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Business confirmation certificates

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

A women-owned business confirmation certificate is a document confirming, under the Act on Support for Female-Owned Businesses, that a business is actually owned and managed by a woman. The application is filed on the Public Purchasing Information Network (SMPP), and an on-site inspection follows the document review. The certificate is valid for 3 years and leads to bonus points in public institution bidding and a wider scope for negotiated contracts.

Written by Hwang Yunsang, Administrative Agent · Published 2026-09-24 · Updated 2026-09-24

Procedure

Procedure type
  • Confirmation Difficulty Medium

    The authority reviews documents, and where needed carries out an on-site inspection, to confirm that statutory criteria such as company size, ownership or research staff are met before issuing a confirmation or recognition certificate.

  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

Fees

Administrative service fee
  • Basic scope from KRW 400,000
All administrative service fees exclude 10% VAT.

There is no government fee for the women-owned business confirmation application. Our office fee starts from the amount shown above and may vary depending on whether the co-representative structure has to be put in order and whether the work is combined with direct production confirmation; we will give you an exact quote after reviewing your documents.

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

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

Can I get a women-owned business confirmation certificate simply because the representative is a woman?
Registration as representative alone is not enough. For a corporation, a woman must be an executive with authority to represent the company and also the largest investor, and the on-site inspection must confirm that she actually manages the company.
Can a company with co-representatives be confirmed as a women-owned business?
Yes, if the woman registered as an executive with representative authority is the largest investor (if there are 2 or more women representatives, their combined shareholding must be the largest) and it is confirmed that the woman representative actually manages the company. The division of roles must be the same in the documents and in actual operation.
What benefits come with a women-owned business confirmation certificate?
In public institution bidding, up to 5 bonus points are available under the women-owned business item. Public institutions must buy products of women-owned businesses for at least 5% of their purchases of goods and services (at least 3% for construction works), and the estimated price eligible for a small-amount negotiated contract is widened to 100,000,000 won or less.
How long is a women-owned business confirmation certificate valid?
It is valid for 3 years. At renewal, requirements such as the shareholding ratio, the representative and changes to the business registration are checked again.
What are common reasons for failing women-owned business confirmation?
Common reasons are a fall in the shareholding ratio, a change in the representative's management activities, errors in the list of persons insured under the 4 major social insurance schemes, and business registration changes that were not reflected. Comparing the documents with the actual situation before applying reduces these failures.

Other guides in this area

Contact us

Hwang Yunsang Administrative Office in Songdo, Incheon prepares and submits administrative documents and explains the procedure. If your situation is similar, send us a message.

📞 Call 010-3374-2687 KakaoTalk Book a free 1-hour consultation WhatsApp ✍️ Request a consultation for this service
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📍 2697, 26F POSCO Tower-Songdo, 165 Convensia-daero, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon, Republic of Korea · 📞 010-3374-2687 · 🌐 hwangadmin.com

This guide is general information based on public sources. Requirements, documents and deadlines differ by case and by the competent agency, so please confirm them before you proceed.