ARTICLE · 02 JANUARY 2026

Impact Of DOT's IFR On DBEs And Ongoing Mega Projects

Ankura Consulting Group LLC

On Oct. 3, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) published its Interim Final Rule (IFR) ending race- and sex-based presumptions of disadvantage in the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise...

United StatesTransport

Pasha Ameli

Abstract

On Oct. 3, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) published its Interim Final Rule (IFR) ending race- and sex-based presumptions of disadvantage in the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) program under 49 C.F.R. Part 26.¹The rule now requires all certified DBEs and applicants to submit individualized proof of social and economic disadvantage through personal narratives and documentation. Approximately 41,000 firms nationwide were affected immediately by this mandate, according to official USDOT and industry estimates.

The USDOT guidance issued Oct. 24 clarified that Unified Certification Programs (UCPs) have no fixed national recertification deadline and that no new DBE participation may be counted on pending or future contracts until reevaluations are complete.²As a direct result, billions of dollars in federal infrastructure contracts — such as nearly $18 billion in review for the Hudson Tunnel Gateway Program and the Second Avenue Subway,

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Impact Of DOT's IFR On DBEs And Ongoing Mega Projects

Abstract

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