There are currently 66,300 Woman Owned Small Business (WOSB) Certified firms, 24,500 of which are Economically Disadvantaged WOSB firms or (EDWOSB) firms. The question that comes up frequently is should a firm look at upgrade their WOSB into an EDWOSB, and what, if any, are the additional qualifications.

The three criteria that must be met for a firm to be classified as EDWOSB are the following:

1. The ED/WOSB applicant’s female majority owner’s net worth must be less than $750,000, excluding equity interest of the primary residence, and her ownership in the ED/WOSB.

2. The ED/WOSB applicant’s female majority owner’s AGI (Adjusted Gross Income) must be less than $350,000 on average for the past three (3) years. You may exclude any income received by your ED/WOSB that is an S corporation, LLC, etc., if the applicant can provide documentation that the funds were reinvested back into the ED/WOSB, or the distribution was solely for the purpose of paying taxes arising from the normal course of business operations.

3. The Fair Market Value of all the female owner’s assets are less than $6,000,000, excluding an IRA or other official retirement accounts if they are unavailable until retirement age without a significant penalty being rendered.

The Advantage of the EDWOSB Certification is that Set-aside contracts are available to EDWOSB firms whose primary lines of business fall within some specific NAICS Codes. Therefore, there isn’t necessarily an advantage to a WOSB firm to obtain the EDWOSB Certification, unless they are looking to perform federal contracts in one of these NAICS Codes.

Economically Disadvantaged Women Owned Small Business

NAICS Codes

4-Digit 6-Digit North American Industry Classification System Title

3152 Cut and Sew Apparel Manufacturing
315210 Cut and Sew Apparel Contractors
315220 Men's and Boys' Cut and Sew Apparel Manufacturing
315240 Women's, Girls', and Infants' Cut and Sew Apparel Manufacturing
315280 Other Cut and Sew Apparel Manufacturing

3219 Other Wood Product Manufacturing
321911 Wood Window and Door Manufacturing
321912 Cut Stock, Resawing Lumber, and Planning
321918 Other Millwork (including Flooring)
321920 Wood Container and Pallet Manufacturing
321991 Manufactured Home (Mobile Home) Manufacturing
321992 Prefabricated Wood Building Manufacturing
321999 All Other Miscellaneous Wood Product Manufacturing

3259 Other Chemical Product and Preparation Manufacturing
325910 Printing Ink Manufacturing
325920 Explosives Manufacturing
325991 Custom Compounding of Purchased Resins
325992 Photographic Film, Paper, Plate, and Chemical Manufacturing
325998 All Other Miscellaneous Chemical Product and Preparation Manufacturing

3333 Commercial and Service Industry Machinery Manufacturing
333314 Optical Instrument and Lens Manufacturing
333316 Photographic and Photocopying Equipment Manufacturing
333318 Other Commercial and Service Industry Machinery Manufacturing

3342 Communications Equipment Manufacturing
334210 Telephone Apparatus Manufacturing
334220 Radio and Television Broadcasting and Wireless Communications Equipment Manufacturing
334290 Other Communications Equipment Manufacturing

3353 Electrical Equipment Manufacturing
335311 Power, Distribution, and Specialty Transformer Manufacturing
335312 Motor and Generator Manufacturing
335313 Switchgear and Switchboard Apparatus Manufacturing
335314 Relay and Industrial Control Manufacturing

3359 Other Electrical Equipment and Component Manufacturing
335911 Storage Battery Manufacturing
335912 Primary Battery Manufacturing
335921 Fiber Optic Cable Manufacturing
335929 Other Communication and Energy Wire Manufacturing
335931 Current-Carrying Wiring Device Manufacturing
335932 Noncurrent-Carrying Wiring Device Manufacturing
335991 Carbon and Graphite Product Manufacturing
335999 All Other Miscellaneous Electrical Equipment and Component Manufacturing

3372 Office Furniture (including Fixtures) Manufacturing
337211 Wood Office Furniture Manufacturing
337212 Custom Architectural Woodwork and Millwork Manufacturing
337214 Office Furniture (except Wood) Manufacturing
337215 Showcase, Partition, Shelving, and Locker Manufacturing

4841 General Freight Trucking
484110 General Freight Trucking, Local
484121 General Freight Trucking, Long-Distance, Truckload
484122 General Freight Trucking, Long-Distance, Less Than Truckload

4885 Freight Transportation Arrangement
488510 Freight Transportation Arrangement

4889 Other Support Activities for Transportation
488991 Packing and Crating
488999 All Other Support Activities for Transportation

5171 Wired Telecommunications Carriers
517110 Wired Telecommunications Carriers

5311 Lessors of Real Estate
531110 Lessors of Residential Buildings and Dwellings
531120 Lessors of Nonresidential Buildings (except Miniwarehouses)
531130 Lessors of Miniwarehouses and Self-Storage Units
531190 Lessors of Other Real Estate Property

5414 Specialized Design Services
541410 Interior Design Services
541420 Industrial Design Services
541430 Graphic Design Services
541490 Other Specialized Design Services

5611 Office Administrative Services
561110 Office Administrative Services

5614 Business Support Services
561410 Document Preparation Services
561421 Telephone Answering Services
561422 Telemarketing Bureaus and Other Contact Centers
561431 Private Mail Centers
561439 Other Business Service Centers (including Copy Shops)
561440 Collection Agencies
561450 Credit Bureaus
561491 Repossession Services
561492 Court Reporting and Stenotype Services
561499 All Other Business Support Services

5621 Waste Collection
562111 Solid Waste Collection
562112 Hazardous Waste Collection
562119 Other Waste Collection

6115 Technical and Trade Schools
611511 Cosmetology and Barber Schools
611512 Flight Training
611513 Apprenticeship Training
611519 Other Technical and Trade Schools

6243 Vocational Rehabilitation Services
624310 Vocational Rehabilitation Services

7223 Special Food Services
722310 Food Service Contractors
722320 Caterers
722330 Mobile Food Services

8114 Personal and Household Goods Repair and Maintenance
811411 Home and Garden Equipment Repair and Maintenance
811412 Appliance Repair and Maintenance
811420 Re-upholstery and Furniture Repair
811430 Footwear and Leather Goods Repair
811490 Other Personal and Household Goods Repair and Maintenance

If you are interested in exploring the benefits and qualifications for the ED/WOSB Certifications, I always recommend contacting an industry expert such as ez8a, Advance 8a or Government Marketing. None of them charge for an initial consultation.