DBE Reevaluation Processing Time & Directory Status Tracker

This is the most significant update since the reevaluation began, and it is newer than what several other official pages still say. The CUCP portal states that on July 20, 2026 the CUCP notified USDOT that statewide reevaluations of all firms that filed complete materials by the April 16, 2026 deadline are finished — and that new applications reopened the following day. Note the scope carefully: this announcement covers accepting new certification applications. It does not say DBE contract goal-setting has resumed, which is a separate question governed by Caltrans Office Bulletin #25-07R3 and by whether each recipient agency has adopted a new USDOT-approved overall goal.

“Effective July 21, 2026, all CUCP certifying agencies resumed accepting new DBE, ACDBE, and Interstate certification applications.”

USDOT publishes a live, state-by-state table tracking whether each state or territory's Unified Certification Program has finished reevaluating its currently certified DBEs/ACDBEs under the October 2025 Interim Final Rule. As of the July 13, 2026 update, California is marked complete.

“California | YES ... Last Updated: Monday, July 13, 2026”

Caltrans rewrote its DBE pages between August 13 and August 16, 2026, and this supersedes the contradiction we had been reporting. The sentences saying recipients may not set contract goals, that new applications would be processed only after the reevaluation finished, and that out-of-state firms remained ineligible have all been removed. In their place Caltrans says the program is restarting and has proposed sharply lower goals for FFY 2027–2028: the FHWA overall goal falls from 21.35 percent to 11.80 percent, and the FTA goal from 6.7 percent to .08 percent. Caltrans attributes the reduction to the new, in its own words significantly smaller, pool of re-certified firms. Public comment runs August 17–31, 2026, with Webex sessions on August 24, 26 and 27 (11am–1pm and 4–6pm each day). Read the sequence carefully before concluding goals are back: Caltrans lists receiving FHWA and FTA acknowledgement of the reports as a step that comes BEFORE resuming contract goals, and expects the new goals to restart in the 2026–27 federal fiscal year. As of today contract goals have not resumed — but the reason has changed from “reevaluation is underway” to “new goals are awaiting federal acknowledgement.”

“The Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) program is restarting ... Caltrans expects the new DBE goals to restart in the 2026–27 Federal Fiscal Year ... The public comment on the revised statewide goals from August 17 to August 31, 2026.”

Office Bulletin 25-07 states DBE contract goal-setting and participation monitoring are suspended statewide, with narrow exceptions, until the CUCP finishes reevaluating all DBE firms under the new criteria.

“The California Unified Certification Program (CUCP) must reevaluate all DBE firms under the new criteria before their eligibility can be confirmed.”

SANDAG confirms it may not set any DBE contract goals until all California-certified DBEs are reevaluated under the IFR, citing Caltrans Office Bulletin #25-07 R3.

“SANDAG may not set any DBE contract goals until all certified DBEs have been reevaluated under the new IFR eligibility standards. More information on these changes is available in Caltrans Office Bulletin #25-07 R3.”

Confirmed the same statewide suspension of DBE contract-goal, good-faith-effort, counting and monitoring requirements on FAA/FHWA-funded contracts, and publicized a Caltrans-run reevaluation Q&A webinar series held in April 2026.

“DBE requirements for Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) funded contracts are suspended, effective immediately.”

USDOT's official FAQ confirms there is no federally set deadline for a UCP to complete reevaluations — the rule only requires progress "as quickly as practicable" — though a UCP may set its own non-binding internal submission date for firms.

“the regulation at 49 CFR § 26.111 provides that UCPs should complete the reevaluation process 'as quickly as practicable.'”

Reevaluation being complete does not by itself restart DBE contract goal-setting. USDOT's FAQ sets a two-part test: the UCP must finish its reevaluation AND the recipient agency must adopt a new overall DBE goal that USDOT approves. As of this check, no California recipient has completed the second part.

“A recipient may not set any DBE contract goals until the UCP in the recipient's jurisdiction has completed the reevaluation process described in 49 CFR § 26.111.”

This is the current, still-active bulletin suspending DBE contract goal-setting statewide. As of August 6, 2026, it remains the newest bulletin on the topic — Caltrans's own bulletin index has been updated as recently as this month for unrelated topics, but no R4 or "reinstatement" bulletin for DBE exists. Contract goal-setting has not resumed in California even though USDOT marked the reevaluation process complete on July 13, 2026.

“#25-07R3: Suspension of DBE Program — April 2026.”