NAICS Intel / Free planning tool
Decision guide & local worksheet
Prepare a NAICS activity review that another person can check
Describe actual work, candidate narratives and unresolved questions before updating a record.
A code search becomes useful when it begins with the activities a business actually performs. This brief helps you organize that reasoning for a SAM registration review or opportunity discussion. It does not assign, approve, register or certify a NAICS code.
Describe the activity before choosing a label
Use concrete verbs, outputs and customer needs. “Technology” is too broad to distinguish software publishing, systems design or other activities. Separate materially different activities rather than forcing every offering into one familiar code.
Avoid including client names, revenue details or proprietary descriptions here. Use generalized activity summaries that can be reviewed safely.
Read the full official narrative and cross-references
The Census Bureau provides the 2022 NAICS search and manual. Read the full industry description and its cross-references; a search result title alone is not enough. Record the version and the candidate narrative you reviewed.
There is no central agency that assigns or approves every business’s NAICS selections. A selection in this planner does not determine eligibility, size status or an agency’s NAICS designation for a procurement.
Keep registration and procurement questions distinct
A SAM profile review and the NAICS assigned to a particular solicitation are different decisions. Use the applicable instructions and authorized process for each. If an activity description is unclear, resolve the underlying facts before making the record look complete.
A provider can help organize an evidence-based review, but the engagement should state who approves the activity description and any authorized record change.
- Which activity does the candidate narrative describe?
- Which cross-reference might exclude it?
- Which version was reviewed?
- What fact would change the decision?
Read the fictional candidate comparison
The example uses broad candidate families rather than invented code numbers. One fictional activity remains unresolved because its business model needs clarification. That is a better result than selecting a code simply to clear an empty field.
For an actual review, use the official current search and record the exact candidate and supporting reasoning in your approved work environment.
Turn the review into a bounded support request
Ask for the number of distinct activities to review, the expected comparison output and the authorized approval route. If SAM assistance is needed, keep the activity review separate from account access and validation tasks.
Export the brief as a discussion record. It will not update SAM, change a solicitation or establish a small-business certification.
Build your local planning brief
Make a bounded planning brief, then download it for your own review. Use role labels and nonsensitive references rather than names, credentials or source documents.
Your entries stay in this page’s memory. This worksheet does not upload, email or save responses to a server or browser storage. Existing site scripts continue to operate under the site’s privacy policy. Download before refreshing or leaving. Do not enter sensitive, personal or customer information.
Your local planning draft. Use the fictional example to see how the tool works.
| Generalized business activity | Candidate narrative or family | Reason or cross-reference to check | NAICS version reviewed | Review state | Row |
|---|
Review the brief before requesting support
- The activity description precedes the code choice.
- Full narratives and cross-references were read.
- The version and unresolved facts are recorded.
- No code selection is presented as certification or agency approval.
This tool organizes preparation. It does not update an official record, submit an offer, certify compliance or guarantee an award, assessment or processing result.
Official sources and scope of this guide
Sources checked 30 October 2026. Requirements can change. Use the actual solicitation, contract and current official instructions for your circumstances. The worked examples are fictional and do not describe client results.
This resource is published by Federal Bid Partners. It is independent educational material and is not a government website.