VetCert · Capability statements · Past performance

The set-asides exist. Get certified to win them.

SDVOSB and VOSB certification prep, capability statements, and past-performance write-ups for veteran-owned businesses — organized to federal standards by a retired Navy Legalman who's filing his own VetCert application right now.

5%of federal dollars now targeted to SDVOSBs
$31.9Bawarded to SDVOSBs in FY2023
~12 dayscurrent VetCert processing when your file is right
Set-Aside: SDVOSBNOTICE ID: YOUR-FIRST-WIN
Opportunity: the contract you can't bid on yet
Eligible offerorsVetCert-certified firms only
Self-certificationNo longer accepted
Your paperworkOrganized, consistent, complete
Response dueSooner than you think
Muster Federal gets your file ready to pass — the first time.
The straight answer nobody leads with

The SBA application is free. We're not selling you access.

Plenty of consultancies in this space bury that fact behind a sales call. Here it is up front: applying for VetCert costs nothing, and SAM.gov registration costs nothing. What sinks applications isn't fees — it's documents that tell an inconsistent story about ownership and control.

You're paying us for preparation and precision: a file organized the way a career military records professional organizes files, so a 12-day review doesn't turn into a 90-day correction cycle.

$0

What SBA charges to apply — and we'll say so every time

Why now

Three things changed. All three favor you.

The goal went up

The federal SDVOSB contracting goal rose from 3% to 5% of all contract dollars — tens of billions annually that agencies are now measured on directing to certified firms.

Self-certification ended

Claiming veteran-owned status is no longer enough. The only route to set-asides and sole-source awards now runs through SBA's VetCert portal — everyone has to file.

Reviews got fast

SBA cleared its backlog; clean applications now process in roughly 12 days. The penalty for a sloppy file — corrections, resubmissions, protests — got relatively bigger.

Packages

Flat fees. No phone-maze quotes.

The big registration consultancies make you call for a price. Ours are published, and every package tells you exactly what lands in your inbox.

The door-opener

Capability Statement

$249
48-hour delivery
  • One-page federal-format capability statement
  • Core competencies, differentiators, NAICS & codes block
  • Designed PDF + editable source file
  • One revision round included
Choose Capability
Most requested

VetCert Application Prep

$749
File-ready in 5 business days
  • Full document checklist run against your business
  • Ownership & control narrative — the section that sinks applications
  • Operating agreement / bylaws consistency review flags
  • Organized submission binder + step-by-step filing walkthrough
Choose VetCert Prep
Everything

Federal-Ready Bundle

$1,249
10 business days
  • VetCert Application Prep — everything at left
  • SAM.gov registration walkthrough support
  • Capability statement
  • Three past-performance write-ups
Choose the Bundle
À la carte
  • Additional past-performance write-up$99
  • Sources-sought response draft$199
  • Annual recertification refreshQuoted at renewal
The roll call

How we get your file to pass muster

Readiness check — free

Ten questions by email or a short call. If you're not eligible or not ready, we say so and tell you what would change that — no charge, no upsell.

Document muster

You gather to our checklist; we review every document for the consistency SBA examiners actually look for — ownership percentages, control authority, signatures that match the story.

Narratives & assembly

AI-accelerated drafting of your ownership/control narrative and write-ups, reviewed line-by-line by our founder, assembled into a submission-ready binder.

You file — with a walkthrough

You submit through SBA's portal yourself (it's your certification and your login); our step-by-step walkthrough sits beside you the whole way. Questions during review? We're on call through decision.

Founder
22-year U.S. Navy retiree — Legalman, career spent making federal paperwork survive federal review
Right now
Preparing his own SDVOSB VetCert application for this company — every checklist we sell is the one we're using
Company
IdaMil LLC — veteran-owned, Ashland, Virginia
Who's behind this

We're in the same formation

Muster Federal isn't run by a call center that also registers trucking companies. It's run by a retired Navy Legalman walking the exact same VetCert road for his own company — which means the checklists, the narrative structure, and the gotchas are current because we're living them.

Drafting is AI-accelerated; review is human, line-by-line, by someone whose military career was exactly this: assembling records that hold up under official scrutiny. And when you're certified, you'll know your file — because you built it with us instead of handing it to a black box.

Straight answers

FAQ

Are you affiliated with the SBA or VA?
No — and be wary of anyone who blurs that line. Muster Federal is a private, veteran-owned document preparation and advisory service. The SBA's VetCert application and SAM.gov registration are free government processes; we charge for preparation, organization, and drafting precision, and we'll remind you of that distinction at every step.
Do you guarantee certification or contracts?
No, and nobody honestly can — SBA makes the certification decision and contracting officers make award decisions. What we control is the quality and consistency of your file, which is what most preventable denials and delays come down to. If our readiness check says you don't qualify, we tell you before you spend a dollar.
I have a 0% disability rating. Do I qualify for SDVOSB?
A service-connected disability rating at any percentage — including 0% — can qualify you, provided you meet the ownership and control requirements: at least 51% direct, unconditional ownership and day-to-day plus long-term control by the service-disabled veteran. The readiness check walks through all of it.
What actually sinks applications?
Inconsistency. An operating agreement that gives a non-veteran partner veto power. Ownership percentages that differ between documents. A "highest officer" title that doesn't match who signs things. Our prep is fundamentally a consistency audit — finding those contradictions before an SBA examiner does.
Why shouldn't I just do it all myself?
You genuinely can — and our walkthrough even shows you where everything goes, because you file under your own login. What you're buying is a second set of career-trained eyes, drafted narratives, and an organized file so a 12-day review doesn't become a months-long correction loop while set-asides pass you by.
What happens after I'm certified?
That's when the real work starts: capability statement in contracting officers' hands, sources-sought responses, and past-performance ready to cite. The Bundle exists because certification without positioning is a certificate on the wall. And when your ops need systems behind them, our sister service Deckplate Digital builds those at fixed fees.
Fall in

Start with the free readiness check

Ten questions, honest answers. We reply within one business day with your readiness read and the right package — or the truth that you're not ready yet and what would change it.

No payment now. Readiness check is free; paid packages get a secure Stripe link after we confirm fit.

Received. Watch your inbox — your readiness read arrives within one business day.