Do you ever wonder how they get there? Our North American eligibility requirements describe our criteria to be considered for Deloitte's* Fast 500 or Rising Star programs.

Fast 500 Eligibility
Rising Star Eligibility
Nominations

Note: If you are interested in Deloitte's Technology Fast 50 program, please visit the Fast 50 page for more information and to access the online nomination form.

Fast 500 Eligibility Requirements
To be eligible for the Fast 500, a company must meet the following criteria:

1. Must own proprietary intellectual property or proprietary technology that contributes to a significant portion of the company's operating revenue or devotes a significant proportion of revenue to research and development of technology. Using other companies' technology or intellectual property in a unique way does not qualify.

2.  Base-year operating revenue must be at least $50,000 USD or CD, and current-year operating revenue must be at least $5 million USD and CD.

• Companies are required to submit tax returns or audited financial statements with their submitted nomination to complete their eligibility.

3.  Be in business a minimum of five years.

4.  Be headquartered within North America. Subsidiaries or divisions are not eligible (unless they have some public ownership and are separately traded).

Rising Star Eligibility Requirements
To be eligible for the Rising Star category of the Fast 500, a company must meet the following criteria:

1.  Must own proprietary intellectual property or proprietary technology that contributes to a significant portion of the company's operating revenue or devotes a significant proportion of revenue to research and development of technology. Using other companies' technology or intellectual property in a unique way does not qualify.

2.  Base-year operating revenue must be at least $50,000 USD or CD and current-year operating revenue must be at least $5 million.

• Companies are required to submit tax returns or audited financial statements with their submitted nomination to complete their eligibility.

3.  Be in business a minimum of three years, but less than five years.

4.  Be headquartered within North America. Subsidiaries or divisions are not eligible (unless they have some public ownership and are separately traded).

Nominations
The deadline to submit a nomination has now passed. If you're interested in participating in our 2009 program, please check back again early next year.

*As used in this document, the term "Deloitte" includes Deloitte & Touche LLP, Deloitte Consulting LLP, Deloitte Financial Advisory Services LLP and Deloitte Tax LLP.