If you represent a business that participates in or is interested in bidding on government contracts in North Carolina, and that business is a historically underutilized business (HUB), you should be aware of the new Statewide Uniform Certification (SWUC) program.
SWUC was developed to streamline the certification process and reduce the redundancy in certifying minority- and women-owned business enterprises (MWBE); and to create a centralized HUB and MWBE database throughout North Carolina under the Department of Administration (NCDOA) HUB office. Prior to SWUC, HUB/MWBE operations had to apply for certification on both the state and local levels.
If the HUB/MWBE business is certified with the HUB office, certification will automatically be transferred into the SWUC program. If a business is not certified with the HUB office, but is certified with a local MWBE office, the HUB office in the NCDOA will help to facilitate the transfer of certification into the SWUC program.
For local certification to be transferred, businesses must register with the Vendor Link NC database and request HUB certification. The HUB office will then request documentation from the local MWBE office. Upon receipt of documentation, business’ certification will be transferred into SWUC. Certification transfer will be allowed until Oct. 15, 2009.
For more information, or to access HUB certification registration, visit the Department of Administration website.
To discuss this issue, please contact the author and vice president of our government relations team, listed below, or a McGuireWoods attorney in the government investigations group.