Melissa Savage - Certification Manager

For Certification Assistance please call (213) 847-2684, or email bca.certifications@lacity.org

The City of Los Angeles offers business certification services through the Office of Contract Compliance (OCC), Certification, Outreach, Regulations and Enforcement (CORE) Section. The main purpose of business certifications is to promote opportunities for disadvantaged, minority, women, small, disabled veteran, local and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and/or transgender business owners who want to participate in City contracting opportunities. OCC certifies qualified firms as Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBE), Airport Concessions Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (ACDBE), Minority Business Enterprises (MBE), Women Business Enterprises (WBE), Local Business Enterprise (LBE), Local Small Business Enterprise (LSBE), Local Transitional Employer (LTE), Small Business Enterprise – Proprietary (SBE (Proprietary)) and State Local Disabled Veteran – LAWA (DVBE(LAWA)). OCC also verifies Small Business Enterprise (SBE), Emerging Business Enterprise (EBE), Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise (DVBE), Very Small Business Enterprise (VSBE) and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Business Enterprise (LGBTBE) on a business’ Regional Alliance Marketplace for Procurement (RAMP) profile. CORE also maintains City of Los Angeles Directories of certified DBE/ACDBE/MBE/WBE, SBE (Proprietary), LSB and LTE firms.
 
CORE is an active participant in the California Unified Certification Program (CUCP) as one of the DBE certifying agencies in the State of California. The CUCP was established in 2002 to offer a "One-Stop-Shop" for state-wide certification. CORE enters and updates certified DBEs in the statewide CUCP directory of certified DBE firms which is maintained by Caltrans and played a key role in the implementation of the CUCP Memorandum of Agreement (MOA).
 
The Business Inclusion Program, established through the Mayor's Executive Directive No. 14, was implemented to ensure that more small businesses can participate in City contracts. The program recognizes Small Business Enterprise (SBE-LA on RAMP), EBE, and DVBE in addition to the MBE and WBE certifications. To be recognized for any of these certifications, the business needs to be currently certified by the California Department of General Services (CA-DGS) in the respective certification. In lieu of the CA-DGS SBE or SBE(Micro) certification for SBE and EBE recognition, a business may be certified by CORE as a LSBE. To apply for these certifications, go to the CA Department of General Services certification link. After being certified by the CA-DGS, the applicant should request for recognition through their company profile on RAMP
 

For additional reference, refer to the helpful guides below:  

 

  Directories: 

 

CORE is located at 1149 South Broadway Street, Suite 300, Los Angeles, CA 90015.
Making an appointment is highly recommended prior
to coming to the CORE office for certification assistance.