HUBZone
Also called: Historically Underutilized Business Zone, HUBZone certification
Updated
What is HUBZone?
HUBZone (Historically Underutilized Business Zone) is an SBA program for small businesses whose principal office is in a designated HUBZone and at least 35 percent of whose employees live in one. Certified firms can compete for HUBZone set-asides and sole-source awards and receive a 10 percent price evaluation preference in full and open competitions.
How HUBZone eligibility works
The rules are in 13 CFR Part 126. HUBZones include qualified census tracts, qualified non-metropolitan counties, Indian lands, certain base closure areas and disaster areas, shown on the SBA's HUBZone map. The tests are about place: where your principal office is and where your employees live.
Benefits are set out in FAR subpart 19.13: HUBZone set-asides, sole-source awards under conditions, and the price evaluation preference, which adds 10 percent to the prices of offers from firms that are not HUBZone or small when compared in full and open competition.
Keeping the certification
The 35 percent residency test is the hard part as you grow: new hires who live outside a HUBZone can push you below the line. Map redesignations can also change where an office qualifies. Certified firms recertify with the SBA on a regular schedule.
Check the map before choosing an office and track employee residency every time you hire. HUBZone can be combined with 8(a), SDVOSB or WOSB status when the firm qualifies for each.
For proposals, a HUBZone firm should state its certification clearly on the cover page, in SAM.gov and in its capability statement, and should check whether a solicitation offers the price evaluation preference. When teaming, remember that HUBZone set-aside awards carry limitations on subcontracting, so the HUBZone prime must perform the required share of the work itself or with similarly situated firms. Getting that wrong can turn a winning bid into a successful protest by a competitor.
HUBZone in ProposalWorkspace
ProposalWorkspace records HUBZone status in the company profile's certifications, filters federal notices by set-aside type, and weighs set-aside and place-of-performance fit in the match score.
HUBZone: questions and answers
What is the HUBZone 35 percent rule?
At least 35 percent of a certified firm's employees must live in a HUBZone, in addition to the principal office being located in one.
What is the HUBZone price evaluation preference?
In full and open competitions, the prices of offers from firms that are not HUBZone or small businesses are increased by 10 percent for evaluation, which helps a HUBZone firm compete on price.
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