Federal surplus property for veteran-owned businesses
The federal government gives away equipment it has finished with: desks, computers, tools, shop machinery, vehicles. Since 2019 veteran-owned small businesses have been able to take part, paying a handling fee to a state agency rather than retail. It is a real benefit and it is genuinely underused. It is also conditional in ways the posts circulating about it tend to skip.
What the law actually says
The Veterans Small Business Enhancement Act of 2018 became law on 3 January 2019 as Pub. L. 115-416. It added a subsection to section 32 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 657b) directing the SBA to provide access to and manage the distribution of surplus property to small businesses owned and controlled by veterans. It works through a memorandum of agreement between the SBA Administrator, the Administrator of General Services, and the head of the relevant state surplus agency.
Worth being clear about what this is not. It is not a contracting preference and it has nothing to do with the SDVOSB set-aside programs. A veteran-owned firm can use this without ever bidding on a federal contract.
The three conditions summaries leave out
- You have to be certified.SBA requires the business to be certified in its VetCert database. “No disability rating needed” is true, and it gets misread as “no certification needed”, which is not. Self-certification ended on 1 January 2024.
- Not every state participates. GSA describes the act as implemented with participating states. Veteran-owned businesses are not on the standing donation eligibility list that covers public agencies, nonprofits, airports and veterans service organizations, so your state agency has to have opted in and registered you.
- It is not free, and it comes with strings. You pay a service and handling fee set by the state agency. The property must be used in the normal conduct of your business, personal use is prohibited, and you cannot sell or transfer it during a restriction period without written authorization.
How to actually get it
- 1
Get into VetCert first
Apply at certifications.sba.gov. SBA confirms veteran status, and service-connected disability where it applies, with the VA. There is no published decision deadline, so start before you need anything.
Pre-screen your eligibility → - 2
Find your state agency for surplus property
Every state runs one, usually inside the department of administration or general services. The property has to be used in the state you apply through, and your business has to operate there.
- 3
Ask two questions before anything else
Does the agency participate in the veteran-owned small business program, and what is the service and handling fee schedule. If the answer to the first is no, the rest does not matter.
- 4
Register as an eligible recipient
The state agency screens eligibility and registers you. GSA directs interested veteran-owned businesses to contact their state agency to register rather than applying federally.
- 5
Check inventory regularly
Stock is whatever the federal government happened to release, so it turns over constantly and varies by state. The businesses that do well out of this treat it as a standing habit, not a one-time errand.
What is on offer, and what is not
Commonly available
- Office furniture and fittings
- Computers and IT equipment
- Hand and shop tools
- Industrial and construction equipment
- Vehicles
Excluded by law
- Land and real property
- Certain naval vessels
- Federal records
Surplus property: common questions
Do I need a VA disability rating to get surplus property?
No. This benefit runs on veteran-owned status, not on a service-connected disability rating. A service-disabled veteran-owned firm qualifies too, and so does a business owned by an eligible surviving spouse, but a rating is not what opens the door. That is the main thing separating this from the government-wide SDVOSB set-aside programs, which do require a rating.
Do I need to be certified first?
Yes, and this is the step most write-ups leave out. SBA requires the business to be certified in its VetCert database. Self-certification ended for federal set-aside and sole-source awards on 1 January 2024, and the surplus property program points at the same certified database. If you are not in VetCert yet, that application is the first move, not the surplus paperwork.
Is it free?
No. The property is donated by the federal government rather than sold, but the state agency that distributes it charges a service and handling fee to cover its own costs. The amount is set by each state agency, and neither GSA nor SBA publishes a national figure, so ask your state agency what it charges before you plan around it. The fee is normally a small fraction of what the item would cost new, which is the point of the program.
Is this available in every state?
Not necessarily. The law works through a memorandum of agreement between SBA, GSA and the head of each state surplus agency, and GSA describes the program as implemented with participating states. Whether your state participates, and what it requires, is a question for your own state agency for surplus property.
What can I actually do with the property?
Use it in the normal conduct of your business. Personal or non-business use is prohibited, and you agree not to sell, transfer or otherwise dispose of the property during a restriction period without written authorization. The length of that period is set by the state agency and varies with the type and value of the item, so get it in writing before you take delivery.
What kind of property is available?
Whatever the federal government has finished with and sends to the state agencies: office furniture, computers and IT equipment, tools, shop and industrial equipment, and vehicles. Land and real property, certain naval vessels and federal records are excluded by law. Inventory turns over constantly and varies by state, so it is worth checking repeatedly rather than once.
Sources
Pub. L. 115-416, the Veterans Small Business Enhancement Act of 2018, adding subsection (g) to section 32 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 657b), enacted 3 January 2019; GSA Office of Personal Property Management, federal surplus personal property donation program; SBA veteran contracting assistance programs. Fees, restriction periods and participation are set by each state agency for surplus property, so confirm those with yours rather than with any national summary, including this one. SBA program page
Certification is the gate on all of this.
Surplus property, federal set-asides and sole-source awards all run through the same VetCert certification, and the ownership and control rules fail more applications than people expect. The pre-screen walks the 13 CFR 128 tests before you apply.
Free. An account saves your answers so you can come back to the paperwork.