NAICS Code (NAICS)
The North American Industry Classification System — six-digit codes that federal procurement uses to categorize businesses and contract opportunities.
Definition
NAICS (North American Industry Classification System) codes are six-digit numerical identifiers maintained by the US Census Bureau that classify businesses by their primary line of work. Federal procurement officers assign one or more NAICS codes to each contract opportunity, and vendors register the NAICS codes that describe their business in their SAM.gov profile. The match between vendor-registered codes and bid-tagged codes drives which vendors are notified about which opportunities.
When it applies
Required for all federal procurement registrations. Most state procurement portals also accept or require NAICS codes. The SBA Table of Small Business Size Standards uses NAICS to define what counts as "small business" — each NAICS code has its own size standard (a revenue threshold or employee count). Whether your firm qualifies as small varies by NAICS.
Examples
- 541330 — Engineering Services
- 236220 — Commercial and Institutional Building Construction
- 561720 — Janitorial Services