Certifications do two things. Some contracts are set aside so only certified businesses may bid, and on open contracts certification earns you additional scoring points. Points decide awards. Every one you can pick up, you should.

They do not raise your price or lower your standards. They change which competitions you are in.

This is the thing businesses most often get backwards, and it costs weeks.

1. Certify with CA-DGS first through caleprocure.ca.gov: Small Business (SB), Microbusiness (SB-MB), or Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise (DVBE).
2. Then request recognition on RAMP through your company profile at rampla.org. RAMP recognizes the DGS certification rather than duplicating it.

Applying to both separately, or to RAMP first, means doing the work twice.

Gather the document pack once. The same pack serves every certification, and the first application is always the slowest.

Expect to need entity documents, three years of tax returns (or a profit and loss statement and balance sheet if you are newer), proof of ownership, and evidence of who controls the business day to day. The exact list is not yet confirmed by LAEDC.