The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) recently issued a very important, but under-the-radar, “technical correction” to its regulations pertaining to recertification of a federal contractor’s status for Multiple Award Contracts. In particular, the SBA is amending its regulations to provide that where a “concern grows to be other than small” or no longer qualifies for a given socio-economic status (e.g., HUBZone, woman-owned, economically-disadvantaged woman-owned, service-disabled veteran-owned, etc.) as a result of a novation, merger/sale/acquisition, or “negative status determination,” the company is ineligible to compete for set-aside task orders under the company’s Multiple Award Contracts. Importantly, this new rule applies regardless of whether or not “the contracting officer requests a new [status] certification in connection with a specific order.”

Previously, the SBA’s rules in this area were widely interpreted to mean that where a “concern grows to be other than small” or no longer qualifies for a given socio-economic status as a result of a novation, merger/sale/acquisition, or “negative status determination,” the company was eligible to compete for set-aside task orders under the company’s Multiple Award Contracts, unless “the contracting officer requests a new [status] certification in connection with a specific order.” See Analytic Strategies, Inc., SBA No. VET-268 (Jan. 29, 2018).

The SBA’s “technical correction” to its regulations becomes effective on May 25, 2018.