Get Certified
Get Certified.
Women business owners and entrepreneurs get their companies certified to meet eligibility requirements for business and economic purposes.
Before You Begin
To expedite the efficient handling of your application, please read all of these instructions before launching the online form.
Our Certification Process is one of the most stringent application procedures for business certification, and will require detailed information with supporting documents. Some items on the application may not apply to you, but you may be required to provide documentation before you can proceed to the next section.
Our recommendation is to prepare a blank page and write the words “Not Applicable” on it, and use it every time you are asked to submit a document that is not applicable.
WBENC Certification Process
Getting WBENC-Certified through WBEC Pacific
What to Expect
WBEC Pacific will conduct a thorough review of your application and documentation presented.
Please do not hit “send” until after your application has been reviewed by WBEC Pacific.
You can hit “save” to keep your work and continue where you left off when you return to your application.
A WBEC Pacific Certification Specialist will contact you for corrections or any missing requirements if necessary.
WBEC Pacific will schedule a site visit and an interview with the female owner(s). All site visits and interviews are currently held online.
Please use only the recommended methods of payment for your application fee. Never disclose your payment information over the phone. When in doubt, please contact us.
Once completed, your application packet will be sent to WBENC for final review by the Certification Committee.
WBEC Pacific will be notified if your application was approved, and you will receive your new WBENC Certification in the mail.
Checklist: WBENC Certification Criteria
Private Company
Is your company at least fifty-one percent (51%) owned and controlled by one or more women?
Is the majority woman owner a US citizens or lawful permanent resident?
Public Company
Is fifty-one percent (51%) or more of your company’s equity held and controlled by one or more women?
Are the majority women owners US citizens or lawful permanent residents?
Is management and daily operations controlled by one or more of the women owners?
WBENC uses a two part process to ensure that the applicant company meets the WBENC Standards.
Should you have any questions, feedback or need for assistance, contact us.
Helpful Tips
1. Register and complete your online profile.
NOTE:
This application will become your company’s resume once Certification is granted.
Please type in upper and lower case letters and be as thorough as possible.
2. Very important: Double check the email address and use lower case letters. Have the owner and main contact person add the following email addresses to their to their safe senders list:
The owner or the main contact person will be made aware of the status of their application via notifications from wbenclink@wbenclink.org.
Receiving these emails is critical to the process.
3. Review your legal and financial information to ensure that your documents support woman/women ownership and control.
4. Gather all required documents. For documents that do not apply to your company, please provide a written explanation stating which documents do not apply and why.
Ensure each document is available electronically for uploading. Click here for Documentation Required.
Online Application Instructions
Register using the female owner’s email address.
The owner’s complete e-mail address will be automatically assigned as the username for the application.
Create a password.
Save your username and password, it will be needed once certification is granted to access your application record(s) and certificate.
Before the application is accessible, you must answer pre-qualifying questions in order to determine if the minimum requirements for certification are met.
The application processing page will open.
You may complete the processing section in any order; however, ALL must be completed before you are able to sign and submit the application.
To prevent loss of data entered, please click Save Draft if you need to exit the system.
The status bar at the top of the page will indicate what percentage of the application has been completed.
As each section is completed, a green check mark will be visible and the status will be updated from Incomplete to Complete.
Before the application can be submitted, the system will ask if the nonrefundable processing fee will be paid using a credit card or check.
NOTE: If you are sending a check by mail, your application will begin processing upon receipt of payment.
Please make the check payable to Women’s Business Enterprise Council Pacific.
Upon answering these questions, you will be prompted to submit the application.
DO NOT SIGN or SUBMIT the application until it has been reviewed for accuracy by the female owner.
Once the application is submitted, you can no longer make any edits on the online form.
As a reminder, please save your username and password.
Both will be needed once your certification is granted..
To begin the online application, go to www.wbenclink.org.
Further Reading
For application and more information on applying for certification, visit the WBENC website, www.wbenc.org.
More questions? Email us at certification@wbec-pacific.org.