Am I a small business? SBA size standards checker
Search by NAICS code or keyword, pick your industry, then enter your average annual receipts or employee count. Free, no signup, and nothing you type leaves your browser.
Before you rely on this
- Affiliates count. SBA adds the receipts or employees of your affiliates (companies that control you, that you control, or that share common ownership or management) to yours. See 13 CFR 121.103.
- Receipts are a 5-year average. Average annual receipts are generally your total receipts over your last 5 completed fiscal years divided by 5 (13 CFR 121.104).
- Employees are a 24-month average. Employee-based standards use your average number of employees per pay period over the preceding 24 completed calendar months, counting part-time and temporary staff (13 CFR 121.106).
- The contract decides the code. For a federal contract, the contracting officer assigns one NAICS code in the solicitation, and that code’s size standard is the one that counts.
- Check officially. Use the official SBA Size Standards Tool and keep your SAM.gov registration current.
Not legal or professional advice. This is a free estimate from AwardWatchdog based on SBA’s published table. AwardWatchdog is not affiliated with SBA or the U.S. government. Only SBA can make a formal size determination.
Common questions
How do I know if my business is small?
Find the NAICS code for the work, then compare your average annual receipts (generally a 5-year average) or average employees (24-month average), including affiliates, to SBA’s size standard for that code in 13 CFR 121.201. If you are at or under the limit, you are generally small for that code.
Which NAICS code applies to a federal contract?
The one the contracting officer puts in the solicitation. You can be small for one NAICS code and not for another.
Where do these numbers come from?
SBA’s table of small business size standards at 13 CFR 121.201, as published on eCFR (current as of October 15, 2026; last amended effective March 17, 2023).
Is this an official SBA determination?
No. It is a free estimate and not legal advice. Use the official SBA Size Standards Tool at sba.gov. Only SBA can make a formal size determination.
Browse all 978 size standards by NAICS code. Popular: 541330 · 541512 · 541611 · 236220 · 561720 · 238220 · 541519 · 336411
Source: 13 CFR 121.201 (SBA table of small business size standards, eCFR current as of October 15, 2026; last amended effective March 17, 2023). See also SBA’s table of size standards.
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