HomeDBE ProgramDBE Final Rule

DBE Final Rule

Section 26.31 What Requirements Pertain to the DBE Directory?

Recipients maintain directories listing certified DBEs. The issue most discussed by commenters on this section was whether the directory should include material concerning the qualifications of the firm to do various sorts of work. For example, has the firm been pre-qualified by the recipient? Can it do creditable work? What kinds of work does the firm prefer to do? Some commenters also asked that the directory should list the geographical areas in which the firm is willing to work. Other commenters opposed the idea of including this kind of information in the directory.

The Department believes that the directory and the certification process are closely intertwined. The primary purpose of the directory is to show the results of the certification process. Consequently, the directory should list all firms that the recipient has certified, along with basic identifying information for the firm. Since certification under this rule pertains to the various kinds of work a firm's disadvantaged owners can control, it is important to list those kinds of work in the directory. For example, if a firm seeks to work in fields A, B, and C, but the recipient has determined that its disadvantaged owners can control its operations only with respect to A and B, then the directory would recite that the firm is certified to perform work as a DBE in fields A and B.

The focus of the directory is intended to be eligibility. A directory is a list of firms that have been certified as eligible DBEs, with sufficient identifying information to permit interested firms to contact the DBEs. We do not intend to turn a recipient's directory into a comprehensive business resource manual. For example, information about firms' qualifications, geographical preferences for work, performance track record, capitalization, etc. are not required to be part of the directory. Some commenters favored including one or more of these elements, but we are concerned that other business information-- however useful in its own right--could clutter up the directory and dilute its focus on certification.

Prev | Index | Next