Our premier Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) certification is nationally recognized and will help elevate your business status while aligning you with opportunities to expand.
See If Your Business Is Ready For MBE Certification.
A Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) is a for-profit enterprise, regardless of size, physically located in the United States or its trust territories, which is owned, controlled and managed by a minority group or members.
“Ownership” by minority individuals means the business is at least 51% owned by such individuals or, in the case of a publicly owned business, at least 51% of the stock is owned by one or more such individuals. Further, those minority group members must control the governance of the business and manage its daily business operations.
See if your business is ready to apply for MBE certification. Click here to take the quiz.
You are required to view the Florida State Minority Supplier Development Council’s Pre-certification video. The Pre-certification video is an informal informational tool designed to provide potential MBEs with critical information needed to aid you with your understanding of the process for the MBE Certification. Topics of discussion include benefits of certification, application process, fees etc. Additionally, you will learn how to complete the online certification application and the required documentation. It is time stamped for ease of viewing and you will have an opportunity to watch as many times as you would like.
Once your application has been received, our certification team will begin the review process.
Certification may take 1-3 months.
If you fail to include ONE or MORE of the required pieces of documentation or provide an incorrect document, your application cannot be processed.
Once your application has been audited by our certification team and is deemed complete, you will be contacted to schedule a site visit.
During the review, any application that is only partially complete may be severely delayed beyond the 1–3 month time frame, until all required documentation is submitted.
Once your site visit is approved, your application will be submitted for certification committee approval.
Certification meetings are held monthly to review all current applications.
Once your certification application is approved by the committee, you’ll be contacted to attend MBE orientation. You will learn how to leverage your MBE certification to elevate and grow your business and obtain your MBE certificate.
A U.S. citizen having origins in any of the Black racial groups of sub-Saharan Africa. These countries include the following: Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sao Tome & Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Afro-Caribbean descendants are also eligible.
A person who is an American Indian, Eskimo, Aleut or native Hawaiian. Native Americans must be documented members of a North American tribe, band or organized group of native people who are indigenous to the United States. Proof must be provided.
A US citizen of trueborn Latin heritage from any of the Spanish speaking areas of the following regions: Mexico, Central America, South America and the Caribbean basin only. (Afro-Brazilian, indigenous/Indian only). These countries include the following: Mexico, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Panama, Guatemala, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela, Belize and Nicaragua.
A US citizen whose origins are from the Asian Pacific Islander region. These countries include Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Guam, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippines, Samoa, Thailand, Taiwan, the US Trust Territories of the Pacific or the Northern Marianas, and Vietnam.
* Being born in one of the countries listed above DOES NOT, by itself, qualify an individual as an ethnic minority.
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Certified MBEs receive EXCLUSIVE access to specialty programs, resources and scholarships to help your business grow and scale.
If you have any questions about the documents, please refer to our Certification Document Library for samples.
Any application that is partially completed, may be severely delayed beyond the 60-90 timeframe, until all the required documentation is submitted.
Recertification is due annually and can be submitted up to ninety (90) days prior to your certification expiration date, or upon request by the Affiliate Council.
A certified MBE can submit an application for renewal at least sixty (60) days prior to the certification expiration date, or upon request by the Florida State Minority Supplier Development Council (FSMSDC). THERE IS NO GRACE PERIOD. Upon renewal, applicants are required to submit a certification application, signed tax returns for the previous year and a notarized Certification Affidavit. If the prior year's tax returns are not available, the previous year's tax extension form AND prior year Financial Statements must be provided. FSMSDC shall determine whether continued certification is supported.
*Application fee is non-refundable.
*Application fee is non-refundable.
Note: Expediting of application is available at the discretion of the FSMSDC for an additional fee of $650.
ALL CLAIMS OR DISPUTES ARISING OUT OF THE MBE CERTIFICATION PROCESS, WHETHER THE INITIAL DENIAL OR AFTER AN APPEAL, BETWEEN YOU AND FSMSDC WILL BE RESOLVED THROUGH BINDING ARBITRATION IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE FEDERAL ARBITRATION ACT (FAA), TITLE 9 OF THE UNITED STATES CODE, AND ARBITRATION RULES. YOU AGREE, UNDERSTAND AND CHOOSE BINDING ARBITRATION INSTEAD OF LITIGATION TO RESOLVE ALL CLAIMS. BY PROCEEDING WITH THE CERTIFICATION PROCESS, NEITHER YOU NOR FSMSDC WILL HAVE THE RIGHT TO LITIGATE A CLAIM IN COURT WITH RESPECT TO THE CERTIFICATION PROCESS.
The arbitration shall take place in Miami-Dade County, Florida. In the event this agreement to arbitrate is found to be invalid and/or unenforceable for any reason whatsoever, any and all claims arising out of the MBE certification process shall be brought in a court of competent jurisdiction in the State of Florida, Miami-Dade County judicial district, and shall be tried without a jury.
MISSION
The mission of the Florida State Minority Supplier Development Council (FSMSDC) is to link corporate and government members with Minority Business Enterprises to foster equity in business.
VISION
A world in which economic success is diverse and inclusive.
Since 1975, FSMSDC’s purpose has been to foster the development and success of minority-owned businesses throughout Florida. Central to our mission is the principle that networks and relationships among and between minority businesses and corporate and government buyers build businesses.
Copyright © FSMSDC. FSMSDC is an Affiliate of the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC). All rights reserved.
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