how to obtain women minority certificates for business?

Question

I am a minority woman with my own business. I'm trying to get the certificates that are available. I heard they were free I just don't know where to find them. Can someone help me?

Answer 1

According to the Small Business Administration Frequently Asked questions about women's business ownership at link below:
http://app1.sba.gov/faqs/faqindex.cfm?areaID=11

The federal government does not require any formal certification for women-owned small businesses that are proposing as prime contractors on federal procurements. If your business meets the definition, as stated in question 2, and you are submitting a proposal for Federal procurement, you can "self-certify." The reason that there is no certification requirement for prime contracts is because there are no preference programs to award prime contracts to women-owned small business. However, if you are submitting a proposal for a federal subcontract (and sometimes in the private sector as a prime) the prime contractor may require certification that your business is in fact woman-owned.
NOTE: To self-certify your firm as a WOSB with the federal government, you must meet the definition listed in FAR 19.001.

If you are interested in checking on the requirements for WOSB certification, you can contact the following organizations regarding the procedures and benefits of being certified as a woman-owned business.

Women's Business Enterprise National Council 1120 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 950 Washington, DC 20036 Phone: [phone] Fax: [phone] Internet: http://www.wbenc.org/

National Association of Women Business Owners Corp. 1411 K Street, NW, Suite 1300 Washington, DC 20005-3407 Phone: [phone] Fax: [phone] Internet: http://www.nawbo.org

to certify as a minority, the link for 'small disadvantaged business" certification is http://www.sba.gov/sdb/index.html

Answer 2

I believe our company was certified as a woman owned business many years ago.
How would I find out our certificate number?