Certification Office for Business Inclusion and Diversity (COBID), Business Oregon
Veteran Business Enterprise Certification (VBE). COBID sits inside Business Oregon at 775 Summer St. NE, Suite 310, Salem, Oregon 97301, open weekdays 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. It is the single certifying office for VBE, MBE, WBE, ESB, DBE, ACDBE, and the new Oregon Small Business Enterprise certification. Certification Office for Business Inclusion and Diversity (COBID), Business Oregon →
Certification does not expire
VBE certification is permanent as long as the business keeps meeting the criteria, unlike Oregon’s Emerging Small Business certification, which is capped at 12 years of participation.
All veterans, not just service-disabled
House Bill 2295 took effect January 1, 2024 and expanded the old SDVBE certification to any veteran-owned business; service-disabled status is now an added designation.
No price preference
Oregon has no percentage bid preference for veteran-owned firms. Certified firms are statutory required participants, which triggers good-faith-effort duties on other bidders.
Certification
What COBID certifies
A business may apply to COBID for certification as a veteran-owned business, among other categories. A separate application is required for each category sought. Once COBID certifies a business, a contracting agency must recognize it as that category and as having met the statutory requirements, and a prime contractor may do the same for a certified subcontractor.
- The statutory authority is ORS 200.005 to 200.075, implemented by Oregon Administrative Rules 123-200-1000 through 123-200-2300.
- A veteran-owned business is defined as a small business concern at least 51 percent of which one or more veterans own and control, or 51 percent of whose stock is owned by veterans who also control and manage daily operations.
Source: ORS 200.055, Certification
The 2024 expansion, and the SDV designation
House Bill 2295 (Oregon Laws 2023, chapter 497) became operative on January 1, 2024 and expanded COBID certification from businesses owned by service-disabled veterans to businesses owned by any veteran. COBID renamed the old SDVBE certification as Veteran Business Enterprise. A certified firm that is also owned by a service-disabled veteran can carry the Service Disabled Veteran designation by supplying a disability award letter.
- VBE certification is based on the individual rather than the size of the business, and it does not expire.
- VBE opens contracting with state, county, and city government as well as special jurisdictions such as hospitals and universities.
Source: Business Oregon, Service Disabled Veteran (SDV) Certification
The preference
No percentage — a required participant regime instead
Oregon law makes certified veteran-owned businesses, along with disadvantaged, minority-owned, woman-owned, and emerging small businesses, required participants. Where a public contract requires participation from a required participant and the bidder is not one, the agency may award only if the bidder shows it is responsible and has made good faith efforts to encourage required participants to take part.
- An agency may presume responsibility and good faith where the bidder attends pre-bid meetings held to inform certified firms of opportunities, identifies economically feasible units of work that certified firms can perform, and takes the other listed steps.
- State contracting agencies must give timely notice to the Governor’s Policy Advisor for Economic and Business Equity of any solicitation for a contract of $10,000 or more, and report the award.
Where the leverage actually sits
Because the directory feeds contract goals, the practical mechanism is subcontracting. COBID’s directory states that listed firms are currently certified and approved to be used toward meeting established contract goals in their certification types. A suspended firm cannot be counted for credit on new contracts until the suspension is lifted.
- The directory download lets prime contractors pull search results to Excel, which is how most outreach lists are built.
- Veteran business enterprise participation is credited the same way other COBID categories are.
Source: COBID Certified Vendor Directory
Eligibility
The business tests
The business must be for profit, registered with the Oregon Secretary of State, and have three-year average gross annual receipts not exceeding $31.84 million. The owner must own and control 51 percent or more of the business, control and manage day-to-day operations, hold proper professional licensing where the trade requires it, and have made a contribution of capital. The owner must be a U.S. citizen or lawfully admitted permanent resident.
- Expect a phone interview and a possible site visit covering office, shop, and job site as applicable.
- Registration with the Oregon Secretary of State is required, which functions as the state nexus requirement.
The veteran service tests
Veteran status is confirmed with current documentation of honorable discharge showing at least 90 days of active duty beginning on or before January 31, 1955; 178 days of active duty beginning after that date; or one day of combat zone deployment. The statute also reaches someone discharged after fewer than 178 days because of a service-connected disability, someone with a VA disability rating, someone receiving a nonservice-connected VA pension, a disabled veteran as defined in ORS 408.225, a recipient of a combat or campaign ribbon or expeditionary medal, and a reserve officer or National Guard member of at least five years’ standing.
- No minimum disability rating is required for VBE certification.
- For the added Service Disabled Veteran designation, supply the owner’s disability award letter showing a service-connected rating.
- Attendance at a school under military orders does not count as active duty, except schooling incident to an active enlistment or a regular tour of duty.
How to apply
E-application through the Certification Management System
Gather records using COBID’s application checklist, then apply through the Certification Management System e-application for VBE certification. Applicants who cannot use the online system can email the COBID team at biz.cobid@biz.oregon.gov to request a paper application.
- A separate application is required for each certification category sought, though COBID may approve more than one at the same time.
- ORS 200.055 authorizes the department to adopt a uniform application form and procedure and to set fees by rule; COBID’s published eligibility page does not list an application charge.
Source: Business Oregon, application process for VBE certification
Finding opportunities
Who can use the certification
VBE certification reaches state, county, and city government contracts and special jurisdictions such as hospitals and universities, so the addressable market is much wider than state agency purchasing. The 2025 legislature also directed the Department of Administrative Services to build a small business procurement program, with COBID issuing a new Oregon Small Business Enterprise certification that a veteran-owned Oregon firm may want in addition to VBE.
- The Oregon Small Business Enterprise certification is Oregon-only, race and gender neutral, size-based, caps employees at 50 on an annual average, and requires annual renewal.
- Firms certified as OSBE are eligible for the state’s small business procurement opportunities.
Source: Business Oregon, COBID available business certifications
What gets reported wrongly about Oregon
- Guides still describe Oregon as having an SDVBE certification limited to service-disabled veterans. That changed on January 1, 2024. The certification is now Veteran Business Enterprise and is open to any veteran meeting the service tests; service-disabled status is an extra designation on top.
- Oregon is often listed among states with a veteran bid preference. It has none. ORS chapter 200 contains no percentage price preference for veteran-owned firms — the mechanism is certification plus good-faith-effort duties under ORS 200.045.
- The receipts cap is easy to miss. A veteran-owned business is defined as a small business concern, and COBID applies a three-year average gross receipts ceiling of $31.84 million. Large veteran-owned firms are out.
- COBID certifications in the veteran category do not expire, but DBE and ACDBE certifications are a different animal and the Emerging Small Business certification caps participation at 12 years. Do not assume a single renewal rule across your COBID certifications.
Every figure on this page links to the source it came from. Verified October 24, 2026. Procurement rules change — check the source before you rely on a number.
Free to list, free to search — nobody pays to appear here.
Donate