In March 2026, the Small Business Administration sent federal agencies a new methodology for the Small Business Procurement Scorecard, the annual grade that measures how well each agency contracts with small businesses. It was the first significant overhaul in roughly a decade, it landed nearly seven months into the fiscal year, and most small businesses chasing federal work have not heard about it yet.
The scorecard does not change the law. Set-aside programs are still in statute under FAR Part 19. But the scorecard shapes agency behavior, and agency behavior shapes what opportunities show up where. Here is what changed and what small businesses should know.
What actually changed
The new scorecard reweights how agencies are graded. The categories shifted, and the new categories add up to 110%, which SBA has not publicly explained.
| Previous methodology | FY2026 methodology |
|---|---|
| Prime contracting: 50% | Prime contract awards: 50% |
| Subcontracting: 20% | Subcontract awards: 25% |
| Small business category diversity: 10% | Serving veterans: 15% |
| OSDBU compliance review: 20% | Competitive value to taxpayer: 10% |
| Partnering with SBA to reduce fraud: 10% |
Three shifts stand out. Veteran-owned businesses, both service-disabled and non-service-disabled, get a dedicated 15% category. The "small disadvantaged business" category has been renamed "economically disadvantaged" and now folds in veteran-owned firms alongside SDBs. And a new "competitive value to taxpayer" line discourages agencies from leaning on 8(a) sole-source awards.
Who gains, who watches
Veteran-owned firms are the clearest winners. Between the dedicated 15% category and inclusion in the renamed economically disadvantaged group, veterans-owned businesses now account for roughly a quarter of the total scorecard weight.
The picture is more uncertain for 8(a), women-owned (WOSB), and HUBZone firms. None of these programs are going away. Their statutory protections under FAR Part 19 are intact. But the scorecard signals to contracting officers and OSDBUs which behaviors agencies will be graded on, and the new emphasis on competitive awards over sole-source 8(a) contracts is a directional shift agencies tend to follow.
Sam Le, a former SBA official, noted in his analysis that scorecard changes historically have less impact on actual procurement outcomes than category management policies do. The scorecard sets the tone. The dollars follow other levers.
The open questions
Congress is pushing back. Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.), ranking member of the House Small Business Committee, sent SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler a letter on April 1 with 34 questions about the methodology, including how the percentages add up to 110% and why the change came mid-fiscal year. She requested answers by April 15. According to Federal News Network, SBA had not responded as of mid-April.
Critics have also flagged that Section 15(k) of the Small Business Act lays out 22 specific responsibilities for agency small business offices, including outreach, training, invoice support, and reviewing contract bundling. None of those appear in the new scorecard.
The official methodology will not be formally published until the FY2026 scorecard itself is released in mid-2027. Until then, agencies are operating on the March guidance document.
What small businesses should do now
Three practical moves for any small business contractor watching this play out.
Verify your certifications are current. Veteran-owned status verification through the VA's Vets First Contracting Program matters more under the new scorecard. If your SDVOSB or VOSB certification is approaching renewal, do not let it lapse. The same goes for 8(a), WOSB, and HUBZone certifications, which are still fully in effect under statute.
Watch for agency-level OSDBU guidance. Each agency's small business office will translate the new scorecard into its own outreach priorities and acquisition forecasts. Subscribe to the OSDBU newsletters of the agencies you target. Forecasts updated in the next two quarters will reveal where the scorecard is shifting actual buying behavior.
Do not restructure your strategy on a scorecard alone. Set-aside programs are written into law and the FAR. The scorecard is one input into agency decision-making, not the rulebook. A small business that abandons its 8(a) or WOSB strategy because of a methodology change is overcorrecting.
FEDCON is tracking this
Mid-year policy changes like this one are exactly the kind of shift that small businesses miss when they are heads-down in proposals. We will keep watching SBA's response to Congress, the agency-level OSDBU updates, and how the FY2026 numbers actually land when the scorecard publishes.
If you want to talk through how this affects your specific contracting strategy, reach out to FEDCON or call our Help Desk at 1-855-233-3266.