How to Find Your NAICS Codes and SBA Size Standards

NAICS code length

6 digits

Free code search

census.gov/naics

Who sets size standards

SBA (13 CFR 121.201)

Receipts measure

Average of last 5 fiscal years

Employee measure

Average of last 24 months

Receipts standards range

About $2.25M to $47M

Employee standards range

100 to 1,500 employees

NAICS codes per solicitation

One, set by contracting officer

What a NAICS code is

NAICS stands for the North American Industry Classification System. It is a set of six-digit codes that sort every type of business into an industry. For example, one code covers residential remodeling and another covers computer systems design services. The federal government uses these codes to describe what it is buying and to decide which businesses count as small.

The codes are updated every five years by the Office of Management and Budget. The current set is the 2022 edition, which the SBA adopted for size standards on October 1, 2022. A new code can be used in federal contracting only after the SBA publishes a size standard for it.

How to find your codes

Start at the U.S. Census Bureau NAICS website, which offers a free keyword search. Type in words that describe what you sell, such as landscaping, janitorial or software, and read the descriptions of the codes that come up. Each six-digit code has a definition that lists the activities it includes, so pick the ones that match the work you actually do.

Most businesses list several codes. Choose one primary code for the work that brings in the most revenue, and add every other code for work you can perform. You enter your codes in your SAM.gov registration, and you can add or change them at any time. Contracting officers and prime contractors search SAM.gov by NAICS code, so a complete list helps buyers find you.

You can also learn which codes agencies use for your kind of work. Search past awards on USAspending.gov or open notices on SAM.gov for your product or service, and note the NAICS code on each one. This shows you the exact codes buyers assign to the work you want to win.

What an SBA size standard is

A size standard is the largest a business can be and still count as small in a given industry. The SBA sets a size standard for each NAICS code and publishes them in its Table of Small Business Size Standards, which is also found at 13 CFR 121.201. There are about 995 size standards in the current table.

Most size standards use one of two measures. Receipts-based standards cap your average annual revenue, and they currently range from about $2.25 million for some farming industries up to $47 million for some retail and service industries. Common levels are $9 million for many services and retail trades and $45 million for general building construction. Employee-based standards cap your average number of workers, and they currently range from 100 employees for fuel dealers up to 1,500 for some manufacturing, telecommunications and transportation industries. Many manufacturing codes use 500 employees.

How to measure your size

For a receipts-based standard, you average your annual receipts over your last five completed fiscal years. Receipts generally mean your total income plus cost of goods sold, as reported on your federal tax return. This five-year period replaced the older three-year period after the Small Business Runway Extension Act of 2018.

For an employee-based standard, you average the number of people you employed over the last 24 months. You count full-time, part-time and temporary workers for each pay period. The 24-month period came from the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021.

Both measures include your affiliates. Affiliates are businesses connected to yours through common ownership, management or other ties, and the SBA adds their receipts or employees to yours. The SBA Size Standards Tool on sba.gov walks you through your numbers for any NAICS code and tells you whether you qualify as small.

Why size matters for set-asides

Set-aside contracts are reserved for small businesses, and size is measured against the NAICS code on each solicitation. The contracting officer assigns exactly one NAICS code and its size standard to every solicitation, based on the principal purpose of the work. You must be small under that code to compete for a set-aside, even if you are small under your own primary code.

This means one business can be small for one contract and large for another. A company with 300 employees is small for a 500-employee manufacturing code but large for a $9 million services code if its revenue is above that amount. Listing every code you can perform in SAM.gov lets you see the full range of set-asides you can pursue.

Your size is set on the date you certify that you are small in your initial offer that includes price. The contracting officer uses the size standard in effect when the solicitation is issued. If you think the NAICS code on a solicitation does not fit the work, you can appeal it to the SBA Office of Hearings and Appeals within 10 calendar days after the solicitation is issued.

Certifications tied to NAICS codes

Some SBA programs also depend on your codes. The Women-Owned Small Business program covers set-asides only in industries where the SBA has found women-owned firms underrepresented, and the SBA publishes the list of eligible NAICS codes. The 8(a), HUBZone and veteran programs also require that you be small under a code in your SAM.gov profile.

When you apply for any SBA certification, your SAM.gov NAICS codes and size information carry over into the application. Keeping your codes current in SAM.gov keeps your certifications accurate as well.

Proposed changes to size standards in 2026

On August 20, 2026, the SBA proposed a major update to its size standards. The proposal would cut the number of size standards from 995 to 338, set most of them at the four-digit industry group level, and move 64 industries from revenue-based to employee-based measures. It would also adjust revenue standards for productivity growth as well as inflation.

The comment period closed in September 2026, and the current table stays in effect until the SBA publishes a final rule. Your size today is measured under the current table. Watch sba.gov for the final rule, since many firms would gain room to stay small under the proposal.

Sources

https://www.acquisition.gov/far/19.102
https://public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2026-17039.pdf
https://www.census.gov/naics/
https://www.sba.gov/federal-contracting/contracting-guide/size-standards
https://sba.gov/wosb

Checked October 2026. Thresholds and rules change; each source above is the official page.