On September 30, 2025, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) issued an Interim Final Rule (IFR) removing the race- and sex-based rebuttable presumptions for social disadvantage status in the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) Program. In effect, this eliminates race- and sex-based eligibility from the DBE Program. The IFR has a limited public comment period of 30 days required by the Rulemaking process and went into effect on October 3, 2025 when it was published in the federal register.
This significant change follows several key developments, including the preliminary ruling in the Mid-America Milling Company (MAMCO) v. U.S. DOT federal case and recent Executive Orders that restrict Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policies and programs.
Under the revised rule, the DBE Program will now require business owners to submit both personal net worth documentation and a Personal Narrative (PN) to establish social disadvantage based on individualized proof.
These changes broaden the DBE Program’s scope, allowing any small business owner to qualify if they can demonstrate social disadvantage through personal experiences. The DOT has also introduced new terminology: DBE-Conscious and DBE-Neutral. These will replace the previous terms Race- and Sex-Conscious and Race- and Sex-Neutral.
The IFR provides some guidance for how agencies should proceed with DBE Program administration. This includes requiring Unified Certification Programs (UCPs) to reevaluate all existing DBEs through the submission of a PN (section 26.111) and halting the setting or counting of DBE participation toward program goals until the reevaluation process is complete (section 26.55(i)).
GCAP will continue to monitor updates related to this rule change and will share a copy of the Final Rule once it is published. In the meantime, we’ve included copies of the Interim Final Rule and the DOT Office of Civil Rights Guidance Letter for reference.
GCAP can help support you in navigating these new DBE requirements, please Contact Us at your convenience.