---
kind: "section"
citation: "48 C.F.R. § 19.602-2"
title: "48"
number: "19.602-2"
heading: "Issuing or denying a Certificate of Competency (COC)."
url: "https://uscodex.org/cfr/48/19.602-2"
---

# §19.602-2. Issuing or denying a Certificate of Competency (COC).


Within 15 business days (or a longer period agreed to by the SBA and the contracting agency) after receiving a notice that a small business concern lacks certain elements of responsibility, the SBA Area Office will take the following actions:

- (a) Inform the small business concern of the contracting officer's determination and offer it an opportunity to apply to the SBA for a COC. (A concern wishing to apply for a COC should notify the SBA Area Office serving the geographical area in which the headquarters of the offeror is located.)
- (b) Upon timely receipt of a complete and acceptable application, elect to visit the applicant's facility to review its responsibility.
  - (1) The COC review process is not limited to the areas of nonresponsibility cited by the contracting officer.
  - (2) The SBA may, at its discretion, independently evaluate the COC applicant for all elements of responsibility, but may presume responsibility exists as to elements other than those cited as deficient.
- (c) Consider denying a COC for reasons of nonresponsibility not originally cited by the contracting officer.
- (d) When the Area Director determines that a COC is warranted (for contracts valued at $25,000,000 or less), notify the contracting officer and provide the following options:
  - (1) **Accept the Area Director's decision to issue a COC and award the contract to the concern.** The COC issuance letter will then be sent, including as an attachment a detailed rationale for the decision; or
  - (2) **Ask the Area Director to suspend the case for one or more of the following purposes—**
    - (i) To permit the SBA to forward a detailed rationale for the decision to the contracting officer for review within a specified period of time.
    - (ii) To afford the contracting officer the opportunity to meet with the Area Office to review all documentation contained in the case file and to attempt to resolve any issues.
    - (iii) To submit any information to the SBA Area Office that the contracting officer believes the SBA did not consider (at which time the SBA Area Office will establish a new suspense date mutually agreeable to the contracting officer and the SBA).
    - (iv) To permit resolution of an appeal by the contracting agency to SBA Headquarters under 19.602-3. However, there is no contracting officer's appeal when the Area Office proposes to issue a COC valued at $100,000 or less.
- (e) At the completion of the process, notify the concern and the contracting officer that the COC is denied or is being issued.
- (f) **Refer recommendations for issuing a COC on contracts greater than $25,000,000 to SBA Headquarters.**

## Notes

### Amendments

[62 FR 44820, Aug. 22, 1997]

### Authority

Authority: 41 U.S.C. 1121(b); 40 U.S.C. 121(c); 10 U.S.C. chapter 4 and 10 U.S.C. chapter 137 legacy provisions (see 10 U.S.C. 3016); and 51 U.S.C. 20113.

### Source

Source: 48 FR 42240, Sept. 19, 1983, unless otherwise noted.

### Amendments

[62 FR 44820, Aug. 22, 1997]