USDOT makes major change to DBE eligibility rules

News - Published Oct 02, 2025

On September 30th, 2025, the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) issued an Interim Final Rule (IFR) to its Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) and Airport Concessions DBE (ACDBE) programs. The IFR, which takes effect on October 3rd, 2025, removes changes for the DBE and ACDBE programs by removing the presumption that women and certain minority groups are socially and economically disadvantaged.

The IFR comes after recent and still-unsettled litigation on the constitutionality of of race- and gender-conscious preferences and presumptions in government contracting. The IFR does not otherwise suspend or modify the DBE and ACDBE programs - DBEs and ACDBE eligibility remains conditioned on social and economic disadvantage, but the presumption of such disadvantage is no longer granted to women or minorities.

The programs previously already allowed for certification of such disadvantage based on individual testimony and demonstration. DOT is now requiring businesses to provide a "Personal Narrative" that "establishes the existence of disadvantage by a preponderance of the evidence", and is instructing the Unified Certification Program (UCP) for each state DBE program to require currently certified DBEs and ACDBEs to undergo re-certification by means of submitting that Personal Narrative.

The IFR requires each state UCP program to cease from setting any DBE participation goals, or count any DBE participation towards such goals, until it has completed its recertification procedures.

DOT is inviting comment for a 30-day period following the September 30th publication of the rule. Comments may be submitted by means of online submission to the Federal Rulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov; or by mail to the U.S. Department of Transportation, Docket Operations, M–30, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, S.E., Washington, D.C. 20590. Further instructions on how to submit a comment may be found in the IFR document linked below.

Find the IFR document at https://www.transportation.gov/sites/dot.gov/files/2025-09/DBE%20IFR.Signed.9-30-2025.pdf.

Find the DOT's IFR guidance at https://www.transportation.gov/sites/dot.gov/files/2025-09/DBE%20IFR%20Guidance.9-30-2025.pdf.