# Check your size standard for a NAICS code

To check a size standard with an AI agent, ask it to call size_standard_check with the 6-digit NAICS code and your average annual receipts or average employees. It returns the SBA standard for that code from 13 CFR 121.201 and says whether your business is at or below it, with the headroom left.

Small businesses deciding whether they can bid a set-aside under a code, and growing firms checking how close they are to outgrowing one. The standard changes by code, some codes measure employees instead of receipts, and a few have exceptions; reading the SBA table by hand is where mistakes happen.

## The prompt

```
Is my company small under NAICS 541512 with average annual receipts of $20 million? How much headroom do I have before I outgrow it?
```

## What the agent calls

1. size_standard_check: The standard, its basis (receipts or employees) and a small or not small answer with the headroom.

```json
{"name":"size_standard_check","arguments":{"code":"541512","revenue_usd":20000000,"user_request":"size standard 541512 at $20M"}}
```

## Sample output

Trimmed; field names and structure match the live response, values are shortened or illustrative.

```json
{
  "data": {
    "code": "541512",
    "title": "Computer Systems Design Services",
    "size_standard_usd": 34000000,
    "check": {
      "basis": "receipts",
      "standard": 34000000,
      "value": 20000000,
      "is_small": true,
      "headroom": 14000000,
      "explanation": "$20,000,000 in average annual receipts is at or below the $34,000,000 standard for NAICS 541512, so the business is small for this code."
    },
    "citation": "13 CFR 121.201"
  },
  "meta": {
    "as_of": "2026-11-01"
  }
}
```

## How to read the answer

- basis says what is measured. For receipts, SBA averages annual receipts over the latest five completed fiscal years; for employees, the average over the past 24 months.
- size_exceptions lists special standards inside a code (for example a different standard for one kind of work). The agent should ask which applies if any are present.

## Make it yours

- Give employees instead of receipts for manufacturing codes measured by headcount.
- Ask for every code in your SAM.gov NAICS list at once to see where you are still small.

## Pitfalls

- Affiliates count. SBA adds the receipts or employees of affiliated firms, so a parent or a joint venture partner can make you other than small.
- The answer is a calculation from the published standard, not an SBA size determination.

## The same job over REST

```bash
curl "https://samgovapi.io/api/v1/naics/541512/size-standard?revenue_usd=20000000" -H "Authorization: Bearer $SAMGOVAPI_API_KEY"
```

Plan: every plan. Credits: 1 credit per lookup.

## Questions

### Which receipts figure should I use?

SBA uses average annual receipts over the latest five completed fiscal years, generally total income plus cost of goods sold as reported to the IRS. Check 13 CFR 121.104 for the exact rule.

### Does the agent know about my affiliates?

No. Add their figures yourself; affiliation rules are in 13 CFR 121.103.

All recipes: https://samgovapi.io/agents/recipes.md

Independent. Not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by GSA, SAM.gov or any U.S. government agency. Registering in SAM.gov is free at sam.gov.