NAICS codes for cleaning, grounds and building-trades contractors: which to list for federal bids

Every federal bid carries one NAICS code. It's a six-digit number for the kind of work being bought, and it does two jobs. It's how you find the bid, because SAM.gov and most bid searches filter by it. And it sets the size limit you have to be under to count as a small business for that bid.

It's easy to list one or two codes when you register and never look at them again. That's usually where bids get missed.

The codes for our trades

These are the codes that cover cleaning, grounds, building services and the building trades. The examples come from the Census Bureau's NAICS manual and index, the descriptions contracting officers are told to go by when they pick a code.

Size limits are average annual revenue, from the SBA's table in 13 CFR 121.201 as of October 2026. In August 2026 the SBA proposed new size standards for 338 industries and industry groups. They aren't final, so check the current table before you bid.

For spending, buyers and set-asides under each of these codes, see our trade data pages. For any other kind of work, try the free NAICS code finder.

The size limit is your average annual revenue over your last five completed fiscal years, and it includes the revenue of any affiliated companies. Some of these limits are far apart. A company averaging $15 million a year is small for a janitorial bid but not for a landscaping one.

The bid's code decides your size, not yours

When you register on SAM.gov you pick a primary code, but that's only your label. The contracting officer picks one code for each bid, the one that best describes the main purpose of the work. To count as small, you have to be under the size limit for that code, as it stood on the day the bid was issued.

So the same company can be small for one bid and not small for the next. That $15 million janitorial firm is under the limit for a custodial bid coded 561720. If the agency codes a snow removal and grounds contract as 561730, the firm is over that bid's $9.5 million limit and can't take part as a small business. Our guide to set-asides covers the other kinds of restriction a bid can carry.

Facilities support (561210) has its own rule. It only applies when a contract combines three or more separate services. If one service makes up half the contract's value or more, the contract is supposed to use that service's code instead.

The same job can carry different codes

Agencies don't always code the same work the same way. We looked at every new federal contract and order worth $25,000 or more with work in Virginia, Maryland, DC, Delaware or Pennsylvania from October 2025 to September 2026. Then we compared the work bought with the code it was given.

New contracts and orders worth at least $25,000, grouped by the product and service code (PSC) that describes the work. Many orders go to firms that already hold a larger contract, so not every one of these was open to new bidders.

A cleaning company that searches only 561720 would have missed more than a quarter of the custodial work. A snow removal company searching only 561790 would have missed nearly half of the snow contracts. And because the size limits differ, the code can also decide whether you're eligible at all.

What to list on SAM.gov

List every code you could realistically bid under, not just your main one. When you submit an offer, you confirm that your SAM.gov details are accurate, including your size for that bid's code. Keep your revenue figures current too, since they decide your size for each code you list.

For a cleaning company that might mean 561720, 561740, 561790 and 561210. For a landscaper, 561730 and 561790. For a mechanical contractor, 238220, 811310 and 561210. Facilities support is worth adding if you can run three or more services together, because that's where the larger combined contracts sit.

Search by the product code as well

Every bid also has a four-character product and service code that says what's being bought, whatever NAICS code it got. Custodial work is S201, landscaping S208, snow removal S218, trash collection S205, pest control S207, refrigeration and air conditioning repair J041, and plumbing and heating repair J045. The full list is in the PSC manual.

Product codes are the better search for the work you actually do. On SAM.gov, save one search by your NAICS codes and another by your product codes, so a bid coded differently still turns up. Our guide on how to read a government contract bid covers what to check once you find one.

If a bid's code looks wrong

Sometimes a code just doesn't fit the work, and it can shut out firms that would otherwise qualify. Start by asking the contracting officer about it in a written question, before the questions deadline. If that doesn't settle it, any affected firm can appeal the code to the SBA's Office of Hearings and Appeals. The appeal has to be filed within 10 calendar days after the bid, or the amendment that set the code, is issued. After that, the code is final.

If you're new to federal work, our guide to your first federal contract covers registration and set-asides. To see what contracts under these codes have been worth in our region, read what the contracts are worth.

How we counted: new contract awards and orders from USAspending.gov with place of performance in VA, MD, DC, DE or PA, a first award date between October 1, 2025 and September 30, 2026, and a value of at least $25,000, pulled October 23, 2026. Each one is grouped by its product and service code and counted under the NAICS code it was given. Treat these figures as a guide, not an exact count.