Disadvantaged Business Enterprise
Our DBE Program
South Carolina Unified Certification Program (SCUCP)
Coast Regional Transportation Authority (Coast RTA) seeks to offer business opportunities to Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBEs) certified through the SC Department of Transportation’s (SCDOT) Unified Certification Program (UCP). Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program regulations (49 CFR, parts 23 and 26) became effective in March 1999, and require that all recipients of funding from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), and Federal Transit Administration (FTA) develop a statewide certification program. Applying through SCDOT is the only means for DBE certification.
Coast RTA’s DBE Program aims to develop business relationships with certified DBEs, and has specific goals related to assuring a percentage of our contracts are satisfied by the utilization of DBEs. SCDOT certification guarantees a business’ eligibility as a DBE, and eliminates the need for a DBE to apply for the designation with multiple state agencies. Certification through the SCUCP is an absolute prerequisite to qualifying as being a DBE.
For more information on the SCUCP and the application process for DBE certification, please visit: http://www.scdot.org/doing/businessDevelop_SCUnified.aspx.