MBE, WBE, MWBE, DBE

The State of Washington has an office dedicated to helping encourage public agencies in the state to use minority and women owned businesses on their contracts. The Office of Women and Minority Business Enterprises (OMWBE) certifies businesses as being owned and controlled by women and/or minorities. There are a number of categories they certify businesses in, as noted below:

MBE: Minority Business Enterprise. Owned and controlled 51% by a minority or minorities.

WBE: Women's Business Enterprise. Owned and controlled 51% by a woman or women.

MWBE: Minority Women's Business Enterprise. Owned and controlled 51% by a minority woman.

CBE: Combination Business Enterprise. Owned and controlled 50% by a non-minority woman and 50% by a minority male. There are only a handful of such businesses certified in the state.

DBE: Disadvantaged Business Enterprise. A certification category based on social and economic disadvantages and used primarily on contracts through the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT).

Programs to encourage the use of such firms are generally referred to collectively as MWBE programs or WMBE programs.

OMWBE also publishes an online search engine of the businesses it has certified.