SBA size standard lookup by NAICS code

Type a NAICS code or a few words to see the SBA small business size standard for that industry, then check your own receipts or headcount against it. The data is SBA's own table, with every footnote and exception.

Source: SBA table of size standards (data.sba.gov), SBA's table of size standards effective March 17, 2023. Retrieved Nov 9, 2026. 996 rows: 978 industries plus 18 exceptions.

No match. Try the six-digit code, or a shorter keyword. You can also use SBA's own size standards tool.

How SBA decides whether you are small

A size standard is the largest a business can be and still count as small for federal programs. SBA sets it separately for each six-digit NAICS industry. It is expressed either as average annual receipts or as average number of employees, and a few industries use assets or a refining-capacity test.

• Receipts. For most industries SBA averages your total receipts over your previous five completed fiscal years (13 CFR 121.104 (how receipts are computed)). If you have been in business for less time, it averages the years you have.
• Employees. SBA counts everyone on your payroll, full-time, part-time and temporary, averaged over the previous 24 months (13 CFR 121.106 (how employees are counted)).
• Affiliates count. Your size includes the receipts or employees of affiliated firms, such as a company under common ownership or control (13 CFR 121.103 (affiliation)). This is where many firms get surprised.
• When size is measured. For a contract, size is generally determined as of the date you submit your initial offer, including price (13 CFR 121.404 (when size is determined)). You represent your size status in SAM.gov.

The contracting officer picks the NAICS code

The size standard that matters for a bid is the one tied to the NAICS code written into the solicitation, not the code you prefer. If you think the code is wrong for the work, you can appeal to SBA's Office of Hearings and Appeals within 10 calendar days of the solicitation or amendment being issued (13 CFR 121.1103 (NAICS code appeals)). Our guide on what a small business set-aside is covers where size fits in, and SAM.gov registration covers how you represent your size.

Exceptions and footnotes

Some codes have exceptions with a different number, such as military and aerospace engineering work under 541330 or IT value-added resellers under 541519. Footnotes can change how a code applies, for example for research and development, facilities support services or building leases to the Federal Government. The notes column links to the footnotes below.

• Footnote 1: NAICS code 115310

  NAICS code 115310 – Support Activities for Forestry – Forest Fire Suppression and Fuels Management Services are two components of Support Activities for Forestry. Forest Fire Suppression includes establishments which provide services to fight forest fires. These firms usually have fire-fighting crews and equipment. Fuels Management Services firms provide services to clear land of hazardous materials that would fuel forest fires. The treatments used by these firms may include prescribed fire, mechanical removal, establishing fuel breaks, thinning, pruning, and piling.

• Footnote 2: NAICS code 237990

  NAICS code 237990 – Dredging: To be considered small for purposes of Government procurement, a firm or its similarly situated subcontractors must perform at least 40 percent of the volume dredged with their own equipment or equipment owned by another small dredging concern.

• Footnote 3: NAICS code 311421

  NAICS code 311421 – For purposes of Government procurement for food canning and preserving, the standard of 1,000 employees excludes agricultural labor as defined in section 3306(k) of the Internal Revenue Code, 26 U.S.C. 3306(k).

• Footnote 4: NAICS code 324110

  NAICS code 324110 – To qualify as small for purposes of Government procurement, the petroleum refiner, including its affiliates, must be a concern that has either no more than 1,500 employees or no more than 200,000 barrels per calendar day total Operable Atmospheric Crude Oil Distillation capacity. Capacity includes all domestic and foreign affiliates, all owned or leased facilities, and all facilities under a processing agreement or an arrangement such as an exchange agreement or a throughput. To qualify under the capacity size standard, the firm, together with its affiliates, must be primarily engaged in refining crude petroleum into refined petroleum products. A firm’s “primary industry” is determined in accordance with 13 CFR § 121.107.

• Footnote 5: NAICS code 326211 –For Government procurement, a firm is small for bidding on a contract f

  NAICS code 326211 –For Government procurement, a firm is small for bidding on a contract for pneumatic tires within Census NAICS Product Classification codes 3262111 and 3262113, provided that: the value of tires within Census NAICS Product Classification codes 3262111 and 3262113 that it manufactured in the United States during the previous calendar year is more than 50 percent of the value of its total worldwide manufacture, the value of pneumatic tires within Census NAICS Product Classification codes 3262111 and 3262113 comprising its total worldwide manufacture during the preceding calendar year was less than 5 percent of the value of all such tires manufactured in the United States during that period, and the value of the principal product that it manufactured, produced, or sold worldwide during the preceding calendar year is less than 10 percent of the total value of such products manufactured or otherwise produced or sold in the United States during that period.

• Footnote 7: NAICS code 336413

  NAICS code 336413 – Contracts for the rebuilding or overhaul of aircraft ground support equipment on a contract basis are classified under NAICS code 336413.

• Footnote 8: NAICS Codes 522110, 522130, 522180, and 522210

  NAICS Codes 522110, 522130, 522180, and 522210 – A financial institution's assets are determined by averaging the assets reported on its four quarterly financial statements for the preceding year. "Assets" means the assets defined according to the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council 041 call report form for NAICS Codes 522110, 522180, and 522210 and the National Credit Union Administration 5300 call report form for NAICS code 522130.

• Footnote 9: NAICS codes 531110, 531120, 531130, and 531190

  NAICS codes 531110, 531120, 531130, and 531190 – Leasing of building space to the Federal Government by Owners: For Government procurement, a size standard of $47.0 million in gross receipts applies to the owners of building space leased to the Federal Government. The standard does not apply to an agent.

• Footnote 10: NAICS codes 488510 (excluding the exception), 531210, 541810, 561510, 561520 and 561920

  NAICS codes 488510 (excluding the exception), 531210, 541810, 561510, 561520 and 561920 – As measured by total revenues, but excluding funds received in trust for an unaffiliated third party, such as bookings or sales subject to commissions. The commissions received are included as revenues.

• Footnote 11: NAICS Codes 541713, 541714 and 541715 Research and Development" means laboratory or other

  NAICS Codes 541713, 541714 and 541715 Research and Development" means laboratory or other physical research and development. It does not include economic, educational, engineering, operations, systems, or other nonphysical research; or computer programming, data processing, commercial and/or "medical laboratory testing. For research and development contracts requiring the delivery of a manufactured product, the appropriate size standard is that of the manufacturing industry. For purposes of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Transfer Technology (STTR) programs, the term “research” or “research and development” means any activity which is (A) a systematic, intensive study directed toward greater knowledge or understanding of the subject studied; (B) a systematic study directed specifically toward applying new knowledge to meet a recognized need; or (C) a systematic application of knowledge toward the production of useful materials, devices, and systems or methods, including design, development, and improvement of prototypes and new processes to meet specific requirements. See 15 U.S.C. § 638(e)(5) and section 3 of the SBIR and STTR policy directives available at www.sbir.gov. For size eligibility requirements for the SBIR and STTR programs, see § 121.702 of these regulations. "Research and Development" for guided missiles and space vehicles includes evaluations and simulation, and other services requiring thorough knowledge of complete missiles and spacecraft.

• Footnote 12: NAICS 561210

  NAICS 561210 – Facilities Support Services: If one or more activities of Facilities Support Services as defined in paragraph (b) (below in this footnote) can be identified with a specific industry and that industry accounts for 50% or more of the value of an entire procurement, then the proper classification of the procurement is that of the specific industry, not Facilities Support Services. "Facilities Support Services" requires the performance of three or more separate activities in the areas of services or specialty trade contractors industries. If services are performed, these service activities must each be in a separate NAICS industry. If the procurement requires the use of specialty trade contractors (plumbing, painting, plastering, carpentry, etc.), all such specialty trade contractors activities are considered a single activity and classified as "Building and Property Specialty Trade Services." Since "Building and Property Specialty Trade Services" is only one activity, two additional activities of separate NAICS industries are required for a procurement to be classified as "Facilities Support Services."

• Footnote 13: NAICS code 238990

  NAICS code 238990 – Building and Property Specialty Trade Services: If a procurement requires the use of multiple specialty trade contractors (i.e., plumbing, painting, plastering, carpentry, etc.), and no specialty trade accounts for 50% or more of the value of the procurement, all such specialty trade contractors activities are considered a single activity and classified as Building and Property Specialty Trade Services.

• Footnote 14: NAICS 562910

  NAICS 562910 – Environmental Remediation Services: For SBA assistance as a small business concern in the industry of Environmental Remediation Services, other than for Government procurement, a concern must be engaged primarily in furnishing a range of services for the remediation of a contaminated environment to an acceptable condition including, but not limited to, preliminary assessment, site inspection, testing, remedial investigation, feasibility studies, regulatory compliance, remedial design, containment, remedial action, removal of contaminated materials, nuclear remediation, storage of contaminated materials and security and site closeouts. If one of such activities accounts for 50 percent or more of a concern's total revenues, employees, or other related factors, the concern's primary industry is that of the particular industry and not the Environmental Remediation Services Industry. For purposes of classifying a Government procurement as Environmental Remediation Services, the general purpose of the procurement must be to restore or directly support the restoration of a contaminated environment. This includes activities such as preliminary assessment, site inspection, testing, remedial investigation, feasibility studies, regulatory compliance, remedial design, remediation services, containment, nuclear remediation, and removal of contaminated materials or security and site closeouts. The general purpose of the procurement need not necessarily include remedial actions. Also, the procurement must be composed of activities in three or more separate industries with separate NAICS codes or, in some instances (e.g., engineering), smaller sub-components of NAICS codes with separate and distinct size standards. These activities may include, but are not limited to, separate activities in industries such as: Heavy Construction; Special Trade Contractors; Engineering Services; Architectural Services; Management Consulting Services; Hazardous and Other Waste Collection; Remediation Services; Testing Laboratories; and Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences. If any activity in the procurement can be identified with a separate NAICS code, or component of a code with a separate distinct size standard, and that industry accounts for 50 percent or more of the value of the entire procurement, then the proper size standard is the one for that particular industry, and not the Environmental Remediation Service size standard.

• Footnote 16: NAICS code 611519

  NAICS code 611519 – Job Corps Centers. For classifying a Federal procurement, the purpose of the solicitation must be for the management and operation of a U.S. Department of Labor Job Corps Center. The activities involved include admissions activities, life skills training, educational activities, comprehensive career preparation activities, career development activities, career transition activities, as well as the management and support functions and services needed to operate and maintain the facility. For SBA assistance as a small business concern, other than for Federal Government procurements, a concern must be primarily engaged in providing the services to operate and maintain Federal Job Corps Centers.

• Footnote 18: NAICS code 541519

  NAICS code 541519 – An Information Technology Value Added Reseller (ITVAR) provides a total solution to information technology acquisitions by providing multi-vendor hardware and software along with significant value added services. Significant value added services consist of, but are not limited to, configuration consulting and design, systems integration, installation of multi-vendor computer equipment, customization of hardware or software, training, product technical support, maintenance, and end user support. For purposes of Government procurement, an information technology procurement classified under this exception and 150-employee size standard must consist of at least 15% and not more than 50% of value added services, as measured by the total contract price. In addition, the offeror must comply with the manufacturing performance requirements, or comply with the non-manufacturer rule by supplying the products of small business concerns, unless SBA has issued a class or contract specific waiver of the non-manufacturer rule. If the contract consists of less than 15% of value added services, then it must be classified under a NAICS manufacturing industry. If the contract consists of more than 50% of value added services, then it must be classified under the NAICS industry that best describes the predominate service of the procurement.

Is the table about to change?

On August 20, 2026 SBA published a proposed rule that would move from about 1,000 six-digit standards to 338 standards at the four- and five-digit NAICS level, convert many receipts-based standards to employee-based ones, and remove the exceptions (Federal Register: proposed size standards, 91 FR 53741 (Aug. 20, 2026)). It is a proposal: comments closed September 21, 2026 and nothing in it applies to bids today. SBA's open-data page still lists the March 17, 2023 table as current, so that is what this page shows. If you are close to a threshold, check SBA's size standards page before you bid.

Frequently asked questions

What is the SBA size standard for my NAICS code?

Find your six-digit NAICS code in the table on this page. Most industries use either average annual receipts (in millions of dollars) or average number of employees. Some industries have exceptions or footnotes that change the number for specific kinds of work, so read the notes beside the code.

How does SBA count receipts and employees?

For most industries, receipts are averaged over the previous five completed fiscal years and employees are averaged over the previous 24 months, in both cases counting your affiliates too. The rules are in 13 CFR 121.104 and 121.106.

Who picks the NAICS code for a federal contract?

The contracting officer picks the NAICS code and its size standard when the solicitation is issued, and states them in the solicitation. A firm that thinks the code is wrong can appeal to SBA's Office of Hearings and Appeals, but the deadline is short: 10 calendar days after the solicitation or amendment is issued (13 CFR 121.1103).

Are these size standards changing?

SBA published a proposed rule on August 20, 2026 (91 FR 53741) that would replace the six-digit table with 338 standards at the four- and five-digit level. It is a proposal only. This page shows the table that SBA lists as current on data.sba.gov, effective March 17, 2023, and we will update it if a final rule takes effect.

SetAside Signal is an independent publication, not a government agency. This tool compares numbers you type with SBA's published table. It is not a size determination and not legal advice. Only SBA, or a contracting officer relying on your SAM.gov representations, determines your status. Sources: SBA table of size standards (data.sba.gov), 13 CFR 121.201 (size standards by NAICS code), SBA: size standards.