NAICS (North American Industry Classification System)

The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) is the six-digit industry classification standard used by the United States, Canada, and Mexico to organise economic activity, and it serves as the primary category code on US federal procurement portals including SAM.gov and USAspending.gov.

What is NAICS?

NAICS groups economic activity into a hierarchy of sector, subsector, industry group, industry, and national industry, each level represented by additional digits until a full six-digit code is reached. For example, code 541330 covers Engineering Services, while 541511 covers Custom Computer Programming Services. When a US federal agency publishes a contract opportunity on SAM.gov, it attaches one or more NAICS codes that describe what the requirement falls under. Suppliers registered on SAM.gov list the NAICS codes that match their business, and the portal uses this mapping to route opportunity searches.

NAICS differs from unspsc in that it classifies the industry of the supplying firm rather than the specific product or service being procured, and it differs from cpv, which is the EU equivalent used on TED. Suppliers pursuing US federal work and multilateral work must maintain profiles in both systems independently, since no official cross-mapping exists.

Why NAICS matters for bidders

NAICS codes appear on every US federal contract notice, and the code tied to a solicitation also sets the applicable size standard that determines whether a firm qualifies as a small business for set-aside purposes. Getting the right code registered in SAM.gov is therefore both an opportunity-routing issue and an eligibility issue. Suppliers should review their registered codes against the annual NAICS revision cycle, because codes are periodically restructured, and an old code may become inactive or reclassified. When entering the US federal market from outside North America, mapping your service lines to NAICS codes is the first practical step before searching for opportunities.

FAQ

How is NAICS different from PSC codes on US federal contracts?

NAICS classifies the industry sector of the firm, while psc (Product and Service Codes) describe the specific product or service being acquired. Both appear on US federal solicitations and serve different administrative purposes.

How often is NAICS updated?

NAICS is revised every five years. The most recent edition is NAICS 2022. Suppliers should check whether any codes they rely on were restructured or renumbered during each revision cycle.

Does NAICS apply outside the United States?

NAICS is the shared standard of the US, Canada, and Mexico, so it also appears on Canadian and Mexican federal procurement. Outside North America it is not used, and international systems such as UNSPSC or CPV apply instead.