On Aug. 18, the U.S. Small Business Administration announced that it was issuing interim guidance regarding the 8(a) Business Development Program as a result of a court ruling that affects the program’s determination of social disadvantage. According to the SBA’s website, the SBA has temporarily suspended new 8(a) application submissions to comply with the district court’s decision.

In the press release, the SBA states that “all current 8(a) participants will receive additional, direct communication from the SBA detailing what, if any, additional information must be provided to SBA in order to continue Program participation. Potential participants who have already initiated an 8(a) application may continue to work on their applications but may be required to incorporate changes in the future. If that is the case, SBA will give them clear indication of the changes needed. Potential participants who have not yet initiated an 8(a) application should wait until the reopening of the application on certify.sba.gov.”  

Participants in the 8(a) Program, as well as applicants, are encouraged to read the interim guidance, which can be found on the SBA’s website (scroll down to the section titled “Guidance for 8(a) Program Participants in Light of the U.S. District Court Ruling”).  

Please continue to monitor the SBA website as well as Newsline for any updates.