Qualifications
Anyone can say they’re Black-owned, but here they can prove it.In order to qualify for certification your business must be at least 51% Black-owned, be headquartered in the U.S. and have filed taxes in the past year.
What It Takes To Get Certified
If your company is headquartered in the United States and is majority owned and operated by a Black person or persons, you qualify for this certification.
We simply request that you provide the proper documentation based on your business structure to help us verify your qualifications and ensure the accuracy of your statements.Our certification has three major components. Each section requires you to share certain information for us to better understand and ultimately verify your business as Black-Owned. Check out the necessary documents below.
Fewer than50%of diverse-owned businesses have a certification that communicates their identity.They are missing out on millions of dollars in opportunities and resources.The State of Supplier Diversity:
JAGGAER, 2021
What It Takes To Get Certified
Our certification requires specific and relevant documentation based on your business’ legal structure. We are mindful of the unique challenges facing Black business owners.That’s why we’ve streamlined our approach to ensure that the process isn’t unnecessarily aggressive, time consuming or redundant.
Proof of Ownership
We require documents such as tax returns, EIN and owner resume or LinkedIn profile that show legal documentation of you owning your business.
Proof of Control And Operation
We require documentation to show the validity of the business and how you as the owner have legal authority to operate and make decisions behalf of your business. This includes Business Licenses and State-Issued fillings, Articles of Incorporation Or Organization, Corporate Bylaws, Partnership Agreements and Board Minutes and Ledger. Most of these documents are required or provided by your Secretary of State Office, Department of Regulatory Affairs or Business Office during initial filing
Proof of Identity
We require a valid copy of Driver’s License, U.S. Passport or Greencard
Want to see all of our requirements in detail?
Review our guide to understand exactly what specific businesses should have to get certified.
Take Our Qualifications Questionnaire
Our Process For Certifying You
Once your application is submitted, our team gets to work. Each application is reviewed by two specialists who each read the provided documents to carefully assess a business owner’s credibility for certification.
If each reviewer agrees on the accuracy of the information, they can usually certify a business within 30 to 45 business days.However, based on the documents provided and the breadth of information included for a submission, this timeline can vary. If business owners submit incomplete documents or inaccurate information, we will reach out to request additional documents from the business owner and assess the supplemental data that was shared. These follow ups can add extra time for our reviewers so please ensure you have submitted all pertinent documents for our team.
Realize You’re Not Ready To Get Certified?
Take the steps to earn your ByBlack certification with these outside resources.