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Most times when clients ask about about Certifications, the same questions always come up.”How long does it take to get certified?” Normally it would take roughly 3 months for Metro to approve a Business under each certification. This may seem long, but actually is a short time frame compared to other certifications, such as the SBA 8(a) program.

There is however a mostly unknown process that will significantly reduce the approval time line from 3 months to two weeks. Metro, has an option in one of their documents which allows you to expedite the process, if there is a solicitation that has already been publicized. This option may only be marked if there is an actual solicitation which has a DBE or SBE set aside.

In the previous article, I wrote about a friend who was in this exact predicament. He knew of an opportunity coming up with Metro and needed get certified as an SBE in order to become eligible, since the RFP did have an SBE set-aside. We were able to work relentlessly on the application, asked Metro to expedite the application and was approved within two weeks right when the RFP was announced.

In order to become certified via the expedited process, the METRO application needs to be completed, along with all of the necessary supporting documents. Metro will not approve any application until all required documents have been received and verified. The trick in getting the application approved within two weeks, is entirely reliant on the applicant and how soon they can respond to Metro on additional documents if needed.

There is no special formula. All applications are the same and require the same supporting documents. However, the expedited process will allow you to get certified sooner and allow you to bid on opportunities immediately.