The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) is the current standard used by the Census and all other federal agencies in classifying businesses to collect, analyze, and publish statistical data related to the U.S. economy.

When registering your company to bid on federal contracts or other intra-governmental transactions, you will need to choose what NAICS code best describes the work your organization performs. These will be given inside the “Assertion” section of your entity’s registration on the “Goods and Services” page.

A full NAICS code is six (6) digits long, with the first two (2) to five (5) numbers further categorizing where these codes are found. Codes with five (5) digits in common are closer to one another than those with only two (2) digits in common.

Searching for Codes

You can search for these codes by going to the U.S. Census Bureau’s NAICS code search page. The most recent NAICS code search will be at the top under NAICS Search. Currently, the most recent search is for the year 2022.

It is recommended while using this search, that you only use one keyword at a time since it does not search for multiple terms that are unrelated. When the search results are returned, you will receive multiple definitions that you can look through that may meet what you are looking for.

For most people, one singular keyword may not meet your needs. This is where the Advanced Procurement Portal comes in. This free tool offers a more robust search within its Code Categories section when you log in and provides multiple results that may be more suited to a company’s needs.

Choosing the Right Code

When you have found one or multiple codes that meet your entity’s needs, you will then need to choose the best one that suits your company. This is usually the code that grants your company the most revenue. This code should be listed as your primary.

Within a SAM registration, there can only be one primary NAICS code. There can be an unlimited number of secondary, but it is recommended that you only include those that your company can handle on its own and that complement the primary.

When bidding on a solicitation, choosing the correct code for your company can make a difference, especially in small business scenarios. NAICS codes include size standards that determine whether an entity is considered small and if it should receive special set-asides.