Equal Opportunity FAQ

The City of Phoenix is committed to ensuring that all city programs, services, activities, and facilities are accessible and usable by all. The City complies with all Federal, State, and local accessibility laws.

A person with a disability is someone who:

• has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities,
• has a history or record of such an impairment (such as cancer that is in remission), or
• is perceived by others as having such an impairment (such as a person who has scars from a severe burn).

If a person falls into any of these categories, the ADA protects them. Because the ADA is a law, and not a benefit program, you do not need to apply for coverage.

The City of Phoenix encourages community involvement through reporting and surveys as we continue working toward becoming the most accessible city in the nation.  Community members may report any concerns, request accommodations, file a complaint, or ask accessibility related questions through our online portal, via email, or by phone 602.262.7486.

First-time applicants can expect to receive a final determination on their certification application within approximately 16 weeks. During this time, you may be contacted to supply additional information and/or documentation.  

The staff person assigned to review your application may also contact you to schedule an on-site visit to your principal place of business if your firm is located in Maricopa County. In certain technical or highly specialized trade areas, a work site visit also may be necessary to determine the applicant's expertise in the firm's primary field of operation. 

SBE or DBE certification is valid for five years, with an annual declaration of eligibility required to maintain SBE or DBE status. If you qualify for certification, you will receive a letter showing your firm's renewal date.

The annual declaration of eligibility requires an update of information and a copy of your latest tax return (business and/or personal). The annual declaration of eligibility is required to continue certification through the renewal date.

It is the responsibility of certified firms to renew their eligibility. A renewal is an abbreviated process from the original application process. For more information, call the Equal Opportunity Department at 602-262-6790.

Procurement 

If you offer commodities or general services, review Good/General Services Current Solicitations and Good/General Services Upcoming Solicitations on the Finance Department website on a regular basis. Note that the Finance Department Purchasing Division does not send out notices of current solicitations or maintain a vendor list. Internet access is available at all city public libraries. 

The Purchasing Division offers open vendor hours from 1 to 3:30 p.m. every Wednesday at the Finance Department located at 251 West Washington St., 8th Floor. 

Consulting and Construction Services

Firms interested in learning about opportunities to provide consulting or construction services on public works projects with the city should visit phoenix.gov/streets/eassbe/index.html.  

Firms interested in learning about upcoming competitive bid construction projects should visit https://www.phoenix.gov/streets/business-opportunities

A SBE Program is a for-profit small business concern that is race gender neutral where firms can participate in the City of Phoenix business opportunities and available for business owners located in Maricopa County. SBE certification is valid for providers of goods, general, and construction services. This program includes a reserve contract program for providers of goods and general services, and a subcontracting goals program for construction subcontractors.

• Please see the Phoenix City Code Sec. 18-302, Small business enterprise certification for additional information.

An ACDBE is a for-profit small business concern that operates in Airport Concession areas, such as gift shops, restaurant/food services, etc. The ACDBE Program intent is to provide a level playing field for ACDBE firms wanting to do business with the Airport, and other agencies receiving Federal funds from the U.S. Department of Transportation.

A DBE Program is a for-profit small business concern that is at least 51 percent owned by one or more individuals who are both socially and economically disadvantaged. In the case of a corporation, 51 percent of the stock must be owned by one or more such individuals; and whose management and daily business operations are controlled by one or more of the socially and economically disadvantaged individuals who own it.

• Please see 49 Code of Federal Regulation (CFR) Part 26 Subpart D for additonal information for both programs.

The total processing time for a new application is approximately 90 days from the date the file is completed. Once the application is submitted, the Program Assistant has 30 days to review to ensure it is complete. Once deemed complete, the Program Assistant will receive the application, then assign it to a Certification Specialist, who has 90 days to make the final determination. Applications are processed by date of receipt on a first-in and first-out basis.

Financial documents, such as the Profit & Loss Statement, provide evidence that the applicant is conducting the business as described in the application. Documents such as the Balance Sheet and tax returns are used collectively to verify the ownership, management, and control by the owner(s). Please note that the certification process does not evaluate the firm's profitability or financial viability.

Submit a letter on a firm’s letterhead stating which documents do not apply and why.

NOTE: There is a difference between a document that does not apply and a document that does not exist. Please contact our office at (602) 262-6790 for further clarification.

In place of the bank signature card, a letter may be sent from your bank officer on the bank's letterhead informing the City of Phoenix/Equal Opportunity Department of the authorized signatures on the bank account(s) and any stipulations placed on the account(s), e.g., two signatures required on all checks.

Acceptable documents include: proof of citizenship or legal residency, ex. Birth Certificate, current U.S. Passport or U.S. Passport Card, current Permanent Resident Card or Alien Registration Receipt Card (Form I-551), Immigration card.

Yes, you can apply for certification in Arizona, but you must first be certified in your home state. This process is called interstate certification. If you are seeking DBE certification in Arizona and you are already certified as a DBE in your home state, you can apply with the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) at ADOT DBE & OJT Online Reporting System.

If you are seeking ACDBE certification, you can apply at www.phoenix.diversitycompliance.com. Interstate applicants must complete and submit the interstate application on-line and submit a signed interstate application affidavit.

Interstate applicants must complete and submit the interstate application on-line and submit a signed interstate application affidavit.

Applicants that are seeking DBE certification in Arizona must submit their application to the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) at http://www.adotdoors.dbesystem.com.

Applicants that are seeking ACDBE certification must submit their application at www.phoenix.diversitycompliance.com.

Upon receipt of a completed interstate application, the City of Phoenix has 10 days to review and make a final determination.

The Certification Section staff of the Equal Opportunity Department have been trained and certified in Federal and State Standards & Procedures. Please note that your information is handled with confidentiality.

The City of Phoenix Equal Opportunity Department adheres to the Federal governing regulations as defined in 49 Code of Federal Regulation (CFR) Part 26 Subpart D, the City of Phoenix Ordinance  Code Chapter 18-302, Small business enterprise certification, and the Administrative Regulation 1.89.

The firm’s certification is valid for one year from the firm’s effective date. Firms that wish to remain certified must submit an annual update application and a DOE.

However, firms are encouraged to begin the annual update process at least 60 days prior to the renewal date to avoid a lapse in certification.

A DOE is an declaration that each firm must provide to the City of Phoenix/Equal Opportunity Department annually on the firm’s effective date of the certification. The declaration affirms that there have been no changes in the firm’s circumstances affecting its ability to meet Part 26 of the Code of Federal Regulation - size, disadvantage, ownership, and control standards.

If there are “changes” in the firm such as ownership, size, disadvantage and control. Then the applicant firm must submit the DOE with supporting documentation.

Note: By submitting a DOE, the owner is affirming that his or her personal net worth does not exceed $2,047,000 million dollar. 

Log into your https://phoenix.diversitycompliance.com/ account.

To view or download your certificate click on View My Certifications. Then click to “view” the current City of Phoenix certification for your firm, scroll down to the section for “letters” and click on the link for the certificate.

NOTE: A firm must have a current “Certified” status in order to print a certificate. If there is no certificate, a firm can send a request by emailing us at business.relations.eod@phoenix.gov or calling (602) 262-6790 to the Certification staff to create a certificate.

Certification does not expire. However, you are required to submit an annual update application from the firm’s certification effective date.

1.) A firm must annually submit an Annual Update application through the https://phoenix.diversitycompliance.com/ B2GNow System.

2.) Required documents that must be submitted in the annual update application are as follows:

• The DOE form
• The firm’s Federal Business tax returns (gross receipts) for most recent year.

If you have a change in ownership or management, please log into your account and submit a change application called “Expansion” application. On the affidavit of change, please include a brief statement with more specific information regarding the change and provide supporting documentation.

No, the renewal date does not change.

NOTE: The owner is sent courtesy reminders at 60, 45 and 15 days prior to the renewal date of the firm’s effective date. The reminder email will be sent to the primary owner's email address on file, and will be generated from the B2GNow system. However, B2GNow does not guarantee receipt of the reminder e-mail and recommends the applicant mark their calendar as a reminder to begin the process at least 60 days prior to its renewal date.

Yes, the renewal date will be a year from the annual update effective date.

Yes, an on-site visit is mandatory for the Disadvantage Business Enterprise Program (DBE) with each new application. The Small Business Disadvantage Program (SBE) new application on-site visit can be scheduled upon the discretion of the Certification Specialist.

NOTE: All on-site visits for the DBE Program ONLY require that the 51% percent owner or more to be present. All on-site visits are recorded. All on-site visits for the SBE Program require that ALL owner(s) be present. On-site visits are scheduled with the owner(s) in advance.

No, certification is not transferable. Certification is based on the representation of the firm by the owner who applies for and successfully completes the full certification process.

Security of the B2GNow system and your information is top priority. All submitted documents are treated with the utmost confidentiality. The City of Phoenix Equal Opportunity Department is committed to the confidentiality of your application materials. Once the application is submitted, Certification staff can view the application materials during their review only if they explicitly have the required level of user access. All actions to access, view, update and comment on your application are logged for auditing purposes.

Rest assured that we take your privacy and the confidentiality of your information very seriously.

To do business with the City you must register your firm with the City of Phoenix/Finance Department as a vendor ing the procurePHX Supplier Self-Registration portal.

This will ensure prompt payment of invoice and opportunity to put your firms good and services in the database.

Note: This process doesn’t certify your firm as a SBE/DBE and ACDBE.

If an applicant submitted the application by mistake the firm can always call the Certification staff at (602) 262-6790 and request for the application to be returned to them

Any application (New, Annual, Expansion) that is started and not submitted within 90 days is automatically deleted by the system; deleted applications CANNOT be recovered by our staff OR system administrators.

If your application is deleted, you must start and submit a new application. If you need additional time to work on your application, please extend the date of deletion by clicking “Extend” next to the Deletion Date on the main page of your application.

If you experience any issues, please contact our office at 602-262-6790 or email us at business.relations.eod@phoenix.gov

No. Landlords will not be required to lower rents.  

Landlords can set their rent based on various factors; however, charging a higher rent solely based on the income of the applicant (i.e. those with vouchers or any other form of lawful payment) is a discriminatory practice and would violate the fair housing ordinance.  

Property owners/managers set the applicant screening policies. If an applicant meets the screening criteria and has a voucher, the landlord would be expected to accept the voucher.

The landlord would not be put in a situation where the Housing Authority and tenant portion does not meet the full amount of rent. The process is that a landlord would submit, to the Housing Authority, the proposed rent for the unit. If the rent is higher than what the voucher can support, the landlord will be provided with a counteroffer which the applicant qualifies for. If the landlord does not accept a lower rental amount, the applicant will have to find a different unit.  

Landlords may continue to use other legal screening criteria, including relevant criminal background or other rental and credit history. The City encourages landlords to consider revising policies that have historically disadvantaged persons of color and those who come from backgrounds of poverty, such as by providing second chances to persons who have nonviolent drug convictions related to substance use and those who have served time in jail/prison. The City needs landlords ready to help these Phoenicians who are ready to rebuild their lives. 

Example of comments that may be evidence of discrimination include: “No housing vouchers.” “No Section 8.” “There is a waitlist for people with vouchers.” “Your income doesn’t cover three times the rent, so you don’t meet the minimum income requirement.” Requiring a criminal history check only for voucher holders. 

Yes. The Housing Choice Voucher Program always has provided the landlord the ability to enforce the lease up to and including eviction. City staff are ready and able to assist landlords by addressing issues with the tenant should there be nonpayment or other lease violations. Should the tenant be evicted for serious or repeated lease violations, the Housing Choice Voucher Program does consider termination from the program for those participants that abuse the lease.  

The Equal Opportunity Department began enforcing the amendment to Chapter 18 of the City Code on April 6, 2023. The amendment was designed to address housing discrimination against persons who receive various kinds of sources of income including but not limited to: child support, spousal support, foster care subsidies, rental assistance, security deposit or down payment assistance, income derived from social security or disability insurance, veterans’ benefits, Housing Choice (Section 8) vouchers, and other forms of governmental assistance.  

 The enforcement process, will be consistent with other prohibited discrimination under the Human Relations Ordinance. 

Yes.  See Phoenix City Code §§ 18-11 for additional information

Rental units must pass a HUD-approved inspection. These are basic requirements established by HUD and include things such as functioning smoke detectors, a refrigerator in working order, bathroom ventilation, and no roof leaks and other requirements. Inspections should occur within 7 calendar days once completed paperwork is received and rental amount is confirmed with the landlord. The inspection can only be done when the unit is ready for occupancy and utilities are turned on.  

Rental payments are made by direct deposit on the first business day of the month.  

The City regularly issues vouchers to those who move from their current unit or, as needed, to new applicants off the waiting list. There can generally be anywhere between 300 to 600 households searching for a unit at any given time.  

The voucher holders are generally given up to 180 days to find a unit and it depends on the voucher holder’s ability to find a unit within the parameters of the program and ability to pass a landlord screening criteria. It varies by participant how long it takes them to find a unit. 

Residents are encouraged to apply for boards and commissions that suit their interests and experiences. To  apply visit https://boards.phoenix.gov

The Mayor's Commission on Disability Issues meets every other month, on the fourth Wednesday at 4:15 pm.

The Phoenix Women's Commission meets monthly on the second Monday of the month from 3 p.m.

Location:

Phoenix Burton Barr Central Library, 4th Floor Lecture Room​​

1221 N. Central Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85004

The Phoenix Human Relations Commission meets monthly on the third Tuesday at 6 p.m.

Location:

Phoenix Fire Administration, 2nd Floor Conference Room

150 S. 12th Street, Phoenix, AZ 85034