49 C.F.R. Subpart E—Certification Procedures
Title 49 - Transportation
(a) You and all other DOT recipients in your state must participate in a Unified Certification Program (UCP). (1) Within three years of March 4, 1999, you and the other recipients in your state must sign an agreement establishing the UCP for that state and submit the agreement to the Secretary for approval. The Secretary may, on the basis of extenuating circumstances shown by the recipients in the state, extend this deadline for no more than one additional year. (2) The agreement must provide for the establishment of a UCP meeting all the requirements of this section. The agreement must specify that the UCP will follow all certification procedures and standards of this part, on the same basis as recipients; that the UCP shall cooperate fully with oversight, review, and monitoring activities of DOT and its operating administrations; and that the UCP shall implement DOT directives and guidance concerning certification matters. The agreement shall also commit recipients to ensuring that the UCP has sufficient resources and expertise to carry out the requirements of this part. The agreement shall include an implementation schedule ensuring that the UCP is fully operational no later than 18 months following the approval of the agreement by the Secretary. (3) Subject to approval by the Secretary, the UCP in each state may take any form acceptable to the recipients in that state. (4) The Secretary shall review the UCP and approve it, disapprove it, or remand it to the recipients in the state for revisions. A complete agreement which is not disapproved or remanded within 180 days of its receipt is deemed to be accepted. (5) If you and the other recipients in your state fail to meet the deadlines set forth in this paragraph (a), you shall have the opportunity to make an explanation to the Secretary why a deadline could not be met and why meeting the deadline was beyond your control. If you fail to make such an explanation, or the explanation does not justify the failure to meet the deadline, the Secretary shall direct you to complete the required action by a date certain. If you and the other recipients fail to carry out this direction in a timely manner, you are collectively in noncompliance with this part. (b) The UCP shall make all certification decisions on behalf of all DOT recipients in the state with respect to participation in the DOT DBE Program. (1) Certification decisions by the UCP shall be binding on all DOT recipients within the state. (2) The UCP shall provide “one-stop shopping” to applicants for certification, such that an applicant is required to apply only once for a DBE certification that will be honored by all recipients in the state. (3) All obligations of recipients with respect to certification and nondiscrimination must be carried out by UCPs, and recipients may use only UCPs that comply with the certification and nondiscrimination requirements of this part. (c) All certifications by UCPs shall be pre-certifications; i.e., certifications that have been made final before the due date for bids or offers on a contract on which a firm seeks to participate as a DBE. (d) A UCP is not required to process an application for certification from a firm having its principal place of business outside the state if the firm is not certified by the UCP in the state in which it maintains its principal place of business. The “home state” UCP shall share its information and documents concerning the firm with other UCPs that are considering the firm's application. (e) Subject to DOT approval as provided in this section, the recipients in two or more states may form a regional UCP. UCPs may also enter into written reciprocity agreements with other UCPs. Such an agreement shall outline the specific responsibilities of each participant. A UCP may accept the certification of any other UCP or DOT recipient. (f) Pending the establishment of UCPs meeting the requirements of this section, you may enter into agreements with other recipients, on a regional or inter-jurisdictional basis, to perform certification functions required by this part. You may also grant reciprocity to other recipient's certification decisions. (g) Each UCP shall maintain a unified DBE directory containing, for all firms certified by the UCP (including those from other states certified under the provisions of this section), the information required by §26.31. The UCP shall make the directory available to the public electronically, on the internet, as well as in print. The UCP shall update the electronic version of the directory by including additions, deletions, and other changes as soon as they are made. (h) Except as otherwise specified in this section, all provisions of this subpart and subpart D of this part pertaining to recipients also apply to UCPs. (a) You must ensure that only firms certified as eligible DBEs under this section participate as DBEs in your program. (b) You must determine the eligibility of firms as DBEs consistent with the standards of subpart D of this part. When a UCP is formed, the UCP must meet all the requirements of subpart D of this part and this subpart that recipients are required to meet. (c) You must take all the following steps in determining whether a DBE firm meets the standards of subpart D of this part: (1) Perform an on-site visit to the offices of the firm. You must interview the principal officers of the firm and review their résumés and/or work histories. You must also perform an on-site visit to job sites if there are such sites on which the firm is working at the time of the eligibility investigation in your jurisdiction or local area. You may rely upon the site visit report of any other recipient with respect to a firm applying for certification; (2) If the firm is a corporation, analyze the ownership of stock in the firm; (3) Analyze the bonding and financial capacity of the firm; (4) Determine the work history of the firm, including contracts it has received and work it has completed; (5) Obtain a statement from the firm of the type of work it prefers to perform as part of the DBE program and its preferred locations for performing the work, if any; (6) Obtain or compile a list of the equipment owned by or available to the firm and the licenses the firm and its key personnel possess to perform the work it seeks to do as part of the DBE program; (7) Require potential DBEs to complete and submit an appropriate application form, unless the potential DBE is an SBA certified firm applying pursuant to the DOT/SBA MOU. (i) You must use the application form provided in Appendix F to this part without change or revision. However, you may provide in your DBE program, with the approval of the concerned operating administration, for supplementing the form by requesting additional information not inconsistent with this part. (ii) You must make sure that the applicant attests to the accuracy and truthfulness of the information on the application form. This shall be done either in the form of an affidavit sworn to by the applicant before a person who is authorized by state law to administer oaths or in the form of an unsworn declaration executed under penalty of perjury of the laws of the United States. (iii) You must review all information on the form prior to making a decision about the eligibility of the firm. (d) When another recipient, in connection with its consideration of the eligibility of a firm, makes a written request for certification information you have obtained about that firm (e.g., including application materials or the report of a site visit, if you have made one to the firm), you must promptly make the information available to the other recipient. (e) When another DOT recipient has certified a firm, you have discretion to take any of the following actions: (1) Certify the firm in reliance on the certification decision of the other recipient; (2) Make an independent certification decision based on documentation provided by the other recipient, augmented by any additional information you require the applicant to provide; or (3) Require the applicant to go through your application process without regard to the action of the other recipient. (f) Subject to the approval of the concerned operating administration as part of your DBE program, you may impose a reasonable application fee for certification. Fee waivers shall be made in appropriate cases. (g) You must safeguard from disclosure to unauthorized persons information gathered as part of the certification process that may reasonably be regarded as proprietary or other confidential business information, consistent with applicable Federal, state, and local law. (h) Once you have certified a DBE, it shall remain certified for a period of at least three years unless and until its certification has been removed through the procedures of §26.87. You may not require DBEs to reapply for certification as a condition of continuing to participate in the program during this three-year period, unless the factual basis on which the certification was made changes. (i) If you are a DBE, you must inform the recipient or UCP in writing of any change in circumstances affecting your ability to meet size, disadvantaged status, ownership, or control requirements of this part or any material change in the information provided in your application form. (1) Changes in management responsibility among members of a limited liability company are covered by this requirement. (2) You must attach supporting documentation describing in detail the nature of such changes. (3) The notice must take the form of an affidavit sworn to by the applicant before a person who is authorized by state law to administer oaths or of an unsworn declaration executed under penalty of perjury of the laws of the United States. You must provide the written notification within 30 days of the occurrence of the change. If you fail to make timely notification of such a change, you will be deemed to have failed to cooperate under §26.109(c). (j) If you are a DBE, you must provide to the recipient, every year on the anniversary of the date of your certification, an affidavit sworn to by the firm's owners before a person who is authorized by state law to administer oaths or an unsworn declaration executed under penalty of perjury of the laws of the United States. This affidavit must affirm that there have been no changes in the firm's circumstances affecting its ability to meet size, disadvantaged status, ownership, or control requirements of this part or any material changes in the information provided in its application form, except for changes about which you have notified the recipient under paragraph (i) of this section. The affidavit shall specifically affirm that your firm continues to meet SBA business size criteria and the overall gross receipts cap of this part, documenting this affirmation with supporting documentation of your firm's size and gross receipts. If you fail to provide this affidavit in a timely manner, you will be deemed to have failed to cooperate under §26.109(c). (k) If you are a recipient, you must make decisions on applications for certification within 90 days of receiving from the applicant firm all information required under this part. You may extend this time period once, for no more than an additional 60 days, upon written notice to the firm, explaining fully and specifically the reasons for the extension. You may establish a different time frame in your DBE program, upon a showing that this time frame is not feasible, and subject to the approval of the concerned operating administration. Your failure to make a decision by the applicable deadline under this paragraph is deemed a constructive denial of the application, on the basis of which the firm may appeal to DOT under §26.89. [64 FR 5126, Feb. 2, 1999, as amended at 68 FR 35555, June 16, 2003] (a) When an SBA-certified firm applies for certification pursuant to the DOT/SBA MOU, you must accept the certification applications, forms and packages submitted by a firm to the SBA for either the 8(a) BD or SDB programs, in lieu of requiring the applicant firm to complete your own application forms and packages. The applicant may submit the package directly, or may request that the SBA forward the package to you. Pursuant to the MOU, the SBA will forward the package within thirty days. (b) If necessary, you may request additional relevant information from the SBA. The SBA will provide this additional material within forty-five days of your written request. (c) Before certifying a firm based on its 8(a) BD or SDB certification, you must conduct an on-site review of the firm (see §26.83(c)(1)). If the SBA conducted an on-site review, you may rely on the SBA's report of the on-site review. In connection with this review, you may also request additional relevant information from the firm. (d) Unless you determine, based on the on-site review and information obtained in connection with it, that the firm does not meet the eligibility requirements of Subpart D of this part, you must certify the firm. (e) You are not required to process an application for certification from an SBA-certified firm having its principal place of business outside the state(s) in which you operate unless there is a report of a “home state” on-site review on which you may rely. (f) You are not required to process an application for certification from an SBA-certified firm if the firm does not provide products or services that you use in your DOT-assisted programs or airport concessions. [68 FR 35555, June 16, 2003] (a) Upon receipt of a signed, written request from a DBE-certified firm, you must transfer to the SBA a copy of the firm's application package. You must transfer this information within thirty days of receipt of the request. (b) If necessary, the SBA may make a written request to the recipient for additional materials (e.g., the report of the on-site review). You must provide a copy of this material to the SBA within forty-five days of the additional request. (c) You must provide appropriate assistance to SBA-certified firms, including providing information pertaining to the DBE application process, filing locations, required documentation and status of applications. [68 FR 35555, June 16, 2003] (a) When you deny a request by a firm, which is not currently certified with you, to be certified as a DBE, you must provide the firm a written explanation of the reasons for the denial, specifically referencing the evidence in the record that supports each reason for the denial. All documents and other information on which the denial is based must be made available to the applicant, on request. (b) When you deny DBE certification to a firm certified by the SBA, you must notify the SBA in writing. The notification must include the reason for denial. (c) When a firm is denied certification, you must establish a time period of no more than twelve months that must elapse before the firm may reapply to the recipient for certification. You may provide, in your DBE program, subject to approval by the concerned operating administration, a shorter waiting period for reapplication. The time period for reapplication begins to run on the date the explanation required by paragraph (a) of this section is received by the firm. (d) When you make an administratively final denial of certification concerning a firm, the firm may appeal the denial to the Department under §26.89. [64 FR 5126, Feb. 2, 1999. Redesignated and amended at 68 FR 35555, June 16, 2003] (a) Ineligibility complaints. (1) Any person may file with you a written complaint alleging that a currently-certified firm is ineligible and specifying the alleged reasons why the firm is ineligible. You are not required to accept a general allegation that a firm is ineligible or an anonymous complaint. The complaint may include any information or arguments supporting the complainant's assertion that the firm is ineligible and should not continue to be certified. Confidentiality of complainants' identities must be protected as provided in §26.109(b). (2) You must review your records concerning the firm, any material provided by the firm and the complainant, and other available information. You may request additional information from the firm or conduct any other investigation that you deem necessary. (3) If you determine, based on this review, that there is reasonable cause to believe that the firm is ineligible, you must provide written notice to the firm that you propose to find the firm ineligible, setting forth the reasons for the proposed determination. If you determine that such reasonable cause does not exist, you must notify the complainant and the firm in writing of this determination and the reasons for it. All statements of reasons for findings on the issue of reasonable cause must specifically reference the evidence in the record on which each reason is based. (b) Recipient-initiated proceedings. If, based on notification by the firm of a change in its circumstances or other information that comes to your attention, you determine that there is reasonable cause to believe that a currently certified firm is ineligible, you must provide written notice to the firm that you propose to find the firm ineligible, setting forth the reasons for the proposed determination. The statement of reasons for the finding of reasonable cause must specifically reference the evidence in the record on which each reason is based. (c) DOT directive to initiate proceeding. (1) If the concerned operating administration determines that information in your certification records, or other information available to the concerned operating administration, provides reasonable cause to believe that a firm you certified does not meet the eligibility criteria of this part, the concerned operating administration may direct you to initiate a proceeding to remove the firm's certification. (2) The concerned operating administration must provide you and the firm a notice setting forth the reasons for the directive, including any relevant documentation or other information. (3) You must immediately commence and prosecute a proceeding to remove eligibility as provided by paragraph (b) of this section. (d) Hearing. When you notify a firm that there is reasonable cause to remove its eligibility, as provided in paragraph (a), (b), or (c) of this section, you must give the firm an opportunity for an informal hearing, at which the firm may respond to the reasons for the proposal to remove its eligibility in person and provide information and arguments concerning why it should remain certified. (1) In such a proceeding, you bear the burden of proving, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the firm does not meet the certification standards of this part. (2) You must maintain a complete record of the hearing, by any means acceptable under state law for the retention of a verbatim record of an administrative hearing. If there is an appeal to DOT under §26.89, you must provide a transcript of the hearing to DOT and, on request, to the firm. You must retain the original record of the hearing. You may charge the firm only for the cost of copying the record. (3) The firm may elect to present information and arguments in writing, without going to a hearing. In such a situation, you bear the same burden of proving, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the firm does not meet the certification standards, as you would during a hearing. (e) Separation of functions. You must ensure that the decision in a proceeding to remove a firm's eligibility is made by an office and personnel that did not take part in actions leading to or seeking to implement the proposal to remove the firm's eligibility and are not subject, with respect to the matter, to direction from the office or personnel who did take part in these actions. (1) Your method of implementing this requirement must be made part of your DBE program. (2) The decisionmaker must be an individual who is knowledgeable about the certification requirements of your DBE program and this part. (3) Before a UCP is operational in its state, a small airport or small transit authority (i.e., an airport or transit authority serving an area with less than 250,000 population) is required to meet this requirement only to the extent feasible. (f) Grounds for decision. You must not base a decision to remove eligibility on a reinterpretation or changed opinion of information available to the recipient at the time of its certification of the firm. You may base such a decision only on one or more of the following: (1) Changes in the firm's circumstances since the certification of the firm by the recipient that render the firm unable to meet the eligibility standards of this part; (2) Information or evidence not available to you at the time the firm was certified; (3) Information that was concealed or misrepresented by the firm in previous certification actions by a recipient; (4) A change in the certification standards or requirements of the Department since you certified the firm; or (5) A documented finding that your determination to certify the firm was factually erroneous. (g) Notice of decision. Following your decision, you must provide the firm written notice of the decision and the reasons for it, including specific references to the evidence in the record that supports each reason for the decision. The notice must inform the firm of the consequences of your decision and of the availability of an appeal to the Department of Transportation under §26.89. You must send copies of the notice to the complainant in an ineligibility complaint or the concerned operating administration that had directed you to initiate the proceeding. (h) When you decertify a DBE firm certified by the SBA, you must notify the SBA in writing. The notification must include the reason for denial. (i) Status of firm during proceeding. (1) A firm remains an eligible DBE during the pendancy of your proceeding to remove its eligibility. (2) The firm does not become ineligible until the issuance of the notice provided for in paragraph (g) of this section. (j) Effects of removal of eligibility. When you remove a firm's eligibility, you must take the following action: (1) When a prime contractor has made a commitment to using the ineligible firm, or you have made a commitment to using a DBE prime contractor, but a subcontract or contract has not been executed before you issue the decertification notice provided for in paragraph (g) of this section, the ineligible firm does not count toward the contract goal or overall goal. You must direct the prime contractor to meet the contract goal with an eligible DBE firm or demonstrate to you that it has made a good faith effort to do so. (2) If a prime contractor has executed a subcontract with the firm before you have notified the firm of its ineligibility, the prime contractor may continue to use the firm on the contract and may continue to receive credit toward its DBE goal for the firm's work. In this case, or in a case where you have let a prime contract to the DBE that was later ruled ineligible, the portion of the ineligible firm's performance of the contract remaining after you issued the notice of its ineligibility shall not count toward your overall goal, but may count toward the contract goal. (3) Exception: If the DBE's ineligibility is caused solely by its having exceeded the size standard during the performance of the contract, you may continue to count its participation on that contract toward overall and contract goals. (k) Availability of appeal. When you make an administratively final removal of a firm's eligibility under this section, the firm may appeal the removal to the Department under §26.89. [64 FR 5126, Feb. 2, 1999, as amended at 68 FR 35556, June 16, 2003] (a)(1) If you are a firm that is denied certification or whose eligibility is removed by a recipient, including SBA-certified firms applying pursuant to the DOT/SBA MOU, you may make an administrative appeal to the Department. (2) If you are a complainant in an ineligibility complaint to a recipient (including the concerned operating administration in the circumstances provided in §26.87(c)), you may appeal to the Department if the recipient does not find reasonable cause to propose removing the firm's eligibility or, following a removal of eligibility proceeding, determines that the firm is eligible. (3) Send appeals to the following address: Department of Transportation, Office of Civil Rights, 400 7th Street, SW, Room 5414, Washington, DC 20590. (b) Pending the Department's decision in the matter, the recipient's decision remains in effect. The Department does not stay the effect of the recipient's decision while it is considering an appeal. (c) If you want to file an appeal, you must send a letter to the Department within 90 days of the date of the recipient's final decision, including information and arguments concerning why the recipient's decision should be reversed. The Department may accept an appeal filed later than 90 days after the date of the decision if the Department determines that there was good cause for the late filing of the appeal. (1) If you are an appellant who is a firm which has been denied certification, whose certification has been removed, whose owner is determined not to be a member of a designated disadvantaged group, or concerning whose owner the presumption of disadvantage has been rebutted, your letter must state the name and address of any other recipient which currently certifies the firm, which has rejected an application for certification from the firm or removed the firm's eligibility within one year prior to the date of the appeal, or before which an application for certification or a removal of eligibility is pending. Failure to provide this information may be deemed a failure to cooperate under §26.109(c). (2) If you are an appellant other than one described in paragraph (c)(1) of this section, the Department will request, and the firm whose certification has been questioned shall promptly provide, the information called for in paragraph (c)(1) of this section. Failure to provide this information may be deemed a failure to cooperate under §26.109(c). (d) When it receives an appeal, the Department requests a copy of the recipient's complete administrative record in the matter. If you are the recipient, you must provide the administrative record, including a hearing transcript, within 20 days of the Department's request. The Department may extend this time period on the basis of a recipient's showing of good cause. To facilitate the Department's review of a recipient's decision, you must ensure that such administrative records are well organized, indexed, and paginated. Records that do not comport with these requirements are not acceptable and will be returned to you to be corrected immediately. If an appeal is brought concerning one recipient's certification decision concerning a firm, and that recipient relied on the decision and/or administrative record of another recipient, this requirement applies to both recipients involved. (e) The Department makes its decision based solely on the entire administrative record. The Department does not make a de novo review of the matter and does not conduct a hearing. The Department may supplement the administrative record by adding relevant information made available by the DOT Office of Inspector General; Federal, state, or local law enforcement authorities; officials of a DOT operating administration or other appropriate DOT office; a recipient; or a firm or other private party. (f) As a recipient, when you provide supplementary information to the Department, you shall also make this information available to the firm and any third-party complainant involved, consistent with Federal or applicable state laws concerning freedom of information and privacy. The Department makes available, on request by the firm and any third-party complainant involved, any supplementary information it receives from any source. (1) The Department affirms your decision unless it determines, based on the entire administrative record, that your decision is unsupported by substantial evidence or inconsistent with the substantive or procedural provisions of this part concerning certification. (2) If the Department determines, after reviewing the entire administrative record, that your decision was unsupported by substantial evidence or inconsistent with the substantive or procedural provisions of this part concerning certification, the Department reverses your decision and directs you to certify the firm or remove its eligibility, as appropriate. You must take the action directed by the Department's decision immediately upon receiving written notice of it. (3) The Department is not required to reverse your decision if the Department determines that a procedural error did not result in fundamental unfairness to the appellant or substantially prejudice the opportunity of the appellant to present its case. (4) If it appears that the record is incomplete or unclear with respect to matters likely to have a significant impact on the outcome of the case, the Department may remand the record to you with instructions seeking clarification or augmentation of the record before making a finding. The Department may also remand a case to you for further proceedings consistent with Department instructions concerning the proper application of the provisions of this part. (5) The Department does not uphold your decision based on grounds not specified in your decision. (6) The Department's decision is based on the status and circumstances of the firm as of the date of the decision being appealed. (7) The Department provides written notice of its decision to you, the firm, and the complainant in an ineligibility complaint. A copy of the notice is also sent to any other recipient whose administrative record or decision has been involved in the proceeding (see paragraph (d) of this section). The Department will also notify the SBA in writing when DOT takes an action on an appeal that results in or confirms a loss of eligibility to any SBA-certified firm. The notice includes the reasons for the Department's decision, including specific references to the evidence in the record that supports each reason for the decision. (8) The Department's policy is to make its decision within 180 days of receiving the complete administrative record. If the Department does not make its decision within this period, the Department provides written notice to concerned parties, including a statement of the reason for the delay and a date by which the appeal decision will be made. (g) All decisions under this section are administratively final, and are not subject to petitions for reconsideration. [64 FR 5126, Feb. 2, 1999, as amended at 65 FR 68951, Nov. 15, 2000; 68 FR 35556, June 16, 2003] (a) If you are the recipient from whose action an appeal under §26.89 is taken, the decision is binding. It is not binding on other recipients. (b) If you are a recipient to which a DOT determination under §26.89 is applicable, you must take the following action: (1) If the Department determines that you erroneously certified a firm, you must remove the firm's eligibility on receipt of the determination, without further proceedings on your part. Effective on the date of your receipt of the Department's determination, the consequences of a removal of eligibility set forth in §26.87(i) take effect. (2) If the Department determines that you erroneously failed to find reasonable cause to remove the firm's eligibility, you must expeditiously commence a proceeding to determine whether the firm's eligibility should be removed, as provided in §26.87. (3) If the Department determines that you erroneously declined to certify or removed the eligibility of the firm, you must certify the firm, effective on the date of your receipt of the written notice of Department's determination. (4) If the Department determines that you erroneously determined that the presumption of social and economic disadvantage either should or should not be deemed rebutted, you must take appropriate corrective action as determined by the Department. (5) If the Department affirms your determination, no further action is necessary. (c) Where DOT has upheld your denial of certification to or removal of eligibility from a firm, or directed the removal of a firm's eligibility, other recipients with whom the firm is certified may commence a proceeding to remove the firm's eligibility under §26.87. Such recipients must not remove the firm's eligibility absent such a proceeding. Where DOT has reversed your denial of certification to or removal of eligibility from a firm, other recipients must take the DOT action into account in any certification action involving the firm. However, other recipients are not required to certify the firm based on the DOT decision.
Title 49: Transportation
PART 26—PARTICIPATION BY DISADVANTAGED BUSINESS ENTERPRISES IN DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS
Subpart E—Certification Procedures
§ 26.81 What are the requirements for Unified Certification Programs?
§ 26.83 What procedures do recipients follow in making certification decisions?
§ 26.84 How do recipients process applications submitted pursuant to the DOT/SBA MOU?
§ 26.85 How do recipients respond to requests from DBE-certified firms or the SBA made pursuant to the DOT/SBA MOU?
§ 26.86 What rules govern recipients' denials of initial requests for certification?
§ 26.87 What procedures does a recipient use to remove a DBE's eligibility?
§ 26.89 What is the process for certification appeals to the Department of Transportation?
§ 26.91 What actions do recipients take following DOT certification appeal decisions?
