when a vendor is too small to be required to use E-Verify, voluntary participation is a useful signal. It tells you the vendor already has a process for confirming that the people who will work on your project, and potentially access your systems, are authorized to work in the U.S. For staff augmentation and dedicated team contracts, where vendor staff work alongside your own employees, that is part of basic vendor due diligence.

A quick checklist for hiring a SWaM certified tech vendor

Certification tells you about ownership and size. You still need to check fit and capability. Before you sign:

• Verify SWaM status in the SBSD directory and save a dated record.
• Confirm eVA registration if you are a Virginia state agency or institution.
• Check SAM.gov if any federal funds are involved.
• Ask about E-Verify participation, especially for staffing and on-site work.
• Review relevant work such as similar projects, technologies and team sizes.
• Ask how the team is staffed, who you will work with day to day, and how replacements are handled.
• Check security practices for access to your systems and data.
• Clarify reporting if spend needs to be documented for a subcontracting plan.

If you are comparing technology partners more broadly, our guide on how to choose a software development partner covers portfolios, process and red flags in more detail.

Example: GPITech's SWaM certification

To show what this looks like in practice, here is how GPITech's own credentials line up with the checks above. GPITech is a software and technology company headquartered in Richmond, Virginia.

You can confirm our certification by searching certification number 837957 in the SBSD directory.

For agencies, prime contractors and companies with supplier diversity goals, GPITech provides:

• Dedicated engineering teams and staff augmentation: vetted developers, QA engineers and other technical staff who join your team and work your way.
• Custom software development: internal tools, portals, integrations and modernization of older systems.
• Web and app development: accessible websites, web applications and mobile apps.

More detail on how we work with public-sector buyers, including our certifications and registrations, is on our government contracting page. You can also learn more about GPITech and our team.

Final thoughts

SWaM certification is a straightforward, verifiable signal: it tells you that SBSD has reviewed a business's ownership, control and size. For Virginia agencies it supports spend goals, for prime contractors it supports subcontracting plans, and for companies it can support supplier diversity programs. Pair it with eVA, SAM.gov and E-Verify checks, and then judge the vendor on the quality of its work.

If you are planning a project or need to add engineering capacity and want a SWaM certified Small and Minority-owned partner in Virginia, book a call with our team. We are happy to walk through your requirements, your subcontracting needs and the documentation your procurement file requires.