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How to Sell to VA

The Department of Veterans Affairs is the second-largest federal contracting customer and the most SDVOSB-friendly federal agency by design. The Vets First Contracting Program gives service-disabled veteran-owned and veteran-owned small businesses statutory priority at VA. If you're a certified SDVOSB or VOSB, VA should be at the top of your target-agency list.

This guide covers VA's buying structure, Vets First specifically, the contract vehicles that matter, where the spend concentrates, and the common mistakes veterans make when they first try to sell to the VA.

VA's buying structure

VA operates as three major administrations plus central office functions:

VHA (Veterans Health Administration) is the largest. It runs 170+ medical centers and 1,000+ outpatient clinics. Most VA contracting dollars flow through VHA for clinical services, medical supplies, facility support, pharmaceuticals, and IT.

VBA (Veterans Benefits Administration) processes disability claims, pensions, education benefits, and home loan guarantees. Smaller contracting footprint but significant in claims processing support, IT, and call center services.

NCA (National Cemetery Administration) operates national cemeteries. Contracting focuses on maintenance, construction, and monument services.

Central office functions (Office of Information and Technology, procurement operations, policy) contract enterprise-level IT, consulting, and administrative services.

For small contractors, VHA is the primary target. The medical center network is distributed geographically and contracting officers at individual medical centers have significant autonomy.

Vets First Contracting Program

Vets First is the statutory preference program that makes VA different from every other federal agency. Under Vets First, VA contracting officers award contracts in a specific priority order:

  1. SDVOSB set-aside or sole-source — first preference
  2. VOSB set-aside or sole-source — second preference
  3. Other small business set-asides (WOSB, HUBZone, 8(a))
  4. Small business set-aside
  5. Full and open competition

This means at VA, SDVOSB firms sit at the top of the preference stack. Before competing fully open, VA must evaluate whether the opportunity can be met by SDVOSBs. Only if no SDVOSB can perform can the opportunity move down the priority list.

Practical implication: if you're an SDVOSB and VA is buying something your firm can deliver, you have the most favorable competitive position available anywhere in federal contracting.

VOSB specifically: after the 2023 consolidation of SDVOSB certification under SBA, VOSB remains a VA-only certification for Chapter 81 Vets First contracts. Non-disabled veteran firms can still pursue VA work under Vets First, but only after SDVOSBs are considered.

Contract vehicles that matter

T4NG (Transformation Twenty-One Total Technology Next Generation) — VA's primary IT services IDIQ. Multi-billion-dollar vehicle covering application development, operations, and IT services.

VA Service Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) Contract Vehicle — dedicated SDVOSB-only multiple-award IDIQ.

Medical Surgical Prime Vendor — VA's primary medical supply distribution contracts.

VA Supply Fund catalog — commercial item purchases.

Facilities construction and operations vehicles — various IDIQs for VA medical center construction, renovation, and facility management.

GSA Schedules — VA uses GSA Schedules extensively for professional services, IT, and medical supplies. Holding a GSA Schedule is often a prerequisite for VA work.

Getting on T4NG or the SDVOSB contract vehicle is a meaningful capture investment — proposals typically take 6-12 months — but the task order flow once awarded is significant.

Where VA spend concentrates

Medical and healthcare services:

  • 621111: Physicians (clinical services, contract physicians at medical centers)
  • 621610: Home Health Care Services (expanding VA community care benefit)
  • 621910: Ambulance Services
  • 621999: Other ambulatory health care
  • 621511: Medical Laboratories

Medical supplies and equipment:

  • 423450: Medical equipment wholesale (prime vendor contracts)
  • Pharmaceutical distribution (specialized NAICS)

IT services:

  • 541511: Custom computer programming (VA modernization initiatives)
  • 541512: Computer systems design (T4NG work)
  • 541513: Computer facilities management
  • 518210: Hosting and cloud infrastructure

Professional services:

  • 541611, 541618: Management consulting (VA transformation work)
  • 541690: Technical consulting

Facilities:

  • 561210: Facilities support (medical center operations)
  • 561720: Janitorial (medical centers)
  • 236220: Commercial/institutional building construction
  • 237990: Other heavy civil construction (medical center expansions)

Common entry paths

1. Medical center buying. Each VA medical center has a contracting office and a small business specialist. For small SDVOSBs, relationships with a specific VISN (Veterans Integrated Services Network) region or medical center are the most productive first move. Attend local VA outreach events, meet the contracting office, understand their recurring buys.

2. GSA Schedule onto VA. VA uses GSA Schedules heavily for standardized services. Having your firm on a relevant GSA Schedule (Professional Services Schedule, IT Schedule 70 successor MAS) dramatically expands VA accessibility.

3. T4NG subcontracting to start. Getting T4NG as a prime takes years. Subcontracting to an existing T4NG prime gets you VA past performance faster.

4. VIP (Veteran Information Portal). Formerly CVE, now migrated to SBA's certify.SBA.gov. Make sure your SDVOSB status is current in SBA's system and reflected in VA's vendor database.

5. Attend VA National Veterans Small Business Engagement (NVSBE). Annual event where VA program offices and primes directly engage with SDVOSBs and VOSBs. High-signal networking environment.

Set-aside patterns at VA

SDVOSB and VOSB set-asides dominate VA small business contracting. A disproportionate share of VA's small business award dollars flow to veteran-owned firms.

8(a) set-asides see regular VA activity, particularly for transformation and consulting work.

HUBZone and WOSB set-asides appear but are less prominent at VA than at civilian agencies. Veterans Affairs is fundamentally a veteran-focused procurement environment.

Common mistakes at VA

Confusing VA VOSB with SBA SDVOSB. After 2023, SDVOSB certification is federal-wide via SBA. VOSB is VA-specific. Keep them straight — representing the wrong status on a VA opportunity is misrepresentation.

Not registering in VA's vendor system. VA's vendor database (separate from SAM.gov) tracks veteran-owned status. Some contracting officers rely on VA's system first. Make sure your veteran status is reflected there, not just in SAM.gov.

Ignoring Community Care Network (CCN). VA Community Care Network is a major buying channel for veteran medical services provided outside VA facilities. It runs separately from traditional VA procurement. If you're a healthcare provider, CCN participation is a distinct path worth evaluating.

Assuming Vets First means automatic wins. Vets First gives SDVOSBs priority consideration. It doesn't exempt you from proposal competition with other SDVOSBs. Your proposal quality and past performance still decide wins within the SDVOSB pool.

Missing medical center industry events. Regional VA medical centers host small business outreach events that don't appear on SAM.gov. Being on local small business specialist distribution lists is how you hear about these.

Next steps

If you're SDVOSB-certified or planning to pursue SDVOSB, the SDVOSB certification guide and how to get SDVOSB certified cover the foundational certification work. The set-aside programs overview covers adjacent preferences.

Map your services to VA's NAICS demand with the NAICS recommender, specifically checking NAICS codes for medical services and IT services if those apply. Build a VA-focused capability statement with the capability statement builder.

For capture support on specific VA opportunities or help navigating T4NG, CCN, or VA medical center relationships, schedule a 15-minute consultation.