As a contracting officer, you're allowed to use 8(a) set-aside contracts under the following conditions:
You can award a competitive 8(a) set-aside contract if:
You Have a Reasonable Expectation that at Least 2 Qualified 8(a) Small Businesses will Submit Offers
The Resulting Contract can be Awarded at a Fair Market Price
The Government Estimate Exceeds $7 Million for Manufacturing Requirements or $4 Million for all other Requirements
The SBA hasn't Already Accepted the Requirement as a Sole-Source 8(a) Award on Behalf of a Tribally-Owned or ANC-Owned Business
You can award a sole-source 8(a) contract if:
You Determine that the Qualified Small Business is Responsible
The Resulting Contract can be Awarded at a Fair Market Price
The Government Estimate doesn't Exceed $7 Million for Manufacturing Requirements or $4 Million for all other Essentials (There's an Exception to this Rule for Entity-Owned Businesses)
Contracts worth less than $150,000 are automatically set aside for small businesses. If possible, you can choose to set it aside specifically for operations in socio-economic programs like the 8(a) program.
