Key takeaways
- Size standards are set by NAICS industry, in average annual receipts or employees, and decide who can compete for small business set-asides.
- Current standards range from $15 million to $47 million in receipts for most services and from 500 to 1,500 employees for most manufacturing.
- In August 2026 SBA proposed the biggest overhaul in decades, including a $531 million standard for IT services.
- The proposal is not final; current standards stay in effect until a final rule takes effect.
Whether your company counts as small depends on the industry code attached to each contract. These are the size standards for the NAICS codes most common in federal, state and local government work.
Size standards for common government contracting codes
Current standards from SBA's table at 13 CFR 121.201, with selected standards from SBA's Aug. 20, 2026 proposed rule.
| NAICS | Industry | Current standard | Proposed (Aug. 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 541511 | Custom computer programming services | $34.0M receipts | $531M (all of 5415) |
| 541512 | Computer systems design services | $34.0M receipts | $531M (all of 5415) |
| 541513 | Computer facilities management services | $37.0M receipts | $531M (all of 5415) |
| 541519 | Other computer related servicesException: IT value-added resellers, 150 employees | $34.0M receipts | $531M (all of 5415) |
| 518210 | Computing infrastructure, data processing and hosting | $40.0M receipts | See proposed rule |
| 541330 | Engineering servicesExceptions for military and aerospace, energy policy act and marine engineering work: $47.0M | $25.5M receipts | $252M |
| 541611 | Administrative and general management consulting | $24.5M receipts | $295M (all of 5416) |
| 541614 | Process, physical distribution and logistics consulting | $20.0M receipts | $295M (all of 5416) |
| 541620 | Environmental consulting services | $19.0M receipts | $295M (all of 5416) |
| 541380 | Testing laboratories and services | $19.0M receipts | See proposed rule |
| 541990 | All other professional, scientific and technical services | $19.5M receipts | See proposed rule |
| 541715 | R&D in the physical, engineering and life sciencesExceptions for aircraft, aircraft parts and space vehicles: 1,250 to 1,500 employees | 1,000 employees | See proposed rule |
| 561210 | Facilities support services | $47.0M receipts | See proposed rule |
| 561612 | Security guards and patrol services | $29.0M receipts | See proposed rule |
| 561720 | Janitorial services | $22.0M receipts | See proposed rule |
| 562910 | Remediation servicesException: environmental remediation services, 1,000 employees | $25.0M receipts | $113M (all of 5629) |
| 236220 | Commercial and institutional building construction | $45.0M receipts | 600 employees |
| 237310 | Highway, street and bridge construction | $45.0M receipts | Employee-based |
| 238210 | Electrical contractors | $19.0M receipts | Employee-based |
| 238220 | Plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors | $19.0M receipts | Employee-based |
| 336411 | Aircraft manufacturing | 1,500 employees | See proposed rule |
| 334111 | Electronic computer manufacturing | 1,250 employees | See proposed rule |
| 423430 | Computer and software merchant wholesalers | 250 employees | See proposed rule |
| 811210 | Electronic and precision equipment repair | $34.0M receipts | See proposed rule |
| 611430 | Professional and management development training | $15.0M receipts | See proposed rule |
| 621111 | Offices of physicians | $16.0M receipts | See proposed rule |
Sources: SBA Table of Small Business Size Standards, 13 CFR 121.201; SBA's proposed rules on size standards methodology and size standards, Aug. 20, 2026, as summarized by Mayer Brown, Schwabe, Crowell & Moring and other government contracts law firms. Proposed standards are not in effect. For federal contracts, a nonmanufacturer supplying products generally must have no more than 500 employees regardless of the NAICS standard. Check any code with SBA's size tool at sba.gov/size.
How to measure your size
- Find the NAICS code on the solicitation. The contracting officer assigns one code per contract, and that code's standard is the one that counts.
- Receipts-based standards. Average your total receipts over your last five completed fiscal years.
- Employee-based standards. Average your employees, full and part time, over the preceding 24 months.
- Add your affiliates. Companies that control you or that you control, or that share common ownership or management, are counted together.
- Measure as of your offer. Size is generally determined on the date you submit your initial offer with price.
- Keep SAM.gov current. Your SAM.gov registration certifies your size for each NAICS code; see our vendor registration checklist.
SBA's proposed 2026 overhaul
On Aug. 20, 2026, SBA published two proposed rules, a new methodology and a new size standards table, as part of its required five-year review. The main changes:
- Fewer, broader standards. About 1,000 six-digit standards and 18 exceptions would be replaced by 338 standards at the four- and five-digit NAICS level, with no exceptions.
- A shift to headcount. Where SBA has discretion, standards would move from receipts to employees. Receipts-based standards would fall from 496 to 129, and construction would move entirely to employee counts.
- Much higher thresholds. Minimums would be 500 employees or $30.6 million in receipts, with no maximum, and SBA proposes not to lower any existing standard.
- Productivity adjustments. Receipts-based standards would be adjusted for productivity growth as well as inflation.
- More small businesses. SBA estimates about 114,000 more businesses would qualify as small.
Comments closed Sept. 21, 2026. Until a final rule takes effect, the current standards apply and firms shouldn't change their SAM.gov size representations based on the proposal.
Why size standards matter
- Set-asides. Agencies reserve contracts for small businesses, and the federal government aims to award 23% of prime contract dollars to them.
- Socioeconomic programs. 8(a), HUBZone, women-owned and service-disabled veteran-owned programs all require being small under the contract's NAICS code.
- Subcontracting. Large primes count small subcontractors toward their subcontracting plan goals; see our list of the largest federal contractors.
- State and local programs. Many states and cities use SBA standards or their own thresholds for small business preferences.
How KSG helps
Kensington Sales Group's SDRs book meetings with public agencies across Federal, SLED, K-12 & Higher Ed, Healthcare, Tribal, Special Districts and Utilities. We help small and growing contractors reach the small business offices, program managers and prime contractors that drive set-aside and subcontracting work. See how our federal sales development works.