What is a HUBZone?

The U.S. Small Business Administration manages a number of programs intended to assist small businesses in accessing Federal contracts.

One such program is the HUBZone program, established by legislation authored by Missouri Senator Kit Bond, among others, in 1997-98.

H = Historically
U = Underutilized
B = Business
Zones....

Are urban, rural, and tribal communities that have high unemployment rates and high poverty rates. In urban areas, they are defined by qualified Census tracts. In rural areas, they are typically defined by entire counties.

HUBZone areas in Metropolitan St. Louis:

(Source: http://www.sba.gov/hubzone/)

Please note: the HUBZone mapping application functions well in Microsoft Internet Explorer, but not consistently in Mozilla Firefox. So, use IE to check addresses to determine HUBZone location.

There is a two-part test to determine small business eligibility for HUBZone certification.

1) Principal Office must be located in HUBZone
Principal Office = Location where largest number of employees report to work

2) At least 35% of employees must reside in a HUBZone

You must apply online for HUBZone certification. Simply being located in a HUBZone is insufficient; you must be certified by SBA as a HUBZone firm in order to be eligible for HUBZone set-aside contracts, or to qualify toward contracting agency and prime contractor HUBZone goals.

Of course, before you can do this, you must have a currently valid profile on Central Contractor Registration (CCR).

Questions about HUBZone? Contact MO PTAC.