U.S. DOT Finalizes Updates to Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) Program

Today the U.S. Department of Transportation published the final rule making changes to the DOT Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) program. The final rule includes most of the modifications that ACEC had supported in the proposed rule in 2022. Key provisions include an increase in the personal net worth (PNW) cap from $1.32 million to $2.047 million, with regular future adjustments for inflation without the need for a rulemaking process. Retirement assets are excluded from the PNW cap. Alignment of the business size standards under the DBE rules with Small Business Administration size standards for the relevant NAICS codes, with a five-year averaging period for calculating gross receipts. Expedited interstate certification of DBEs.The DOT DBE website with more information is here. A summary of the major changes to the program is here.