The 8(a) Business Development Bona Fide Place of Business (BFPOB) Requirement Moratorium has been extended through September 30, 2024, according to an announcement made by Isabella Casillas Guzman, administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), on August 21, 2023. To allow participants in the SBA's 8(a) Business Development Program to forego the requirement that they have an established physical presence in a specific location in order to be awarded any construction contracts through the 8(a) Program, the moratorium was established in 2021 as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic and remote work conditions in the marketplace.

The 8(a) Business Development Program has been modified to make it simpler for small and disadvantaged businesses to qualify for 8(a) construction contract awards. Other federal agencies that are working to increase small- and disadvantaged-business procurement opportunities across the nation, particularly in rural and remote regions with lower population densities than the national average, continue to welcome this modification.

Any program participant looking for an 8(a) construction contract under the moratorium will not be required to have or establish a BFPOB in any particular geographic area (whether on a sole source or competitive basis).

A bona fide place of business is defined as the location where a participant consistently maintains an office with at least one full-time employee within the proper geographic limit. Construction trailers and other temporary work locations are not included in the definition of the term.

I always recommend contacting an industry expert right away if you have any questions about the 8(a) Business Development program and/or the bona fide place of business requirement. Two such consulting brands that can help you with your concerns and determine whether or not doing business with the government benefits your firm, are ez8a and Advance 8a. Neither charge for an initial consultation.