Use the tabs below to apply for Disadvantaged Business Enterprise and Airport Concession Disadvantaged Business Enterprise certification. Instructions are included.

Ohio Firms

If your firm is based in Ohio, please complete the steps below to apply for DBE/ACDBE certification. For further guidance, view our tutorial on Completing the Uniform Certification Application Submission Form​.

Note: The Ohio UCP encourages you to apply for DBE certification if your firm:

1. Is engaged in, or plans to engage in, work directly or indirectly related to transportation infrastructure projects, or
2. Functions as a manufacturer, wholesaler, retailer, or broker that supplies products used in transportation infrastructure projects or in the assembly of transit vehicles.
3. Transportation infrastructure projects include, but are not limited to, the construction, reconstruction, restoration, rehabilitation, and preservation of, and operational improvements to:
   • Roads, highways, bicycle transportation facilities, pedestrian walkways
   • Bridges, tunnels
   • Transit facilities
   • Airports

4. Generally, the types of businesses involved in transportation infrastructure projects include, but are not limited to:

• • Contractors
  • Consultants (e.g., engineering, professional services)
  • Dirt, rock, sand, gravel and aggregate haulers
  • Materials and supplies vendors

Similarly, the Ohio UCP encourages you to apply for ACDBE certification if your firm is, or plans to become, an airport concessionaire.

If your firm is not engaged or does not plan to engage in transportation infrastructure work, supply, or airport concessions, the Ohio Unified Certification Program recommends that you do not pursue DBE/ACDBE certification, as the DBE/ACDBE program’s objective is to level the playing field by providing small businesses owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals a fair opportunity to compete for transportation infrastructure work, supply, and airport concessions opportunities.

The Ohio UCP may make inquiries into the nature of an applicant firm’s work and what it seeks to achieve with DBE/ACDBE certification. The Ohio UCP may recommend that a firm not pursue certification if it expresses that it has no intention of participating in or bidding on transportation infrastructure work, supply, or airport concessions contracts.

Please contact the ODOT Office of Outreach or one of Ohio’s many airports or transit providers if you would like to discuss whether DBE/ACDBE certification may be beneficial to you.

1. Download the Uniform Certification Application / Solicitud para certificación unificada​ and the Personal Net Worth Statement.
2. Open the downloaded application, fill it out (and save it), and gather your supporting documents, including the Personal Net Worth Statement.
3. Download the NAICS Code/Descriptor Request Form.
4. Open the downloaded form, fill it out (and save it), and gather your supporting documents.
5. Click the Submit Certification Application button (below). On the page that appears, enter your first name, last name, and email address. Double-check that you typed your email address correctly, then click Submit. You will see “The Transaction has been successfully saved.”
6. Check your email for an email from eSignLive (signers@signer-gov.esignlive.com). In that email, click "Go to Documents".
7. Read the disclosures and click the Accept button at the bottom.
8. Complete the Uniform Certification Application Submission Form and upload your signed and notarized application, NAICS Code/Descriptor Request Form, personal net worth statement(s), and other required and optional supporting documents. The first upload slot is for the Uniform Certification Application. The second upload slot is for the NAICS Code/Descriptor Request Form. You can attach all of your required and optional supporting documents in one PDF or as separate PDFs (in whatever way is easiest for you). If there isn’t enough space to attach all of your supporting documents, please submit the remaining documents using the Uniform Certification Application Additional Supporting Documents form.
9. Finished uploading documents? Click Confirm. Your form is now complete. (If you get a message about missing attachments, it just means that you didn't use all the available upload slots--this message can be dismissed by clicking the Yes button.)
10. Please download a copy of the completed Uniform Certification Application Submission form and save it in your files, along with a copy of everything else you submitted with your application.

The UCP's goal is to acknowledge certification applications within seven days of receipt. Please allow 120 days for a final certification decision.

Submit Certification Application

Out-of-State Firms

​If you firm is not based in Ohio, please complete the steps below to apply for DBE/ACDBE certification in Ohio.

1. Download the Interstate Certification Request form.
2. Open the downloaded form, fill it out (and save it), and gather the requested documents.
3. Print the completed form, sign it, scan it, and email the signed form along with its accompanying documents using the Interstate Certification Application Additional Supporting Documents Submission Form.
4. Be sure to save a copy of everything you submitted for your files.

If a certifying agency asked you to submit additional supporting documents, please submit them using the Interstate Certification Application Additional Supporting Documents Submission Form.​

Troubleshooting

If you scanned your document(s) and the file is larger than 16 mb, try rescanning in black and white and not more than 300 dpi resolution. Many scanners are set by default to scan in full color or grayscale, which look better than black and white but make for large files. Refer to your scanner's manual for instructions on how to change the scan settings.

Contact Advait Supanekar at Advait.Supanekar@dot.ohio.gov to report any other technical questions or issues with the online forms.