Applying for Certification
To become WBE certified, businesses follow these 5 steps:
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Register your business on wisdp.wi.gov
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Log into the Wisconsin Supplier Diversity Portal and complete the
WBE Certification Application
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Upload required documents from the WBE Checklist
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Verify and Submit the WBE Certification Application
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Mail $150 via
check or money order payable to "Department of Administration".
Please mail your check to:
WI Supplier Diversity Program
Department of Administration
PO Box 7970
Madison, WI 53707-7970
We do not have ePayment available at this time.
After you click submit, Supplier Diversity Program staff will review your application within 30 days. If there are questions or additional documents needed, staff will email your Primary Contact person.
JOINT VENTURES
If your business is a Joint Venture, please see the JV Guidelines document below:
JV Guidelines
TRUSTS
If any portion of your 51% majority ownership is in trust, please complete the Trust Information Form below:
SDP Trust Info Form
WBE Checklist
Printable version:
WBE Checklist.pdf
There is a $150 fee for WBE certifications.
Mail to:
Dept of Administration
P.O. Box 7970
Madison, WI 53707-7970
Electronic payment is unavailable.
Must provide at least one of the following, for each woman owner:
- Birth certificate
- Passport
- State Issued ID or Driver's license
Minimum documentation required:
- 3 years of Federal Business Tax Forms: Upload signiture page or Form 8879 AND the tax schedules/forms listed below:
- Sole proprietorship: 1040/1040A: Schedule C and Schedule E (if available)
- Corporation: 1120: Schedule G and Form 1125E (if available)
- S Corporation: 1120S: Schedule K-1, Schedule G-1, and Form 1125E (if available)
- Partnership: 1065: Schedul K-1, Schedule B-1, and Form 1125 (if available)
- Buy-out or purchase agreement(s), if applicable
- Corporate by-laws, if applicable
- Partnership agreement, if applicable
- Stock certificates or stock affirmation forms, if applicable
- Operating agreements
Additional documentation may be requested:
- Articles of incorporation/organization, if applicable (corporations, LLCs)
- Salary and profit-sharing records
- Corporate-borrowing resolution (corporations)
- Canceled check(s) used to purchase ownership (sole proprietorships)
- Current business financial statements (profit & loss or balance sheet)
- Business licenses
- Minutes of corporate meetings
- Joing venture agreement (must be signed by all of the joint venturers and must include the information provided in Wis. Admin. Code § Adm 83.25(e)1.-2.)
All documents
required:
- Documentation of control of bank accounts with owner and business name (ex: signature card, business credit/debit card, bank statement)
- All business agreements
- Operating agreements
- Signed bids and contracts
- Signed loans
- Signed hiring decisions
- Resumes
- Signed invoices, contracts, and purchase orders sent to your customers (at least three), required
- Managing authority (organizational chart, list of staff under owner's direct supervision or position description, if available)
- Business equipment inventory/list
- Leases
- Employee contracts
- Loans
- Payroll records
Businesses whose headquarters is not in the State of Wisconsin.
- Documentation of at least one customer located in Wisconsin - Wis. Stat. § 16.285(1)(a)(2)
- Home State Certification (letter of certification or most recent certificate)
- Business registration in Wisconsin - see dfi.wi.gov
- Upload your completed document checklist into your business account on wisdp.wi.gov (optional)
- Please email SupplierDiversity@wi.gov to discuss missing documents
- Documentation of active management by woman owner & useful business function - Wis. Admin. Code §§ Adm 83.33 & 83.37
Training Videos
If you are lost at any point, please watch our training videos below or contact our team at SupplierDiversity@wi.gov.
If you are an out of state business, watch our video about extra requirements:
After Certification:
SDP staff will review
your application within 30 days. When approved, SDP staff will email an Approval Letter and WBE Certificate to
your business' Primary Contact.
Once certified,
Check out our content on newly certified business resources in the "Newly Certified" tab of our website!
Logo Usage
You are also free to use our Logo after your business is certified! See the WBE Style Guide to find State of Wisconsin guidelines on how to use these trademarked images.
Links for Logo:
Keeping
Your Certification Active:
To keep your certification active, you'll need to complete an
Annual Update every year and
Recertify after three years. Visit the Annual Update and Recertification tabs above to see more information about what each of these mean!