Obtaining a Women-Owned Business Confirmation Certificate — Actual Management Requirement and 3-Year Renewal

Procedure

1. 1. Check the requirements — ownership and actual management

   For a company under the Commercial Act, a woman must be registered as an executive with authority to represent the company and must be the largest investor. In a company with co-representatives as well, the woman registered as an executive with representative authority must be the largest investor (if there are 2 or more women representatives, their combined shareholding must be the largest), and it must be confirmed that the woman representative actually manages the company. Confirmation is not granted where she is the representative in name only.

2. 2. Join SMPP and register company information

   Join the Public Purchasing Information Network (SMPP) as a small and medium enterprise member and register the company information. At this stage, also make sure that changes to the business registration and the list of persons insured under the 4 major social insurance schemes match the actual situation.

3. 3. Submit documents and undergo the on-site inspection

   After the application documents are submitted, the Korean Women Entrepreneurs Association reviews them and conducts an on-site inspection. The inspection checks whether the representative actually makes business decisions and runs the company.

4. 4. Use after issuance and 3-year renewal

   The certificate is valid for 3 years, and the requirements and any changes are checked again at renewal. For manufacturers, a direct production confirmation certificate is often also needed before public institution contracts follow, so we review it at the same time.

Required documents

• Women-owned business confirmation application (Enforcement Decree of the Act on Support for Female-Owned Businesses, Form No. 1; filed electronically through the SME product public procurement information network)
• Business registration certificate; certificate of registered matters of the corporation (for corporations)
• Documents confirming shareholding, such as the shareholder register
• List of persons insured under the 4 major social insurance schemes
• Financial statements or certificate of value-added tax base
• Materials showing the representative's management activities (contract and approval records, etc.)
• Lease contract for the place of business

Fees

The office's basic fee for business certification and confirmation services starts from 500,000 won and varies depending on whether the co-representative structure has to be put in order and whether the work is combined with direct production confirmation. There is no government fee for the women-owned business confirmation application. We will advise after reviewing the company's situation in a consultation.

See fees and official charges for this service →

Legal basis and review date

• Act on Support for Female-Owned Businesses, Article 20-2
• Enforcement Decree of the Act on Support for Female-Owned Businesses, Article 2
• Enforcement Decree of the Act on Support for Female-Owned Businesses, Article 7
• Enforcement Decree of the Act on Contracts to Which the State Is a Party, Article 26
• Guidelines for Confirmation of Women-Owned Businesses, Article 6
• Guidelines for Confirmation of Women-Owned Businesses, Article 8
• Enforcement Decree of the Act on Support for Female-Owned Businesses, Form No. 1
• Women-Owned Business Confirmation Guidelines, Article 4

Checked against the statutes on 2026-09-30

Statutes and public notices change, so each case needs to be checked individually. Statute titles are given in English for reference. The Korean statutes are the authoritative text.

Check these first

• Prepare for renewal before the 3-year validity period ends. Once it expires, bonus points in bidding are not available.
• When the shareholding or the representative changes, first check that the confirmation requirements are still met.

Frequently asked questions