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NAICS code lookup
Quick reference for the 30 highest-volume NAICS codes in federal contracting. Search by code, keyword, agency, or set-aside.
Showing 30 of 30 codes
Commercial and Institutional Building Construction
General contractors responsible for the construction (including new work, additions, alterations, maintenance, and repairs) of commercial and institutional buildings and related structures.
Computer Systems Design Services
Firms that plan and design computer systems integrating hardware, software, and communication technologies. The single most commonly used NAICS code on federal IT services contracts.
Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services
Management consulting on strategic and organisational planning, financial planning and budgeting, marketing objectives, and human resource policies. A heavily-used catch-all consulting code in federal procurement.
Engineering Services
Application of engineering principles in the design, development, and use of machines, materials, instruments, structures, processes, and systems. Used across civil, mechanical, electrical, and environmental engineering work.
Facilities Support Services
Operating support services for clients' facilities — combinations of services such as janitorial, maintenance, trash disposal, security, mail routing, and reception. Common base-operations contract code.
Other Computer Related Services
IT services not classified elsewhere — including computer disaster recovery and software installation. Often used for niche IT work that doesn't cleanly fit 541511 or 541512.
All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
Professional, scientific, or technical services not classified elsewhere — including translation, weather forecasting, and specialised consulting. A frequently-used residual code.
Remediation Services
Remediation and cleanup of contaminated buildings, mine sites, soil, or groundwater. The dominant code for federal environmental cleanup work under CERCLA and RCRA.
Electrical Contractors and Other Wiring Installation Contractors
Specialty trade contractors primarily engaged in installing and servicing electrical wiring and equipment. A core specialty trade for federal building and base contracts.
Janitorial Services
Cleaning of building interiors, equipment, and windows. One of the most heavily small-business-set-aside codes in federal procurement — most janitorial contracts under $4M are set aside.
Offices of Lawyers
Legal services, including law offices providing advice and representation. Federal legal-services awards span outside counsel, expert services, and specialised litigation support.
Other Accounting Services
Accounting services such as billing, bookkeeping, and payroll services — excluding CPA offices. Used for federal financial-management support and contracted accounting work.
Marketing Consulting Services
Establishments providing operating advice and assistance to businesses and other organisations on marketing strategy, sales-force management, market-research interpretation, customer-experience design, and related promotional planning. Commonly used by federal civilian agencies for outreach, recruitment marketing, public-awareness campaigns, and behaviour-change communications.
Other Management Consulting Services
Management consulting services other than administrative, human resources, marketing, and process-engineering — commonly covering logistics, supply-chain, regulatory compliance, and programme-management advisory work. Heavily used across federal civilian and DoD acquisition support.
Environmental Consulting Services
Advice and assistance to businesses and government on environmental issues — including environmental impact assessments, NEPA compliance, regulatory permitting, environmental audits, and site assessment services. The dominant NAICS for non-remediation environmental work.
Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services
Scientific and technical advisory work outside engineering, environmental, or management consulting — including agricultural consulting, energy efficiency consulting, security consulting, and similar specialised technical advice. A common code for niche federal advisory work.
Research and Development in Nanotechnology
R&D activities in nanotechnology — manipulating matter at the atomic and molecular scale. A specialised research code commonly used by DoD, DOE national labs, and NIH for funded nano-scale research and prototyping.
Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology)
Biotechnology R&D — recombinant DNA, cell biology, immunology, and related research. Heavily used by NIH, BARDA, and DoD medical research commands for funded biotech programmes.
R&D in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotech and Biotech)
The largest single federal R&D NAICS — covering physical-sciences, engineering, and life-sciences research not otherwise classified. Used across virtually every federal research-buying agency for prototype development, experimental research, and engineering R&D.
Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities
R&D in economics, sociology, anthropology, political science, and related disciplines. Used for federally-funded policy research, programme evaluation, and survey research.
Office Administrative Services
Day-to-day office administrative services — including office support, recordkeeping, and routine administrative coordination — provided on a contract or fee basis. A common code for administrative-support contracts and BPAs at federal agencies.
Security Guards and Patrol Services
Armed and unarmed guard and patrol services — including bodyguard services and security patrols. One of the largest federal services categories by dollars, covering most building-security contracts at GSA-managed facilities and many DoD installations.
Security Systems Services (except Locksmiths)
Installation, repair, and monitoring of electronic security alarm systems — including access control, intrusion detection, and CCTV. Used for federal facility security technology contracts and integrated electronic security work.
Solid Waste Collection
Collection of nonhazardous solid waste — including refuse, recyclables, and yard waste — from commercial, institutional, and industrial accounts. Used for federal-facility refuse-removal contracts at military bases, VA hospitals, and federal buildings.
Highway, Street, and Bridge Construction
Construction (including new work, reconstruction, rehabilitation, and major maintenance) of highways, streets, roads, airport runways, public sidewalks, and bridges. The dominant NAICS for federal-aid highway and federal-installation road work.
Other Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction
Heavy and civil engineering construction not classified elsewhere — including dams, dredging, marine construction, and other heavy-civil works. Used for federal Corps of Engineers civil-works projects, port construction, and similar specialised infrastructure.
Plumbing, Heating, and Air-Conditioning Contractors
Specialty trade contractors installing and servicing plumbing, HVAC, and refrigeration systems. A core specialty trade for federal building maintenance, IDIQ JOC contracts, and base-operations support.
Surgical and Medical Instrument Manufacturing
Manufacturing of medical, surgical, ophthalmic, and veterinary instruments and apparatus. Used heavily by VA and DoD medical buyers for surgical instruments, diagnostic equipment, and specialised medical devices.
Computer and Computer Peripheral Equipment and Software Merchant Wholesalers
Wholesale distribution of computers, computer peripheral equipment, and prepackaged software. The dominant code for federal IT hardware resellers, including most GSA Schedule 70 product vendors.
Software Publishers
Establishments primarily engaged in computer software publishing or publishing and reproduction. Used for licensed-software contracts, SaaS subscriptions, and cloud-software offerings sold to federal buyers.
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