How to Choose NAICS Codes for Government Contracting

What NAICS codes are and why they matter for government contracts

The North American Industry Classification System is a set of industry codes maintained by the United States, Canada and Mexico. It was built for economic statistics, but federal contracting borrowed it to describe both what businesses do and what agencies buy. The current version is NAICS 2022.

Codes run from broad to narrow. The first two digits are the sector, and each added digit narrows the industry, down to six-digit “national industries,” of which NAICS 2022 has 1,012 in the United States. For example:

• 54 Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
• 5415 Computer Systems Design and Related Services
• 541511 Custom Computer Programming Services

In federal contracting, the six-digit code does three jobs:

• It labels each solicitation. The contracting officer assigns one NAICS code to each solicitation, based on the principal purpose of what is being bought.
• It sets the size standard. SBA attaches a size standard to every code, so the code on a solicitation decides how big you can be and still compete as a small business.
• It drives search. Agencies search SBA’s Small Business Search by NAICS code during market research, and you search SAM.gov Contract Opportunities the same way. Matching tools, BidForge among them, use the codes you register under to find and score opportunities for you.

NAICS code lookup: where to find the right codes

Use official sources for the codes themselves and for the size standards attached to them:

• Census Bureau NAICS search. The NAICS page at census.gov lets you search by keyword or browse by sector. Open each candidate and read the full definition, including the examples and the cross-references that send certain activities to other codes.
• SBA table of size standards. SBA’s downloadable table lists every six-digit code with its size standard. The current table took effect March 17, 2023.
• SBA Size Standards Tool. Enter a code and your receipts or headcount to see whether you qualify as small for it.
• Past solicitations and awards. Search SAM.gov Contract Opportunities with keywords for your work and note which codes agencies assigned. Contract award data, which used to be searched in FPDS, is now searched in SAM.gov, and USAspending.gov shows past awards as well.
• Competitors’ profiles. Look up similar companies in SBA’s Small Business Search to see which codes they register under.

How to choose a NAICS code: a five-step method

Choosing NAICS codes is less about finding the perfect label and more about making sure you show up where agencies buy what you sell. Work through it in this order.

1. List what you actually sell

Write down each product or service line in plain words and roughly how much revenue each brings in. “Custom software development for case management” is more useful than “IT solutions.”

2. Match each line to a definition

Search each line in the Census NAICS tool and read the full definitions. Match on what you do, not on who your customer is. An IT company that writes custom code fits 541511, one that designs and integrates systems fits 541512 Computer Systems Design Services, and one that runs a client’s data center or network fits 541513 Computer Facilities Management Services.

3. Check how agencies classify the work

Find recent solicitations for work like yours and note their codes. If agencies consistently buy your service under a code you hadn’t considered, add it. That code is how those opportunities will be filtered and how your size will be judged when you bid.

4. Check the size standard for each candidate

Look up each code in SBA’s table. You may be small under some codes and not others, which affects which set-asides you can compete for.

5. Pick your primary code and keep the rest focused

Choose a primary NAICS code (more on that below), then add secondary codes for the other work you can perform today and can back up with experience.

Primary NAICS code vs. secondary codes

SAM.gov lets you list multiple NAICS codes but requires you to mark one as primary. Your primary NAICS code should be your main line of business. When SBA itself has to decide a company’s primary industry, it looks at how receipts, employees and costs are spread across industries in the most recently completed fiscal year, so the code that earns most of your revenue is usually the right answer.

The primary code matters more than it looks:

• It is your headline. It is the first thing a contracting officer sees about what your business does.
• Some programs measure you against it. For example, to be admitted to SBA’s 8(a) program, a business must be small under the size standard for its primary NAICS code.
• It should agree with the rest of your story. Your capability statement, website and past performance should point to the same line of work.

For secondary codes, more is not better. List the codes for work you can perform and support with experience. A long list of unrelated codes makes your profile harder for a contracting officer to read and fills your inbox with opportunities you won’t bid on. Here is how two small businesses might set this up:

SBA size standards by NAICS: are you small for each code?

SBA sets a size standard for each NAICS code, expressed either as average annual receipts or as number of employees. For federal contracting, receipts are averaged over your latest five completed fiscal years, and employees are averaged across pay periods over the latest 24 months. Both include your affiliates.

Some examples from SBA’s current table:

Because standards differ, your status can differ by code. A consulting and software firm with $28 million in average annual receipts is small under 541511 ($34 million) but not under 541611 ($24.5 million). On any given bid, what counts is the code on that solicitation, and SBA judges your size as of the date you represent yourself as small in your initial offer.

SAM.gov works out your status for each code from the receipts and employee figures in your registration and shows the result in your reps and certs. Review that table whenever you update or renew; in July 2026 SAM.gov fixed an error that miscalculated it for some renewals. See our SAM.gov registration guide for where to find it.

How the NAICS code for a government contract is assigned

The contracting officer picks the single code that best describes the principal purpose of what the agency is buying, and it appears on the notice in SAM.gov. On some multiple-award contracts, different portions carry different codes. A few practical points follow from that:

• Your SAM.gov list doesn’t limit what you can bid on. Eligibility for a set-aside depends on meeting the size standard for the solicitation’s code and any other requirements. Still, add codes you bid under to your registration so your size representation is on file and agencies can find you.
• Supply contracts use manufacturing codes. Agencies classify purchases of products under manufacturing or supply codes, not wholesale or retail trade codes. If you resell products you didn’t make, SBA’s nonmanufacturer rule decides whether you can bid on a small business set-aside.
• You can challenge a wrong code. If a code seems wrong, raise it with the contracting officer first. A formal NAICS code appeal goes to SBA’s Office of Hearings and Appeals and must be filed within 10 days of the solicitation’s issuance.

The code on a notice is also the quickest way to judge fit. If an agency keeps buying your service under a code where you are not small, set-aside opportunities may be thinner than you expect; read how small business set-asides work to see how the rule of two and size standards interact.

What’s changing: NAICS 2027 and SBA’s proposed size standards

Two changes are in progress as of October 2026. Neither changes what you should do today.

The 2027 NAICS revision

NAICS is reviewed every five years. In July 2026 the Office of Management and Budget published proposed updates for 2027, mostly combining small manufacturing industries. For example, the three computer manufacturing codes, including 334111 Electronic Computer Manufacturing, would merge into 334110 Computer and Peripheral Equipment Manufacturing. OMB’s final decisions are due in a later Federal Register notice.

New codes aren’t used in federal contracting until SBA publishes size standards for them, which has historically lagged the statistical start date; after the 2022 revision, SBA’s rule took effect October 1, 2022. If your code is affected, you’ll update your SAM.gov registration once SBA adopts the change.

SBA’s proposed size standards overhaul

In August 2026 SBA proposed rewriting its size standards: setting them at the four- and five-digit NAICS level instead of six digits, raising many thresholds, and shifting dozens of industries from receipts-based to employee-based standards. SBA extended the comment period to November 20, 2026. It is a proposal, not a rule. Until a final rule takes effect, the current table controls, so don’t change your SAM.gov representations based on the proposal.

Keep your NAICS codes working for you

Treat your code list as part of your marketing, and revisit it a few times a year:

1. Update SAM.gov when your work changes. Add a code when you launch a service line, and drop codes for work you no longer do. You can update your registration at any time.
2. Recheck size when your revenue grows. A good year can push your five-year average past a standard.
3. Keep every profile consistent. Use the same codes in SAM.gov, your Small Business Search profile, your capability statement and your proposals.
4. Let the codes do the searching. Build saved searches on SAM.gov around your codes and keywords, or use a matching tool that does it daily. Our guide on how to find government contracts covers both.

Frequently asked questions