Business Opportunities for DBE & ACDBE Firms
How DBE and ACDBE certification can help your business access contracting and concession opportunities throughout California.
Marketing Advantage
By becoming a certified Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) or Airport Concession DBE (ACDBE), your business will be listed in the CUCP statewide database. This database is utilized by contractors, businesses, and public agencies throughout California and the U.S.
Public agencies and large prime contractors contact DBEs listed in the database to solicit their participation on upcoming federally-assisted projects. The CUCP database provides your firm with exposure to procurement opportunities.
Where to Find Opportunities
- 1.Certifying agency websites — most agencies list contracting opportunities online and offer vendor registration.
- 2.Non-certifying agency websites — also list potential contracting opportunities.
- 3.Airport concessions — contact airports directly for concession opportunities. Request to be placed on the bidder's mailing list and receive notices of concession opportunities.
- 4.CUCP DBE Directory — search for other DBE firms to partner with on projects.
Major California Airports (Concessions)
Understanding DBE Goals
Status as of August 16, 2026: new goals proposed, comment open.
The October 3, 2025 Interim Final Rule suspended the goal machinery until the UCP covering a recipient finishes its § 26.111 reevaluation — no overall goal updates (49 CFR 26.45(h)), no contract goals (26.51(h)), no counting of participation (26.55(i)). California's reevaluation is now finished, and on August 16, 2026 Caltrans published proposed replacement goals for FFY 2027–2028: the FHWA overall goal falling from 21.35% to 11.80% and the FTA goal from 6.7% to .08%, which Caltrans attributes to a significantly smaller pool of re-certified firms. Public comment runs August 17–31, 2026. Contract goals resume only once FHWA and FTA acknowledge the reports; Caltrans expects that in the 2026–27 federal fiscal year. Check our status tracker before planning around a goal.
Recipients of USDOT funding set an overall DBE goal and submit it to FHWA, FTA or FAA every three years; the goal then applies to each year within that period (49 CFR 26.45). Not every recipient sets one — 26.45(a)(2) exempts FTA Tier II recipients running DBE-neutral programs and FAA recipients expecting $250,000 or less in FAA prime contract funds that year. Goal levels are set by each recipient from its own market data; the 10 percent figure in the statute is a national aspirational target, and 49 CFR 26.41(c) says expressly that it does not require any recipient to set goals at 10 percent or any other particular level. Caltrans publishes its current figures on its own DBE pages — take them from there rather than from any range quoted second-hand.
When an agency issues a contract carrying a specific DBE goal, prime contractors must either meet it or document good-faith efforts to do so (49 CFR 26.53). That is what normally creates steady subcontracting demand across construction, engineering, trucking and professional services — and it is the mechanism currently on hold under 26.51(h).
Being listed in the statewide DBE directory makes your firm visible to prime contractors searching for certified subcontractors by NAICS code, location, and work type — 49 CFR 26.31(d) requires the directory to be searchable on exactly those fields. The same paragraph requires the directory to display a notice that a listing is not a guarantee of a firm's capacity or ability to perform, so treat the listing as visibility, not as a lead source.
Not yet certified? Read the complete DBE certification guide, check your eligibility, or learn about Caltrans DBE certification. Compare DBE, SBE, and DVBE to choose the right program.
Frequently Asked Questions
What contracts can DBE firms bid on?
DBE certified firms can bid on any contract, and their certification normally counts toward DBE participation goals on federally funded transportation projects (FHWA, FTA, FAA) — highway construction, transit, airport, and engineering contracts. Note that under 49 CFR 26.55(i) that counting is suspended until the UCP covering the recipient completes its § 26.111 reevaluation.
Do I need DBE certification to bid on Caltrans contracts?
No. DBE certification is voluntary. Any qualified firm can bid on and win Caltrans contracts. When contract goals are in force, certified DBE firms count toward the goals prime contractors must meet — though 49 CFR 26.51(h) currently bars recipients from setting those goals pending the § 26.111 reevaluation.
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Sources
- 49 CFR 26.45 — Overall goals go to FHWA/FTA/FAA every three years and apply to each year within that period; (a)(2) exempts FTA Tier II and small FAA recipients, and (h) suspends goal updates pending reevaluation.
- 49 CFR 26.51(h) — The provision that currently bars recipients from setting DBE contract goals until their UCP finishes the § 26.111 reevaluation.
- 49 CFR 26.55(i) — Suspends counting DBE participation toward goals during the same period — the reason this page's goal discussion is written as “normally”.
- 49 CFR 26.41 — The statutory 10 percent is a national aspirational figure and expressly does not require any recipient to set goals at that or any level.
- 49 CFR 26.53 — The good-faith-efforts mechanism primes must satisfy when a contract does carry a DBE goal.
- 49 CFR 26.31(d) — Requires the UCP directory to be searchable by location, NAICS code and work description, and to carry a notice that a listing guarantees nothing about capacity.
Links and cited text verified August 13, 2026. We are an independent resource, not a government agency — always confirm current requirements with your certifying agency before acting.