Managing disadvantaged business enterprise (DBE) certifications can be complex, but not when agencies use the right tools.  

Stephanie Jenkins, business relationship specialist for the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) in Washington, D.C., focuses on certification for the transportation infrastructure businesses within the city’s eight wards along with her skilled colleagues. 

DDOT is part of a unified program with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit (WMATA), which makes up the District of Columbia Unified Certification program (DCUCP). 

In addition, DDOT is responsible for:

However, with recent changes brought forth by the US Department of Transportation’s Interim Final Rule (USDOT IFR) in late 2025, certification efforts for businesses operating on DDOT’s projects faced a new challenge.  

“The IFR ruling requires firms to submit a personal narrative as a part of their re-evaluation process to maintain DBE certification,” Jenkins said. “Many of these firms find the personal narrative to be quite challenging.”

The personal narrative portion of IFR requires a written statement from each business owner currently certified as a DBE to describe specific, individualized barriers faced in education, employment, or business, and how those obstacles demonstrate social and economic disadvantage resulting in measurable economic harm. With the personal narrative requirements, race and gender are no longer presumed indicators of disadvantage, which is a significant change for DBEs. 

Per the IFR, firms must submit a Personal Narrative and a Personal Net Worth statement to be recertified as DBEs by DDOT. Without these submissions, DBE goals will not be met until the recertification process is complete. DDOT has prioritized recertification for home-state businesses that are currently active on a contract. 

“DDOT currently certifies 481 home state firms and more than 1,351 interstate firms,” Jenkins said. “To make the recertification process easier, I’ve been able to run reports within B2Gnow to filter out which firms are our home state firms and which are interstate firms. B2Gnow has helped quite a bit with prioritizing our home state firms for recertification.”

Jenkins said the strategic filtering available in B2Gnow’s certification module helps ensure DDOT works on the recertification process without needing to recertify the entirety of its DBE directory.

“Without this module, the recertification process could take months,” Jenkins said. “But the system is able to track all mandatory documents needed to complete a single application. A lot of states have not even begun the process of reevaluating because they lack information, but B2Gnow helps us provide them with information they need to complete their applications.”

Click here to listen as DDOT discusses the benefits of recertification using B2Gnow.

Program operations and performance metrics are two of the heaviest hit areas for all agencies navigating the 2025 USDOT Internal Final Rule (IFR). 

The reason for this surrounds the operational challenges requiring mandatory re-evaluation of every certified firm based on individual circumstances rather than demographics alone combined with the temporary pause on counting utilization and setting new goals. 

While the scale of these changes is substantial, they are entirely manageable with the right structure in place. Agencies need to establish consistent workflows, centralize records, and leverage technology for documentation, communication, and decision tracking, to move forward with confidence.

The result of this strategic approach is a program that is more efficient, transparent, and defensible, positioning the agency for long-term success under the IFR, supporting staff, and withstanding audits.

To implement and maintain compliance efficiently, program leaders must focus on the following key steps:

For agencies looking to simplify these processes and maintain complete, verifiable records, B2Gnow provides tools to track firm status, manage utilization, automate notifications, and centralize documentation.

Ready to learn more? Download this checklist.

Communication is vital when it comes to the 2025 USDOT Interim Final Rule (IFR). 

With all the process changes necessary for the IFR, agencies need a proactive strategy for change management centered on communication. 

While creating a communication plan can seem daunting, it’s imperative for DBE compliance managers and program leaders to navigate mandatory re-evaluations and new compliance standards with consistent, clear communication. 

This communication plan is a key step in reducing errors and maintaining compliance with staff and vendors while also keeping key players informed and engaged.

To maximize participation and minimize confusion during this transition, program leaders should focus on five key communication tasks:

When relying on manual communication, follow-ups consume significant staff time and often lead to overlooked steps. However, with a built-in communication outreach program, DBE program leaders can expect: 

Ready to learn how other agencies are aligning with IFR? Watch now.

Disadvantaged business enterprise (DBE) compliance managers are experiencing an urgent focus on accountability and compliance as they work to ensure all elements of the 2025 USDOT Interim Final Rule (IFR) are put into place. 

For a defensible program, compliance managers need to focus on clear, verifiable documentation that meets the needs and expectations of auditors. 

To do this, records need to show a complete and auditable history of every element of a program, including clear, verifiable records that show how decisions were made, what communications occurred, and how any changes to goal credit or firm status were handled. 

Maintaining this level of detail supports compliance, reduces confusion, demonstrates due diligence, and is what ultimately protects agencies during an audit. This method also ensures that all decisions can be explained in the future because of proper documentation.

Achieving true audit readiness requires five key tasks, all centered on centralizing data and automatically tracking actions.

The true value of this comprehensive approach is proven when the audit begins. 

With a central document repository, all files are searchable and retrievable, which helps reduce review time and minimizes risk during the auditing process. 

Listen as officials with the state of Oregon discuss successes with the IFR requirements in this on-demand webinar. Watch now.

One of the most impactful and challenging rules for agencies adhering to the 2025 USDOT Interim Final Rule (IFR) surrounds the temporary suspension of goal credit for certified firms on all contracts. 

While the pause on goal credit is temporary, it is imperative for agencies to continue documenting a record of each firm’s eligibility and utilization history. That means reporting for goal credit still needs to happen as it is critical for fairness, compliance, and audit protection. 

To navigate this mandatory suspension successfully, program leaders need to focus on establishing robust data integrity practices that ensure a complete audit trail and seamless restoration of eligibility.

Agencies face a dual mandate: they must stop counting goal credit, but they cannot stop the essential work of contract management. This requires a strategic approach:

One of the biggest risks during this transitional phase is data loss or fragmentation. That’s why it is important for agencies to update and categorize vendor records without deleting these items.  

Maintaining a complete vendor history is essential for distinguishing between data used for internal tracking versus data used for external reporting. This distinction avoids misreporting, facilitates undoing mistakes, and maintains an unbroken historical record. 

Recording all goal and eligibility changes provides a crucial audit trail, making it easy to see all changes, who made them, and when.

When a firm successfully completes its mandatory re-evaluation, agencies need to be prepared to restore eligibility instantly. To do this, consistent tracking of firm status ensures correct goal reporting resumes from the moment eligibility is restored.

Remember, the IFR goal credit suspension is a temporary state, but the integrity of an agency’s program history is permanent. Consistent tracking of goal credit and firm status prevents misreporting and confusion later. 

Meticulous tracking and centralized records ensure accurate reporting and IFR compliance, transforming a complex mandate into a defensible, auditable process.

Need more guidance? Download the IFR Readiness Guide now..