SBA's Official Policy:  SBA's official policy is that applicants can apply for 8(a) certification without help. But 8(a) applications prepared and submitted without expert guidance almost never get through SBA's application process on the first try.  Instead, they get designated as deficient and kicked back to the applicant without further processing.

SBA refers to this as "returning" an 8(a) application.  It does not mean that SBA has formally denied the application.  But it does mean that they will not take any further action on it.  And it happens to self-prepared and submitted applications close to 100% of the time. 

Can you re-apply?  Yes you can. And a fair number of applicants do re-apply.  Yet many others simply drop the whole thing.  That is especially true for those that have had their applications returned more than once - unfortunately, a common occurrence. 

What will you need?  For you to successfully re-apply, you will need to provide SBA with everything the regulations require and address all of SBA's questions and concerns to their satisfaction.  In order to do that, you will need to understand exactly what SBA wants to see and what their concerns are likely to be in your particular case.

Treated as a new submission:  Your re-submitted 8(a) application will be treated as a new submission. That means it goes back into the queue and waits its turn to be screened again. That will typically add several months to the process.

It may get returned again: If SBA finds that the application is still not complete, or still has inadequately addressed issues, they will return it again.  That happens a lot.  Each time it adds more months to the process  We get many calls from frustrated applicants who have made repeated unsuccessful attempts to get 8(a) certified and have now decided to seek expert help to get it done correctly.  

Poor application system design.  The SBA online CERTIFY system has serious design flaws that cause applicants to submit incomplete applications that cannot be processed.  The system asks applicants to upload some - but not all - of the documents that SBA regulations require for an 8(a) application.  Worse, the system does not offer any way to upload the other needed documents (unless you know how to get around that).  So applicants think they have submitted a complete application - but they haven't.

SBA is understaffed and backlogged.  Every year, they get hundreds upon hundreds of 8(a) applications that are incomplete, inconsistent, have unresolved eligibility issues, or are otherwise inadequate for thorough analysis.  Applications that have been prepared and submitted by the applicants themselves nearly always are found deficient.

No chance of approval:  Since those 8(a) applications would be denied if processed as submitted, SBA simply returns them without further action taken. That way they avoid using up the staff time needed to perform a full analysis and formal denial on each one. 

Could have been approved:  The sad thing is that the majority of the applications SBA returns could have been processed and ultimately approved on the first attempt with proper eligibility screening and step-by-step guidance from an expert.  

Comprehensive and detailed:  Few applicants realize just how comprehensive and detailed an 8(a) application needs to be.  Very few have in-depth knowledge of the 8(a) regulations.  Almost none are familiar with the most recent court decisions and how they affect SBA's interim eligibility rules. And absolutely none have the inside SBA experience or the years of assisting applicants to successfully obtain 8(a) program certification that we have.

Some things are best left to experts:  While applicants are often subject matter experts in their own fields, they simply are not experts on SBA 8(a) matters.  The 8(a) eligibility rules and the application process are far too complex - and the outcome far too critical to the business development goals of applicants - to be taken on as a DIY project by someone who is tackling it for the first time. There are good reasons we go to accountants, lawyers, doctors, dentists and other specialists.  The same applies in this case.  

Doing it yourself will cost you more:  You will not save any money by attempting to apply for 8(a) certification on your own. In fact it will cost you many times more in the long run.

First, you will invest a great deal of your valuable time in the repeated attempts -- much more than if you got expert help to do it correctly and efficiently. And your time is absolutely not free.  

Second, during those wasted months, and sometimes years, you will lose out on important 8(a) opportunities. That can add up to hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost business.