What requirements must a concern meet to be eligible as a certified HUBZone small business concern?

13 C.F.R. § 126.200
in effectEffective: 2024-07-01
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(a) Ownership. In order to be eligible for HUBZone certification and to remain certified, a small business concern must be owned in accordance with this paragraph. The concern must be: (1) At least 51% owned and controlled by one or more individuals who are United States citizens; (2) An ANC or at least 51% owned by an ANC or a wholly-owned business entity of an ANC; (3) At least 51% owned by one or more Indian Tribal Governments, or by a corporation that is wholly owned by one or more Indian Tribal Governments; (4) At least 51% owned by one or more CDCs; (5) A small agricultural cooperative organized or incorporated in the United States, or at least 51% owned by one or more small agricultural cooperatives organized or incorporated in the United States; or (6) At least 51% owned by one or more NHOs, or by a corporation that is wholly owned by one or more NHOs. (b) Size. (1) In order to be eligible for HUBZone certification and remain eligible as a certified HUBZone small business concern, a concern, together with its affiliates, must qualify as a small business concern as defined in part 121 of this chapter under the size standard corresponding to any NAICS code listed in its profile in the System for Award Management (SAM.gov). (2) In order to be eligible for a HUBZone contract, a certified HUBZone small business concern must qualify as small under the size standard corresponding to the NAICS code assigned to the HUBZone contract. (3) If the concern is a small agricultural cooperative, in determining size, the small agricultural cooperative is treated as a “business concern” and its member shareholders are not considered affiliated with the cooperative by virtue of their membership in the cooperative. (c) Principal office. In order to be eligible for HUBZone certification, a concern's principal office must be located in a HUBZone, except for concerns owned in whole or in part by one or more Indian Tribal Governments. (1) A concern that owns or makes a long-term investment (i.e., a lease of at least 10 years) in a principal office in an area that qualifies as a HUBZone at the time of its initial certification will be deemed to have its principal office located in a HUBZone for at least 10 years from the date of that certification as long as the firm maintains the long-term lease or continues to own the property upon which the principal office designation was made. This does not apply to leases of office space that are shared with one or more other concerns or individuals. (2) A concern that is owned in whole or in part by one or more Indian Tribal Governments (or by a corporation that is wholly owned by Indian Tribal Governments) must either: (i) Maintain a principal office located in a HUBZone and ensure that at least 35% of its employees reside in a HUBZone as provided in paragraph (d)(1) of this section; or (ii) Certify that when performing a HUBZone contract, at least 35% of its employees engaged in performing that contract will reside within any Indian reservation governed by one or more of the Indian Tribal Government owners, or reside within any HUBZone adjacent to such Indian reservation. (d) Employees. (1) In order to be eligible for HUBZone certification, at least 35% of a concern's employees must reside in a HUBZone. When determining the percentage of employees that reside in a HUBZone, if the percentage results in a fraction, SBA rounds to the nearest whole number. (i) Example 1 to paragraph (d)(1): A concern has 25 employees; 35% of 25, or 8.75, employees must reside in a HUBZone. The number 8.75 rounded to the nearest whole number is 9. Thus, 9 employees must reside in a HUBZone. (ii) Example 2 to paragraph (d)(1): A concern has 95 employees; 35% of 95, or 33.25, employees must reside in a HUBZone. The number 33.25 rounded to the nearest whole number is 33. Thus, 33 employees must reside in a HUBZone. (2) If the concern is owned in whole or in part by one or more Indian Tribal Governments (or by a corporation that is wholly owned by one or more Indian Tribal Governments), see paragraph (c)(2) of this section. (3) An employee who resides in a HUBZone at the time of certification (or time of recertification where the individual is being treated as a HUBZone resident for the first time) shall continue to count as a HUBZone resident employee if the individual continues to live in the HUBZone for at least 180 days immediately after certification (or recertification) and remains an employee of the concern, even if the employee subsequently moves to a location that is not in a HUBZone or the area in which the employee's residence is located no longer qualifies as a HUBZone. The certified HUBZone small business concern must maintain records of the employee's original HUBZone address, as well as records of the individual's continued and uninterrupted employment by the HUBZone small business concern, for the duration of the concern's participation in the HUBZone program. (i) Example to paragraph (d)(3): As part of its application for HUBZone certification, a concern provides documentation showing that 35% of its employees have lived in a HUBZone for more than 180 days. SBA certifies the concern as a certified HUBZone small business concern. Within 180 after being certified, an individual critical to the concern's meeting the 35% residency requirement moves out of the HUBZone area. That individual will continue to be treated as a HUBZone resident during the first year after the concern's certification; however, at the time of the firm's recertification, that individual will not be counted as a resident of a HUBZone. (ii) [Reserved] (e) Attempt to maintain. (1) At the time of application, a concern must certify that it will “attempt to maintain” (see § 126.103) having at least 35% of its employees reside in a HUBZone during the performance of any HUBZone contract it receives. (2) If the concern is owned in whole or in part by one or more Indian Tribal Governments (or by a corporation that is wholly owned by one or more Indian Tribal Governments), the concern must certify that it will “attempt to maintain” (see § 126.103) the applicable employment percentage described in paragraph (c)(2) of this section during the performance of any HUBZone contract it receives. (f) Subcontracting. At the time of application, an applicant concern must certify that it will comply with the applicable limitations on subcontracting requirements in connection with any procurement that it receives as a certified HUBZone small business concern (see §§ 125.6 and 126.700). (g) Suspension and Debarment. In order to be eligible for HUBZone certification and to remain certified, the concern and any of its owners must not have an active exclusion in the System for Award Management, available at www.SAM.gov, at the time of application.

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