Under 49 CFR Part 26, the federal framework for DOT-funded DBE programs, a bidder can satisfy a contract's DBE requirement one of two ways: meet the numeric goal outright with documented DBE commitments, or fall short of the goal but show good faith efforts — defined as steps that, by their scope, intensity, and appropriateness, could reasonably be expected to achieve the goal even if they ultimately didn't. Appendix A to Part 26 lays out what counts: soliciting DBEs early enough for them to realistically respond, breaking work into smaller pieces DBEs can perform, and not rejecting a DBE quote just because it's not the lowest — "mere pro forma efforts," the regulation says explicitly, don't count. Whether an agency accepts a bidder's good faith effort documentation is a judgment call the recipient agency makes, and it can be the difference between a bid being accepted and being thrown out as non-responsive. Because DBE goals and the underlying documentation requirements are set at the individual project level, catching them early — while there's still time to solicit DBE subs and suppliers properly — matters more than catching them at bid submission. Nonlinear surfaces DBE participation goals as part of reading a bid package, the same way it surfaces bonding and prequalification requirements.
Knowledge Base
What is a good faith effort (DBE compliance)?
A good faith effort is the documented, genuine attempt a bidder makes to meet a project's Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) participation goal — and it's what an agency accepts in place of actually hitting the goal, as long as the effort was real and reasonable.
