Small Business Enterprise Initiative

Escambia County adopted a Small Business Enterprise Ordinance (Sec 46-111) in July 2014  to establish a Small Business Enterprise program with the purpose and intent of providing the maximum opportunity for increased participation of qualified small businesses in the county’s procurement processes.

Certification Requirements:

For the purposes of this section, the following certification requirements shall govern:

a. The business must currently perform a commercially useful business function;

b. The business must be a local business as defined in section 46-110;

c. The business must be an independently owned and operated, for-profit entity;

d. The business may employ ten or fewer full time employees; and

e. The business may have a net worth of not more than $1,000,000.00.

All applicants wishing to be considered as certified businesses for the benefits of the SBE program must complete the small business self certification form which can be obtained through the office of purchasing. This is a self-certification process and shall require a signed affidavit attesting to the accuracy of the data provided on the form.

Please download the application for Certification here and email completed forms to: purchasing@myescambia.com or mail to Office of Purchasing 213 Palafox Place 2nd Floor, Pensacola, Florida 32502. 

SBE Preference.

As outlined in Section 46-110, (H) SBE Preference.

(1) The county may award a bid preference on any single bid as provided in section 46,110 to a certified SBE.

(2) SBE Preference does not apply to contracts that are reserved in accordance with this section. Preferences as provided in this chapter may not be combined. Only one preference may be awarded on any single solicitation to any certified SBE or contractor.  Any SBE bid preference awarded pursuant to this section shall take priority over any local business bid preference that may apply to a single solicitation.

SBE Workshops.

The Office of Purchasing participates in many local organization events related to Small Business Enterprise. We encourage anyone interested in the small business enterprise initiative to attend our Open House tentatively scheduled for February 12th, 2024 at the Office of Purchasing, where we will review the program and application process. Additional details and registration will be made available after the 1st of the new year.