Glossary / Classification
North American Industry Classification SystemNAICS
The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) is a 6-digit code system jointly maintained by the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. In the U.S., the Office of Management and Budget publishes NAICS and the Census Bureau maintains it. On federal contracts, the contracting officer designates a single NAICS code per solicitation that best represents the work. NAICS drives the applicable small-business size standard (either revenue- or employee-based), and therefore who qualifies as a small business for set-aside eligibility. The SBA's size-standards table maps NAICS codes to dollar or headcount thresholds.
Why it matters to your pipeline
NAICS is how the government decides whether your firm is 'small' for each specific procurement. The same firm can be small under one code and not under another: engineering services (NAICS 541330) has a $25.5M standard, while computer systems design (541512) has $34M. SBA proposed much higher size standards in August 2026, so check SBA's current table before relying on a number. Choosing the right primary NAICS in SAM.gov affects your set-aside eligibility, your bidding strategy, and your size recertification obligations on long-term vehicles.
When this term shows up in an opening GovSmith finds for you, your vCM explains what it means for that pursuit and does whatever it calls for. You decide; we do the work.
Example
A firm with $22M in average annual receipts bids on a solicitation under NAICS 541519 ($34M standard) and qualifies as small. A week later, it bids under NAICS 541330 ($25.5M standard) and still qualifies. Two years later, with average receipts at $28M, it no longer qualifies under NAICS 541330 but remains small under 541519.
Find out what applies to you
Some terms will matter to your business right away and some won’t for years. A vCM can tell you which are which.