The New Jersey Treasury has recently announced the launch of a new online portal, the Uniform Certification Service (UCS), serving the needs of the state's small, minority, women, and veteran owned business enterprise (SMWVBE) community. The portal streamlines the certification process for SMWVBEs, allowing them to more easily compete for state contracts.
The UCS now allows any business seeking SMWVBE certification to submit a single application and a single fee, regardless of if they are seeking one certification or multiple simultaneous certifications. Previously, businesses were required to submit one application and fee per individual certification. In addition, supporting documents that must be submitted with any application can now be uploaded directly to the portal, speeding up the process of application review.
The Treasury oversees contracts valued at over $1.8 billion annually as well as a portfolio of capital construction projects valued at $1 billion. The programs available to certified businesses include but are not limited to a set-aside program for SBEs with a goal of awarding 25 percent of all state contracting dollars to SBEs, and a comparable VBE program with a goal of 2 percent.
State Treasurer Elizabeth Maher Muoio, in introducing the new portal, stated in a press release that the current administration "is always striving to ensure an inclusive playing field when it comes to doing business with the state."
The UCS portal may be accessed at https://www.njportal.com/DOR/SBERegistry/.
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