C.F.R. » Title 13 » CHAPTER I—SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION › PART 124—8(a) BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT/SMALL DISADVANTAGED BUSINESS STATUS DETERMINATIONS › Subpart A—8(a) Business Development

13 C.F.R. § 124.103

Who is socially disadvantaged?

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(a) General. Socially disadvantaged individuals are those who have been subjected to racial or ethnic prejudice or cultural bias because of their identity as a member of a group without regard to their individual qualities. The social disadvantage must stem from circumstances beyond their control.

(b) Victims of government and private entity discrimination or bias. (1) For purposes of this section,

(i) “Citizen” means citizen of the United States.

(ii) “Material harm” means loss of access to or diminished opportunities related to economic advancement.

(2) A Citizen may establish social disadvantage by first showing that during the Citizen's lifetime, a governmental or private entity in the United States, including but not limited to any federal, state or local government, university or corporation, through any action, policy, rule, regulation, or other practice of any of its agencies, subsidiaries, or authorized agents, discriminated or was biased against a clearly definable racial, ethnic, or cultural group of which the Citizen is a member, or favored in any way a racial, ethnic, or cultural group of which the Citizen is not a member. In addition, the Citizen must establish that such discrimination, bias, or favoritism conferred material harm on the Citizen.

(c) Establishing social disadvantage. In order to establish his or her social disadvantage, a Citizen must meet the requirements set forth in both paragraphs (c)(1) and (2) of this section.

(1) A Citizen must show evidence that a governmental or private entity's action, policy, rule, regulation or other practice favored other groups, excluding the Citizen's group, or disadvantaged the Citizen's group or that the governmental or private entity took adverse actions against or otherwise disfavored the Citizen's group.

(i) The Citizen may demonstrate such group discrimination or bias by providing documentation of specific actions, policies, rules, regulations, or other practices of the governmental or private entity favoring or disfavoring an identifiable group, including but not limited to: unlawful diversity, equity, and inclusion programs or policies; unlawful affirmative action programs or policies; race-based quotas, set-asides, or hiring targets; or any policies or programs that favored some groups over others on the basis of race.

(A) Examples of actions, policies, rules, regulations, or other practices showing group discrimination or bias include, but are not limited to, prior iterations of § 124.103 of this part that excluded the Citizen's racial or ethnic group as a group entitled to a rebuttable presumption of social disadvantage; and such actions, policies, rules, regulations, or other practices also include situations where the Citizen's group was disadvantaged in college or university admissions decisions or otherwise discriminated against by a private entity in an unlawful manner.

(B) Sufficient evidence under paragraph (c)(1)(i) of this section may include, but is not limited to: materials on government, university and corporate websites; government, university, and corporate policies, regulations, guidance, procedures or documents; statements by government, university or corporate officials; government, university, and corporate reports, audits or findings; court decisions; administrative rulings; or, specific Congressional findings.

(ii) Where evidence of group discrimination or bias by the specific governmental entity or private entity is not readily available, a Citizen may present other adequate evidence demonstrating such discrimination or bias,

(2) A Citizen must self-certify that he or she:

(i) Was a member of a particular group at the time of the governmental or private entity's action or during the effective period of the relevant action, policy, rule, regulation, or other practice; and

(ii) Suffered material harm because of the action, policy, rule, regulation, or other practice evidenced in paragraph (c)(1) of this section.

[91 FR 51572, Aug. 11, 2026]
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 28 cases (6 in the last 5 years), 1993–2025 · leading case: Dynalantic Corp. v. United States Dep't of Def., 885 F. Supp. 2d 237 (D.D.C. 2012).
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Dynalantic Corp. v. United States Dep't of Def., 885 F. Supp. 2d 237 (D.D.C. 2012). · cites it 15× “” 13 C.F.R. § 124.103 (a); see also 15 U.S.”
Adarand Constructors, Inc. v. Slater, 528 U.S. 216 (2000). · cites it 2× “See 13 CFR § 124.103 (b); 64 Fed. Reg. 5136 (§26.”
Rothe Dev., Inc. v. United States Dep't of Def., 836 F.3d 57 (D.C. Cir. 2016). · cites it 2× “In contrast to the statute, the SBA’s regulation implementing the 8(a) program does contain a racial classification in the form of a presumption that an individual who is a member of one of five designated racial groups (and within them, 37 subgroups) is socially disadvantaged.”
Rothe Dev., Inc. v. Dep't of Def., 107 F. Supp. 3d 183 (D.D.C. 2015). · cites it 3× “Thus, the statute establishes “a rebuttable presumption” that members of these particular groups, and certain other groups, are “socially disadvantaged!,]” 13 C.F.R. § 124.103 (b)(1), and if an individual business owner is not a member of a presumptively socially disadvantaged…”
United States ex rel. Sansbury v. LB & B Assocs., Inc., 58 F. Supp. 3d 37 (D.D.C. 2014). · cites it 4× “” 13 C.F.R. § 124.103 (a); see also 15 U.S.”
Rothe Dev. Corp. v. U.S. Dep't of Def., 499 F. Supp. 2d 775 (W.D. Tex. 2007). · cites it 10× “derated States of Micronesia, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Samoa, Macao, Fiji, Tonga, Kiribati, Tuvalu, or Nauru); Subcontinent Asian Americans (persons with origins from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lan-ka, Bhutan, the Maldives Islands or Nepal);…”
United States v. Thomas Harris, 821 F.3d 589 (5th Cir. 2016). “§§ 631(f)(l)(B)-(C), 637(a)(5)-(6); 13 C.F.R. §§ 124.103 , 124.104. The 8(a) program, in other words, is an affirmative action contracting program.”
Prometheus Radio Proj. v. Fed. Commc'ns Comm'n, 824 F.3d 33 (3d Cir. 2016). “” 13 C.F.R. § 124.103 . Members of certain groups, including African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Native Americans, get a rebuttable presumption that they qualify.”
Rothe Dev. Corp. v. United States Dep't of Def. & United States Dep't of the Air Force, 262 F.3d 1306 (Fed. Cir. 2001). “Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (Repub-lie of Palau), Republic of the Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Samoa, Macao, Fiji, Tonga, Kiribati, Tuvalu, or Nauru); and Subcontinent Asian Americans…”
W.H. Scott Constr. Co. v. City of Jackson, 199 F.3d 206 (5th Cir. 2000). · cites it 2× “In response, the Small Business Administration amended the SBA's implementing regulations, lowering the evidentiary burden for nonminority applicants to claim eligibility for disadvantaged status from "clear and convincing evidence” to "preponderance of the evidence” (reducing…”
Adarand Constructors, Inc. v. Slater, 228 F.3d 1147 (10th Cir. 2000). · cites it 4× “See 13 C.F.R. § 124.103 . Subsection 8(a) regulations incorporate a presumption that enumerated minorities are socially disadvantaged, see 13 C.”
Brent Berry v. Native Am. Servs. Corp., 109 F.4th 1297 (11th Cir. 2024). “” 13 C.F.R. § 124.103 (a); 15 U.S.C. § 637 (a)(5).”
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13 C.F.R. § 124.103(b): 1 case
Rothe Dev. Corp. v. United States Dep't of Def. & United States Dep't of the Air Force, 262 F.3d 1306 (Fed. Cir. 2001). “Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (Repub-lie of Palau), Republic of the Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Samoa, Macao, Fiji, Tonga, Kiribati, Tuvalu, or Nauru); and Subcontinent Asian Americans…”
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