Veteran Business Resources

Veteran-owned businesses in Santa Fe County have access to a distinct set of programs that other small businesses do not: federal contracting certifications, a 10% bidding advantage on New Mexico public contracts, waived loan fees, and free one-on-one business counseling from a center dedicated exclusively to veterans and military families. This page is a starting map of those programs — what each one does, who qualifies, and where to apply.

SF Vet Center:

Santa Fe Vet Center offers confidential help for Veterans, service members, and their families at no cost in a non-medical setting. Their services include counseling for needs such as depression, post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and the psychological effects of military sexual trauma (MST). We can also connect you with more support in VA and your community.

Who qualifies as a veteran-owned business

Most programs on this page use a common threshold: the business must be at least 51% owned and controlled day-to-day by one or more veterans.

Two categories matter most for contracting:

• VOSB — Veteran-Owned Small Business
• SDVOSB — Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business, which requires a documented service-connected disability rating

Many programs also serve transitioning service members, National Guard and Reserve members, and military spouses. Service members can begin working with a Veterans Business Outreach Center before they transition off active duty.

Keep your DD Form 214 accessible in digital form. Nearly every application on this page asks for it.

Start here: three steps

1. Talk to the New Mexico Veterans Business Outreach Center. Free, confidential, and built for exactly this. Start here before you spend money on anything.

2. Get your New Mexico veteran preference certificate. If you sell — or want to sell — to any New Mexico state or local government body, this is the single highest-return filing available to you.

3. Decide whether federal contracting is your market. If yes, SBA VetCert certification and a NM APEX Accelerator advisor are your next two calls. If no, skip it and put your energy into financing and local markets instead.

Free counseling, training, and mentorship

New Mexico Veterans Business Outreach Center (NM VBOC)

The VBOC is an SBA-funded center devoted entirely to veteran entrepreneurs. Counseling, business plan development, workshops, and mentorship — all at no cost.

Services are available to transitioning service members, veterans, National Guard and Reserve members, and military spouses interested in starting or growing a small business. VBOC advisors can also navigate you through the SBA’s broader resource partner network or refer you to a lender or community partner.

• Web: nmvboc.org
• Phone: (505) 383-2403
• Office: 5201 Eagle Rock Ave NE, Suite 2A, Albuquerque, NM 87113
• Coverage: New Mexico and Colorado

Register for counseling before your first appointment. SBA requires all clients to complete a request-for-counseling form, which is free and confidential.

NM APEX Accelerator — hosted at Santa Fe Community College

If you want to sell to any government buyer, this is your team. The New Mexico APEX Accelerator is a statewide, Department of Defense–funded program that helps small businesses sell goods or services to governments, educational institutions, and tribal entities. Advisors provide individual counseling and training at no charge, and the program is hosted right here at Santa Fe Community College.

APEX advisors will walk you through SAM registration, building a Dynamic Small Business Search profile that federal buyers actually find, New Mexico state preference certification, and registration with prime contractors including Sandia National Laboratories and Los Alamos National Laboratory.

• Web: nmapexaccelerator.org

Boots to Business

SBA’s entrepreneurship training track, delivered through the Department of Defense Transition Assistance Program. If you are still in uniform or recently separated, this is the on-ramp. Ask the VBOC about upcoming sessions.

Veteran Institute for Procurement (VIP)

VIP offers five no-cost training tracks designed by industry and government executives to increase your ability to win government contracts, built for both veteran-owned and service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses.

New Mexico Veterans Business Advocates (NMVBA)

A statewide membership network of veteran business owners. NMVBA connects veteran entrepreneurs to fellow veteran-owned businesses, statewide veteran-focused agencies, and mentorship from people who have made the transition from service to business ownership.

• Web: nmvba.org

Certification: the two that matter

Federal — SBA VetCert

SBA certification allows service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses to compete for federal sole-source and set-aside contracts across the federal government. Certified veteran-owned small businesses can pursue additional sole-source and set-aside contracts at the Department of Veterans Affairs under the VA’s Vets First program. Certification authority transferred from the VA to SBA on January 1, 2023.

Self-certification is no longer sufficient. Formal VetCert certification through SBA is now required for any business that wants to compete for set-aside contracts, receive sole-source awards, or count toward a federal buyer’s veteran contracting goals.

Timing has improved considerably. SBA cleared its certification backlog in late 2025, and average processing now runs roughly two weeks — down from the two to three months that was typical through 2024 and early 2025.

What to gather before you apply: DD Form 214, VA disability rating letter for SDVOSB, ownership and operating agreements, business financials and tax returns, and an active SAM.gov registration.

• Apply through the SBA certifications portal at sba.gov
• Questions: vetcert@sba.gov or (800) 862-8088, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern

New Mexico — Resident Veteran Business and Contractor Preference

This is the one most New Mexico veteran business owners overlook, and it is worth real money.

New Mexico veteran-owned businesses seeking a resident veteran business preference or resident veteran contractor preference must first apply for and obtain certification from the New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department. Once issued, the certificate is valid for three years as long as the business continues to meet the requirements. A certified business receives a bidding preference in any formal bid or request-for-proposal process for selling goods or services to a New Mexico state or local public body.

What the preference is worth: certified in-state veteran-owned companies and contractors receive ten percent of the total weight of all factors used in evaluating proposals, or the equivalent of ten percent of total points on a point-scored contract. That is meaningfully better than the eight percent available to non-veteran resident businesses.

Two things to know:

• The resident preference does not apply to contracts using federal funding.
• You must submit a copy of your valid certificate with your bid or proposal. The preference is not applied automatically if the certificate is not in the package.

Where to go:

• NM Taxation & Revenue Department, Business Preference Certification page
• Application questions: (505) 231-6893
• Verify a certificate: secure.mvd.newmexico.gov/residentcertificate/

Native American veteran business owners: Native American resident business and Native American resident veteran business certificates are issued through the same department, at either the eight or ten percent equivalent depending on whether the business is also veteran-owned.

Financing your business

There is no general-purpose federal grant for starting a veteran-owned business. What does exist is favorable debt, and the fee treatment is genuinely better than what non-veteran borrowers receive.

SBA Express and veteran fee relief

SBA reduces or waives the upfront guaranty fee on Express loans for veteran-owned businesses. Eligibility extends beyond the veteran owner to service-disabled veterans, active-duty service members in the Transition Assistance Program, reservists, National Guard members, current spouses of any of those groups, and widowed spouses of service members who died in service or from a service-connected disability. On a mid-six-figure loan, the fee savings run into five figures.

Express also moves fast, with decisions in a fraction of the time a standard 7(a) takes. Fee schedules change with the federal fiscal year, so confirm current terms with your lender or the VBOC before you count on a specific number.

SBA 7(a) and 504

The workhorse programs. Larger amounts, longer terms, more documentation. Veteran fee relief may apply to 7(a) depending on loan size and current SBA policy.

Military Reservist Economic Injury Disaster Loan (MREIDL)

Narrow but valuable. MREIDL provides up to $2 million, sized to the actual economic injury as calculated by SBA, to cover operating expenses a business cannot meet while an essential employee or owner is called to active duty as a reservist. Businesses with the financial capacity to fund their own recovery are not eligible.

This is a program to know about before a deployment order arrives, not after.

Local and community lenders

For amounts under $50,000, or if bank financing is not available yet, New Mexico’s community lenders are often a better first call than a national bank:

• The Loan Fund — statewide community development lender offering small business loans and technical assistance
• DreamSpring — microloans and small business loans across New Mexico
• WESST — consulting, training, incubation, and lending for New Mexicans starting or growing a small business
• New Mexico Finance Authority — larger project and equipment financing

Selling to government buyers

Government contracting is where veteran status converts most directly into revenue.

Federal. Federal agencies collectively carry a goal of awarding 3% of contract dollars to service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses. Prime contractors holding federal contracts above $650,000 — or $1.5 million for construction — are required to maintain an approved plan for using disadvantaged small business subcontractors. That subcontracting requirement is often an easier entry point than chasing prime awards.

State of New Mexico. Register in the state procurement portal and file your Taxation & Revenue veteran preference certificate with every bid. NM APEX advisors can walk you through commodity code selection, which determines whether you get notified of relevant solicitations at all.

Local. Santa Fe County and the City of Santa Fe both purchase goods and services regularly. Watch each entity’s procurement page for solicitations and small-purchase opportunities.

The national laboratories. Los Alamos National Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories are among the largest buyers in New Mexico and maintain small business programs with supplier diversity targets. APEX can help with registration.

Other New Mexico veteran benefits that affect business owners

These are personal rather than business benefits, but they matter to your household balance sheet:

• Property tax exemption. Honorably discharged New Mexico resident veterans qualify for a reduction in the taxable value of a primary residence. Veterans with a 100% service-connected disability rating qualify for a full waiver on their primary residence. Apply through the Santa Fe County Assessor with a Certificate of Eligibility from the New Mexico Department of Veterans’ Services.
• Veteran hiring credit. New Mexico businesses may qualify for a tax credit for hiring a recently returned veteran. Contact NM Taxation & Revenue for current amounts and eligibility.
• NM Department of Veterans’ Services at dvs.nm.gov, where Certified Veterans Service Officers handle benefits claims, healthcare eligibility, and state benefit applications.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a service-connected disability to get veteran business benefits?

No. VOSB certification, the New Mexico 10% bid preference, VBOC counseling, and SBA loan fee relief are all available to veterans without a disability rating. A rating opens the additional SDVOSB category, which carries its own federal set-aside opportunities.

Is there a grant for starting a veteran-owned business?

Not from SBA or the VA in the way most people mean. Federal support comes as certification, contracting preference, free counseling, and reduced-fee lending. Private and corporate veteran business grant competitions do exist, but they are periodic and competitive. The VBOC tracks them.

How long does SBA VetCert take?

SBA cleared its certification backlog in late 2025 and average processing now runs about two weeks, though incomplete applications take considerably longer. Assemble every document before you start.

What does New Mexico’s veteran preference actually do for my bid?

It adds the equivalent of ten percent to your evaluation score or point total on state and local public contracts, which is enough to change the outcome on close awards. It does not apply to federally funded contracts, and your certificate must be submitted with the bid or proposal.

How long is the New Mexico veteran certificate good for?

Three years from the date of issuance, provided the business continues to meet the requirements.

Can my spouse use these programs?

Many of them, yes. VBOC services extend to military spouses, and SBA Express fee relief reaches current spouses of veterans, reservists, and Guard members, as well as widowed spouses of service members who died in service or from a service-connected disability. Ownership-based certifications like VetCert generally require the veteran to hold majority ownership and control.

I am still on active duty. Can I start now?

Yes. Service members can begin working with the VBOC before transitioning off active duty, and Boots to Business runs through the Transition Assistance Program.

Do I need to be certified to call my business veteran-owned?

For marketing purposes, no. For any contracting preference, set-aside, or sole-source award — federal, state, or local — yes. Self-certification no longer counts toward federal veteran contracting goals.

Where do I start if I only have time for one call?

The New Mexico Veterans Business Outreach Center at (505) 383-2403. They will triage everything else on this page for you at no cost.

Not sure which of these applies to you?

Ask the Encantado Network assistant, or contact Santa Fe County Economic Development. Encantado Network is a free resource — no membership, no fee.