SDVOSB and VOSB, in Plain Language

The difference in one pass

Both labels are SBA certification categories under the veteran small-business program, often called VetCert. A Veteran-Owned Small Business (VOSB) is a small business owned and controlled by one or more veterans. A Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) is a small business owned and controlled by one or more veterans who have a service-connected disability. The ownership-and-control tests are SBA rules. The disability determination comes from the Department of Veterans Affairs, or from the Department of Defense in the cases SBA's rule recognizes.

A firm does not get to pick the stronger badge for a proposal. SBA certifies the category. A VOSB certification does not make the firm eligible for an SDVOSB set-aside. An SDVOSB certification is the record buyers should retrieve when the solicitation says SDVOSB. Printing "veteran-owned" under a logo does not update that record.

What changed for Liberty ChainGuard

Liberty ChainGuard Consulting LLC is an SBA-certified Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB). Owner Hobie Cunningham, a U.S. Navy Seabee veteran, runs the firm from Ingleside, Texas. LCG recertified from VOSB to SDVOSB on August 23, 2026. If you still have an older capability statement that says VOSB only, use the current SBA record and this site.

The identifiers to type into SAM.gov are UEI RP1XYZMDYGC7 and CAGE 13ZA3. D-U-N-S 139791983 is the Dun & Bradstreet number. The firm was established in 2025. It is building past performance. We do not fill a "similar contracts" box with work we have not delivered. The longer buyer note is on SDVOSB IT sourcing for Texas.

Set-asides are a decision, not a side effect

On a federal civilian acquisition, an SDVOSB set-aside is something the contracting officer applies when the FAR and SBA rules allow it. Eligibility to be considered depends on SBA certification, size, and the terms of that solicitation. A vendor's paragraph about military service does not create the set-aside. Self-description on a website is not the certification.

The Department of Veterans Affairs runs a Veterans First preference with its own order of priority. That order can consider both SDVOSB and VOSB concerns before other small-business categories. It is a VA rule for VA buys. It is not the rule a city uses to buy laptops, and it is not the rule a civilian agency uses just because the vendor is a veteran.

Size still matters. SDVOSB status does not waive the size standard for the NAICS code on the solicitation. A firm can be certified and still be other than small for a particular buy. Ask, and expect a direct answer.

Texas purchases do not inherit the federal set-aside

Texas cities, counties, school districts, and state agencies buy under Texas law and their own policies. Some policies mention veteran ownership or a service-disabled veteran preference. Some do not. The Comptroller's HUB program can include service-disabled veterans, and that certificate is separate from SBA SDVOSB. The CMBL is separate again. Our CMBL and three-quote checklist walks through those lists. LCG does not describe itself as a Texas HUB on this site. If a solicitation awards evaluation points for HUB status, we will say whether that status is in hand.

For a local informal quote, certification is usually one line in the vendor packet. Price, specification, lead time, and the contract vehicle decide the file. An SDVOSB quote that misses the spec is still a non-responsive quote.

What to ask any firm that uses these labels

1. Which SBA category is current: VOSB, SDVOSB, or neither?
2. What is the legal name, UEI, and CAGE on the SAM.gov record you are about to check?
3. Is the firm small for the NAICS code on this buy?
4. Does the solicitation actually set the work aside, or is certification only informational?
5. Are you being offered a Texas HUB certificate, a CMBL printout, or a federal SDVOSB record? Which did you ask for?
6. What delivered work can they cite, and will they leave the line blank when the answer is none yet?

Those questions fit a two-page email. They also fit the capability statement, which is the document to compare against SAM.gov rather than a marketing line.

How this shows up on an IT quote

Liberty ChainGuardsells procurement support and practical technology sourcing, not a certification story by itself. When you ask for endpoints, a firewall, software, or a small AI workflow, the quote names the product, the distributor path, and the certification in separate lines. Fortinet commercial product, for example, is quoted as an Engage Partner fulfilled through D&H. That channel fact does not get stronger because the firm is an SDVOSB, and the SDVOSB fact does not get stronger because a firewall is on the quote. Read both. The Texas IT procurement page describes the comparison package. The about page is the short company record.

If your buy is a federal SDVOSB set-aside and you need past performance the firm does not have yet, we would rather decline than dress up a new company as an incumbent. Established in 2025 means the honest first contracts are still ahead.

Questions we hear

If a firm is an SDVOSB, is it also a VOSB?

In ordinary language, an SDVOSB is veteran-owned. On a federal buy, the certification that matters is the one SBA issued for that firm. Liberty ChainGuard recertified from VOSB to SDVOSB on August 23, 2026. Buyers should look up SDVOSB, not a retired VOSB label.

Does SDVOSB status force a Texas agency to set the buy aside?

No. A federal set-aside is a contracting officer decision under federal rules. Texas state and local purchases follow Texas statutes, board policy, cooperatives, and sometimes the CMBL. Certification makes a firm eligible to be considered when a preference or set-aside actually applies. It does not create the set-aside.

Where do I verify Liberty ChainGuard?

SAM.gov, using UEI RP1XYZMDYGC7 and CAGE 13ZA3, plus the SBA certification record. The capability statement repeats the same identifiers. A logo on a website is not the verification.