Glossary / Business
Veteran-Owned Small BusinessVOSB
A Veteran-Owned Small Business (VOSB) is a small business at least 51% owned and controlled by one or more veterans (without requirement of service-connected disability). The VA's Veterans First authority gives VOSBs set-aside and sole-source priority on VA procurements, even ahead of other socioeconomic categories. For non-VA agencies, VOSBs are not generally subject to dedicated set-asides (though SDVOSBs are), but some agencies use VOSB subcategories within their small-business plans.
Why it matters to your pipeline
For veteran-owned firms without service-connected disability, VOSB status opens the VA's recurring procurement spend through Veterans First. SBA's Veteran Small Business Certification program (VetCert) now certifies both VOSBs and SDVOSBs; it took over from VA's Center for Verification and Evaluation in January 2023. VOSBs considering VA work should also consider whether achieving SDVOSB status (where applicable) adds additional set-aside lanes elsewhere in the government.
When this term shows up in an opening GovSmith finds for you, your vCM explains what it means for that pursuit and does whatever it calls for. You decide; we do the work.
Example
A 25-person VOSB wins a $3.8M VA Veterans First set-aside for medical-facility engineering services. Four other VOSBs submitted proposals; no SDVOSBs competed because the scope didn't require disability-service-connected ownership.
Find out what applies to you
Some terms will matter to your business right away and some won’t for years. A vCM can tell you which are which.