Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 62 / Thursday, March 31, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 18627 

1On December 21, 2021, the U. S. Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) published its 

‘‘Notice of NAICS 2022 Final Decisions . . . ’’ (86 

FR 72277), accepting the Economic Classification 

Policy Committee (ECPC) recommendations, as 

outlined in the July 2, 2021, Federal Register notice 

(86 FR 35350), for the 2022 revisions to the North 

American Industry Classification System (NAICS), 

. . . .’’ In the near future, SBA will issue a proposed 

rule to adopt the OMB’s NAICS 2022 revisions for 

its table of size standards. SBA anticipates updating 

its size standards with the NAICS 2022 revisions, 

effective October 1, 2022. 

Isabella Casillas Guzman, 

Administrator. 

[FR Doc. 2022–06604 Filed 3–30–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8026–03–P 

SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION 

13 CFR Part 121 

RIN 3245–AG90 

Small Business Size Standards: 

Transportation and Warehousing; 

Information; Finance and Insurance; 

Real Estate and Rental and Leasing 

AGENCY: U.S. Small Business 

Administration. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Small Business 

Administration (SBA) is increasing its 

receipts-based small business size 

definitions (commonly referred to as 

‘‘size standards’’) for North American 

Industry Classification System (NAICS) 

sectors related to Transportation and 

Warehousing, Information, Finance and 

Insurance, and Real Estate and Rental 

and Leasing. Specifically, SBA is 

increasing the size standards for 45 

industries in those sectors, including 18 

industries in NAICS Sector 48–49 

(Transportation and Warehousing), eight 

industries in NAICS Sector 51 

(Information), ten industries in NAICS 

Sector 52 (Finance and Insurance), and 

nine industries in NAICS Sector 53 

(Real Estate and Rental and Leasing). 

DATES: This rule is effective May 2, 

2022. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Samuel Castilla, Economist, Office of 

Size Standards, (202) 205–6618 or 

sizestandards@sba.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Discussion of Size Standards 

To determine eligibility for Federal 

small business assistance, SBA 

establishes small business size 

definitions (usually referred to as ‘‘size 

standards’’) for private sector industries 

in the United States. SBA uses two 

primary measures of business size for 

size standards purposes: Average annual 

receipts and average number of 

employees. SBA uses financial assets for 

certain financial industries and refining 

capacity, in addition to employees, for 

the petroleum refining industry to 

measure business size. In addition, 

SBA’s Small Business Investment 

Company (SBIC), Certified Development 

Company (CDC/504), and 7(a) Loan 

Programs use either the industry-based 

size standards or tangible net worth and 

net income-based alternative size 

standards to determine eligibility for 

those programs. 

In September 2010, Congress passed 

the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 

(Pub. L. 111–240, 124 Stat. 2504, 

September 27, 2010) (‘‘Jobs Act’’), 

requiring SBA to review all size 

standards every five years and make 

necessary adjustments to reflect current 

industry and market conditions. In 

accordance with the Jobs Act, in early 

2016, SBA completed the first five-year 

review of all size standards—except 

those for agricultural enterprises for 

which size standards were previously 

set by Congress—and made appropriate 

adjustments to size standards for a 

number of industries to reflect current 

industry and Federal market conditions. 

SBA also adjusts its monetary-based size 

standards for inflation at least once 

every five years. An interim final rule 

on SBA’s latest inflation adjustment to 

size standards, effective August 19, 

2019, was published in the Federal 

Register on July 18, 2019 (84 FR 34261). 

SBA also updates its size standards 

every five years to adopt the Office of 

Management and Budget’s (OMB) 

quinquennial North American Industry 

Classification System (NAICS) revisions 

to its table of small business size 

standards. Effective October 1, 2017, 

SBA adopted the OMB’s 2017 NAICS 

revisions to its size standards (82 FR 

44886, September 27, 2017).1

This final rule is one of a series of 

final rules that will revise size standards 

of industries grouped by various NAICS 

sectors. Rather than revise all size 

standards at one time, SBA is revising 

size standards by grouping industries 

within various NAICS sectors that use 

the same size measure (i.e., employees 

or receipts). In the prior review, SBA 

revised size standards mostly on a 

sector-by-sector basis. As part of the 

second five-year review of size 

standards, SBA reviewed all receiptbased size standards in NAICS Sectors 

48–49, 51, 52, and 53 to determine 

whether the existing size standards 

should be retained or revised based on 

the current industry and Federal market 

data. After its review, SBA published in 

the October 2, 2020, issue of the Federal 

Register (85 FR 62372) a proposed rule 

to increase the size standards for 18 

industries in NAICS Sector 48–49 

(Transportation and Warehousing), eight 

industries in NAICS Sector 51 

(Information), ten industries in NAICS 

Sector 52 (Finance and Insurance), and 

nine industries in NAICS Sector 53 

(Real Estate and Rental and Leasing). In 

this final rule, SBA is adopting the 

proposed size standards from the 

October 2020 proposed rule without 

change. 

In conjunction with the current 

comprehensive size standards review, 

SBA developed a revised ‘‘Size 

Standards Methodology’’ (Methodology) 

for developing, reviewing, and 

modifying size standards, when 

necessary. SBA’s revised Methodology 

provides a detailed description of its 

analyses of various industry and 

program factors and data sources, and 

how the agency uses the results to 

establish and revise size standards. In 

the proposed rule itself, SBA detailed 

how it applied its revised Methodology 

to review and modify where necessary, 

the existing size standards for industries 

covered in this final rule. Prior to 

finalizing the revised Methodology, SBA 

issued a notification in the April 27, 

2018, edition of the Federal Register (83 

FR 18468) to solicit comments from the 

public and notify stakeholders of the 

proposed changes to the Methodology. 

SBA considered all public comments in 

finalizing the revised Methodology. For 

a summary of comments and SBA’s 

responses, refer to the SBA’s April 11, 

2019, Federal Register notification (84 

FR 14587) of the issuance of the final 

revised Methodology. SBA’s Size 

Standards Methodology is available on 

its website at www.sba.gov/size. 

In evaluating an industry’s size 

standard, SBA examines its 

characteristics (such as average firm 

size, startup costs, industry competition 

and distribution of firms by size) and 

the small business level and share of 

Federal contract dollars in that industry. 

SBA also examines the potential impact 

a size standard revision might have on 

its financial assistance programs, and 

whether a business concern under a 

revised size standard would be 

dominant in its industry. SBA analyzed 

the characteristics of each receipt-based 

industry in NAICS Sectors 48–49, 51, 

52, and 53, mostly using a special 

tabulation obtained from the U.S. 

Bureau of the Census from its 2012 

Economic Census (the latest available). 

The 2012 special tabulation contains 

information for different levels of 

NAICS categories on average and 

median firm size in terms of both 

receipts and employment, total receipts 

generated by the four and eight largest 


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firms, the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index 

(HHI), the Gini coefficient, and size 

distributions of firms by various receipts 

and employment size groupings. To 

evaluate average asset size, SBA 

combines the sales to total assets ratios 

by industry, obtained from the Risk 

Management Association’s (RMA) 

Annual eStatement Studies (http://

www.rmahq.org/estatement-studies/) 

with the simple average receipts size by 

industry from the 2012 Economic 

Census tabulation to estimate the 

average assets size for each industry. 

SBA also evaluated the small business 

level and share of Federal contracts in 

each of the industries using data from 

the Federal Procurement Data System— 

Next Generation (FPDS–NG) for fiscal 

years 2016–2018. Table 4 of the 

proposed rule, Size Standards 

Supported by Each Factor for Each 

Industry (Receipts), shows the results of 

analyses of industry and Federal 

contracting factors for each industry and 

subindustry (exception) covered by the 

proposed rule. Of the 124 industries and 

two subindustries (exceptions) reviewed 

in the proposed rule, the results from 

analyses of the latest available data on 

the five primary factors from Table 4 of 

the proposed rule supported increasing 

size standards for 45 industries, 

decreasing size standards for 69 

industries, and retaining size standards 

for nine industries and two 

subindustries. Additionally, SBA 

retained the size standard for NAICS 

491110 (Postal Service) which the 

Economic Census does not cover. Table 

1, Summary of Calculated Size 

Standards, summarizes the analytical 

results from the proposed rule by 

NAICS sector. 

TABLE 1—SUMMARY OF CALCULATED SIZE STANDARDS

NAICS sector Sector name 

Number of 

size standards 

reviewed 

Number of 

size standards 

increased 

Number of 

size standards 

decreased 

Number of 

size standards 

unchanged 

48–49 ............................ Transportation and Warehousing ........................ 43 18 23 2 

51 .................................. Information ........................................................... 19 8 9 2 

52 .................................. Finance and Insurance * ...................................... 39 * 10 24 5 

53 .................................. Real Estate and Rental and Leasing ................... 25 9 13 3 

All Sectors .............. .............................................................................. 126 45 69 12 

* Includes five assets-based size industries. 

In the October 2020 proposed rule, 

SBA discussed the impacts of the 

COVID–19 pandemic on small 

businesses and greater society. 

Recognizing the wide-ranging economic 

impacts of the pandemic, SBA decided 

not to lower any size standards for 

which the analysis suggested lowering 

them. Instead, SBA proposed to 

maintain all size standards for 

industries in which the analytical 

results supported a decrease or no 

change to size standards and adopt all 

size standards for which the analytical 

results supported an increase to size 

standards. To evaluate the impact of the 

changes to size standards adopted in 

this final rule on the Federal contracting 

market and SBA’s loan programs, SBA 

analyzed FPDS–NG data for fiscal years 

2018–2020 and internal data on its 

guaranteed loan programs for fiscal 

years 2018–2020. The results of this 

analysis can be found in the Regulatory 

Impact Analysis section of this final 

rule. 

In the proposed rule, SBA sought 

comments on its proposal to increase 

size standards for 45 industries and 

retain the current size standards for the 

remaining 81 industries or subindustries 

in Sectors 48–49, 51, 52, and 53. 

Specifically, SBA requested comments 

on whether the proposed revisions are 

appropriate for the industries covered 

by the proposed rule, whether the 

decision not to lower any size standards 

is justified by the COVID–19 pandemic, 

whether the equal weighting of 

individual factors to derive an industry 

size standard is appropriate, and 

whether the data sources used were 

appropriate or sufficient. SBA also 

sought comments on its proposal to 

maintain a common size standard for 

industries within Subsector 525 and 

assets-based size standards within 

NAICS Industry Groups 5221 and 5222. 

SBA also requested comments on its 

proposal to retain the size standard for 

the exception to NAICS 488510 (NonVessel Owning Common Carriers and 

Household Good Forwarders) and 

NAICS 491110 (Postal Service). 

Discussion of Comments 

SBA received a total of four comments 

to the proposed rule from a wide range 

of entities including an individual, a 

business, and two trade associations. Of 

the four comments received, one 

comment referenced all sectors covered 

by the proposed rule, one comment 

referenced NAICS 531210 (Offices of 

Real Estate Agents and Brokers), one 

comment referenced NAICS 522130 

(Credit Unions), and one comment 

referenced Sector 23 (construction) 

which is not covered under this 

proposed rule. SBA did not evaluate the 

comment referencing Sector 23 in this 

final rule, instead, SBA will evaluate 

that comment under the final rule 

covering the construction industry (see 

RIN 3245–AG90 on 

www.regulations.gov). The four 

comments to the proposed rule are 

available at www.regulations.gov (RIN 

3245–AG90) and are summarized and 

discussed below. 

Comments on Proposed Changes to All 

Sectors 

One commenter maintained that 

SBA’s proposed changes to size 

standards would allow the entry of large 

businesses to the SBA’s low-interest 

loan and contracting programs reserved 

by Congress for small businesses. This 

commenter further argued that the 

proposed rule is contrary to the 

statutory mandate given to the SBA by 

Congress in this regard. Citing these 

reasons, the commenter asserted that the 

proposed rule should be withdrawn. 

SBA Response 

In the proposed rule, SBA proposed to 

increase size standards for 45 industries, 

including eighteen (18) industries in 

NAICS Sector 48–49 (Transportation 

and Warehousing), eight (8) industries 

in NAICS Sector 51 (Information), ten 

(10) industries in NAICS Sector 52 

(Finance and Insurance), and nine (9) 

industries in NAICS Sector 53 (Real 

Estate and Rental and Leasing). With an 

expanded pool of small businesses, it is 

likely that Federal agencies would set 

aside more contracts for small 

businesses under the increases to size 

standards, thereby increasing 

opportunities for all small businesses, 

including the smaller small businesses. 

Also, the Administration’s recent 

decision to increase the Governmentwide Small Disadvantaged Business 


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(SDB) goal from the current 5% to 11% 

in fiscal year 2021 (increasing to 15% by 

fiscal year 2025) is likely to drive 

agencies to set aside more contracts to 

small businesses in coming years. 

SBA does not agree with the comment 

that the proposed rule is contrary to the 

Congressional mandate given to SBA 

and should not be issued. Pursuant to 

section 1344 of the Small Business Jobs 

Act of 2010 (the Jobs Act) (Pub. Law 

111–240), SBA is statutorily mandated 

to review every five years all size 

standards and make necessary 

adjustments to reflect current industry 

and Federal market conditions. The 

proposed rule was part of the second 

five-year review of size standards in 

accordance with the Jobs Act. SBA 

believes that proposed size standards 

revisions for industries being reviewed 

in this rule will make size standards 

more reflective of the current economic 

characteristics of businesses in those 

industries and the latest trends in the 

Federal marketplace. For the above 

reasons, SBA is adopting the proposed 

size standard without change. 

Comments on Proposed Changes to 

NAICS 531210—Offices of Real Estate 

Agents and Brokers 

SBA received a comment from a small 

business concern specializing in 

providing lease brokerage and other 

transaction services to Federal agencies. 

This comment was in full support of the 

proposed increase to the size standard 

for NAICS 531210 (Offices of Real Estate 

Agents and Brokers) from $8 million to 

$13 million in average annual receipts. 

The commenter believed that such an 

increase is totally consistent with the 

Government’s policy of providing 

maximum practicable opportunities to 

small businesses. 

The commenter argued that the 

proposed increase to the size standard 

for NAICS 531210 would ensure that 

small businesses would be able to retain 

access to the Federal small business 

assistance programs. It would also 

ensure that Federal agencies have a 

larger pool of small businesses from 

which to draw for their small business 

procurement programs, thereby 

increasing competition and lowering 

prices to the Government. Finally, the 

commenter believed that the proposed 

increase would make the size standard 

for NAICS 531210 more consistent with 

the growth of the industry in recent 

years. 

SBA Response 

SBA agrees with the commenter that 

the proposed size standard will help to 

provide maximum practicable 

opportunities to small businesses in this 

industry while also expanding the pool 

of small businesses from which the 

Federal Government can draw from for 

their small business procurement 

programs. Given the expressed support 

for SBA’s proposed increase to the size 

standard for NAICS 531210 and the 

absence of any significant adverse 

comments opposing the increase, SBA is 

adopting $13 million in average annual 

receipts as the size standard for this 

NAICS code. 

Comments on Proposed Changes to 

NAICS 522130—Credit Unions 

SBA received one comment, on behalf 

of the National Association of Federally 

Insured Credit Unions (NAFCU), 

supporting SBA’s proposed increase to 

all size standards generally, and in 

particular the size standard for NAICS 

522130 (Credit Unions) increasing from 

$600 million to $750 million in average 

assets. This comment is in support of 

SBA’s proposed size standard increase. 

As the commenter maintained, although 

credit unions are not-for-profit entities 

and do not qualify for the SBA’s lending 

programs, the proposed increases to size 

standards would provide credit unions 

that are SBA lenders with an 

opportunity to provide lending to more 

newly-qualified small businesses, 

thereby helping local communities to 

thrive, promote innovation, and provide 

jobs. 

SBA Response 

SBA agrees with the commenter that 

the proposed changes to size standards 

will increase the number of businesses 

eligible to participate in SBA’s financial 

assistance programs. SBA also agrees 

with the commenter that SBA’s 

financial assistance programs can have 

wide-ranging positive impacts to 

individuals, businesses, and 

communities. Given the expressed 

support for SBA’s proposed increase to 

the size standard for NAICS 522130 and 

the absence of any significant adverse 

comments opposing the increase, SBA is 

adopting, as proposed, 750 million in 

average assets as the size standard for 

NAICS 522130. 

Summary of Adopted Revisions to Size 

Standards 

Based on the evaluation of public 

comments it received on the proposed 

rule and on its analyses of industry and 

Federal contracting factors using the 

latest available data when the proposed 

rule was prepared, SBA is adopting the 

size standards, as proposed in the 

October 2020 proposed rule. Thus, SBA 

is increasing 45 size standards, 

including 18 in NAICS Sector 48–49, 

eight in NAICS Sector 51, ten in NAICS 

Sector 52, and nine in NAICS Sector 53. 

A summary of SBA’s size standards 

revisions in this rule can be found 

below in Table 2, Summary of Size 

Standards Revisions in NAICS Sectors 

48–49, 51, 52, and 53. 

TABLE 2—SUMMARY OF SIZE STANDARDS REVISIONS IN NAICS SECTORS 48–49, 51, 52 AND 53 

NAICS 

code NAICS U.S. industry title 

Current 

size standard 

($ million) 

Calculated 

size standard 

($ million) 

Adopted size 

standard 

($ million) 

481219 ..... Other Nonscheduled Air Transportation ....... 16.5 .................................. 22.0 .................................. 22.0 

484110 ..... General Freight Trucking, Local ................... 30.0 .................................. 9.0 .................................... 30.0 

484121 ..... General Freight Trucking, Long-Distance, 

Truckload.

30.0 .................................. 22.0 .................................. 30.0 

484122 ..... General Freight Trucking, Long-Distance, 

Less Than Truckload.

30.0 .................................. 38.0 .................................. 38.0 

484210 ..... Used Household and Office Goods Moving 30.0 .................................. 21.0 .................................. 30.0 

484220 ..... Specialized Freight (except Used Goods) 

Trucking, Local.

30.0 .................................. 15.0 .................................. 30.0 

484230 ..... Specialized Freight (except Used Goods) 

Trucking, Long-Distance.

30.0 .................................. 22.0 .................................. 30.0 

485111 ..... Mixed Mode Transit Systems ....................... 16.5 .................................. 25.5 .................................. 25.5 

485112 ..... Commuter Rail Systems ............................... 16.5 .................................. 41.5 .................................. 41.5 

485113 ..... Bus and Other Motor Vehicle Transit Systems.16.5 .................................. 28.5 .................................. 28.5 

485119 ..... Other Urban Transit Systems ....................... 16.5 .................................. 33.0 .................................. 33.0 


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TABLE 2—SUMMARY OF SIZE STANDARDS REVISIONS IN NAICS SECTORS 48–49, 51, 52 AND 53—Continued 

NAICS 

code NAICS U.S. industry title 

Current 

size standard 

($ million) 

Calculated 

size standard 

($ million) 

Adopted size 

standard 

($ million) 

485210 ..... Interurban and Rural Bus Transportation ..... 16.5 .................................. 28.0 .................................. 28.0 

485310 ..... Taxi Service .................................................. 16.5 .................................. 13.0 .................................. 16.5 

485320 ..... Limousine Service ......................................... 16.5 .................................. 12.5 .................................. 16.5 

485410 ..... School and Employee Bus Transportation ... 16.5 .................................. 26.5 .................................. 26.5 

485510 ..... Charter Bus Industry ..................................... 16.5 .................................. 13.0 .................................. 16.5 

485991 ..... Special Needs Transportation ....................... 16.5 .................................. 13.0 .................................. 16.5 

485999 ..... All Other Transit and Ground Passenger 

Transportation.

16.5 .................................. 16.0 .................................. 16.5 

486210 ..... Pipeline Transportation of Natural Gas ........ 30.0 .................................. 36.5 .................................. 36.5 

486990 ..... All Other Pipeline Transportation .................. 40.5 .................................. 31.5 .................................. 40.5 

487110 ..... Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation Land 8.0 .................................... 18.0 .................................. 18.0 

487210 ..... Scenic and Sightseeing TransportationWater 8.0 .................................... 12.5 .................................. 12.5 

487990 ..... Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation 

Other.

8.0 .................................... 22.0 .................................. 22.0 

488111 ..... Air Traffic Control .......................................... 35.0 .................................. 30.5 .................................. 35.0 

488119 ..... Other Airport Operations ............................... 35.0 .................................. 25.5 .................................. 35.0 

488190 ..... Other Support Activities for Air Transportation.35.0 .................................. 27.5 .................................. 35.0 

488210 ..... Support Activities for Rail Transportation ..... 16.5 .................................. 30.0 .................................. 30.0 

488310 ..... Port and Harbor Operations .......................... 41.5 .................................. 38.0 .................................. 41.5 

488320 ..... Marine Cargo Handling ................................. 41.5 .................................. 39.0 .................................. 41.5 

488330 ..... Navigational Services to Shipping ................ 41.5 .................................. 26.5 .................................. 41.5 

488390 ..... Other Support Activities for Water Transportation.41.5 .................................. 23.5 .................................. 41.5 

488410 ..... Motor Vehicle Towing ................................... 8.0 .................................... 7.0 .................................... 8.0 

488490 ..... Other Support Activities for Road Transportation.8.0 .................................... 16.0 .................................. 16.0 

488510 ..... Freight Transportation Arrangement ............. 16.5 .................................. 17.5 .................................. 17.5 

488510 

(Exception).

Non-Vessel Owning Common Carriers and 

Household Goods Forwarders.

30.0 .................................. 30.0 .................................. 30.0 

488991 ..... Packing and Crating ...................................... 30.0 .................................. 17.5 .................................. 30.0 

488999 ..... All Other Support Activities for Transportation.8.0 .................................... 22.0 .................................. 22.0 

491110 ..... Postal Services ............................................. 8.0 .................................... 8.0 .................................... 8.0 

492210 ..... Local Messengers and Local Delivery .......... 30.0 .................................. 10.5 .................................. 30.0 

493110 ..... General Warehousing and Storage .............. 30.0 .................................. 25.0 .................................. 30.0 

493120 ..... Refrigerated Warehousing and Storage ....... 30.0 .................................. 32.0 .................................. 32.0 

493130 ..... Farm Product Warehousing and Storage ..... 30.0 .................................. 13.5 .................................. 30.0 

493190 ..... Other Warehousing and Storage .................. 30.0 .................................. 32.0 .................................. 32.0 

511210 ..... Software Publishers ...................................... 41.5 .................................. 40.0 .................................. 41.5 

512110 ..... Motion Picture and Video Production ........... 35.0 .................................. 33.0 .................................. 35.0 

512120 ..... Motion Picture and Video Distribution .......... 34.5 .................................. 26.0 .................................. 34.5 

512131 ..... Motion Picture Theaters (except Drive-Ins) .. 41.5 .................................. 39.5 .................................. 41.5 

512132 ..... Drive-In Motion Picture Theaters .................. 8.0 .................................... 11.0 .................................. 11.0 

512191 ..... Teleproduction and Other Postproduction 

Services.

34.5 .................................. 19.5 .................................. 34.5 

512199 ..... Other Motion Picture and Video Industries ... 22.0 .................................. 25.0 .................................. 25.0 

512240 ..... Sound Recording Studios ............................. 8.0 .................................... 9.5 .................................... 9.5 

512290 ..... Other Sound Recording Industries ............... 12.0 .................................. 20.0 .................................. 20.0 

515111 ..... Radio Networks ............................................. 35.0 .................................. 41.5 .................................. 41.5 

515112 ..... Radio Stations ............................................... 41.5 .................................. 36.0 .................................. 41.5 

515120 ..... Television Broadcasting ................................ 41.5 .................................. 41.5 .................................. 41.5 

515210 ..... Cable and Other Subscription Programming 41.5 .................................. 41.5 .................................. 41.5 

517410 ..... Satellite Telecommunications ....................... 35.0 .................................. 38.5 .................................. 38.5 

517919 ..... All Other Telecommunications ...................... 35.0 .................................. 33.0 .................................. 35.0 

518210 ..... Data Processing, Hosting, and Related 

Services.

35.0 .................................. 33.0 .................................. 35.0 

519110 ..... News Syndicates ........................................... 30.0 .................................. 32.0 .................................. 32.0 

519120 ..... Libraries and Archives .................................. 16.5 .................................. 18.5 .................................. 18.5 

519190 ..... All Other Information Services ...................... 30.0 .................................. 26.5 .................................. 30.0 

522110 ..... Commercial Banking ..................................... 600 million in assets ........ 750 million in assets ........ 750 million in assets. 

522120 ..... Savings Institutions ....................................... 600 million in assets ........ 750 million in assets ........ 750 million in assets. 

522130 ..... Credit Unions ................................................ 600 million in assets ........ 750 million in assets ........ 750 million in assets. 

522190 ..... Other Depository Credit Intermediation ........ 600 million in assets ........ 750 million in assets ........ 750 million in assets. 

522210 ..... Credit Card Issuing ....................................... 600 million in assets ........ 750 million in assets ........ 750 million in assets. 

522220 ..... Sales Financing ............................................. 41.5 .................................. 38.0 .................................. 41.5 

522291 ..... Consumer Lending ........................................ 41.5 .................................. 41.5 .................................. 41.5 

522292 ..... Real Estate Credit ......................................... 41.5 .................................. 40.0 .................................. 41.5 

522293 ..... International Trade Financing ....................... 41.5 .................................. 31.0 .................................. 41.5 


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TABLE 2—SUMMARY OF SIZE STANDARDS REVISIONS IN NAICS SECTORS 48–49, 51, 52 AND 53—Continued 

NAICS 

code NAICS U.S. industry title 

Current 

size standard 

($ million) 

Calculated 

size standard 

($ million) 

Adopted size 

standard 

($ million) 

522294 ..... Secondary Market Financing ........................ 41.5 .................................. 41.5 .................................. 41.5 

522298 ..... All Other Nondepository Credit Intermediation.41.5 .................................. 35.5 .................................. 41.5 

522310 ..... Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers .. 8.0 .................................... 13.0 .................................. 13.0 

522320 ..... Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, 

and Clearinghouse Activities.

41.5 .................................. 39.5 .................................. 41.5 

522390 ..... Other Activities Related to Credit Intermediation.22.0 .................................. 25.0 .................................. 25.0 

523110 ..... Investment Banking and Securities Dealing 41.5 .................................. 41.0 .................................. 41.5 

523120 ..... Securities Brokerage ..................................... 41.5 .................................. 37.0 .................................. 41.5 

523130 ..... Commodity Contracts Dealing ...................... 41.5 .................................. 32.5 .................................. 41.5 

523140 ..... Commodity Contracts Brokerage .................. 41.5 .................................. 26.5 .................................. 41.5 

523210 ..... Securities and Commodity Exchanges ......... 41.5 .................................. 33.0 .................................. 41.5 

523910 ..... Miscellaneous Intermediation ........................ 41.5 .................................. 27.0 .................................. 41.5 

523920 ..... Portfolio Management ................................... 41.5 .................................. 35.5 .................................. 41.5 

523930 ..... Investment Advice ......................................... 41.5 .................................. 27.5 .................................. 41.5 

523991 ..... Trust, Fiduciary, and Custody Activities ....... 41.5 .................................. 41.5 .................................. 41.5 

523999 ..... Miscellaneous Financial Investment Activities.41.5 .................................. 41.5 .................................. 41.5 

524113 ..... Direct Life Insurance Carriers ....................... 41.5 .................................. 37.5 .................................. 41.5 

524114 ..... Direct Health and Medical Insurance Carriers.41.5 .................................. 38.5 .................................. 41.5 

524127 ..... Direct Title Insurance Carriers ...................... 41.5 .................................. 41.5 .................................. 41.5 

524128 ..... Other Direct Insurance (except Life, Health, 

and Medical) Carriers.

41.5 .................................. 39.0 .................................. 41.5 

524130 ..... Reinsurance Carriers .................................... 41.5 .................................. 39.5 .................................. 41.5 

524210 ..... Insurance Agencies and Brokerages ............ 8.0 .................................... 13.0 .................................. 13.0 

524291 ..... Claims Adjusting ........................................... 22.0 .................................. 18.0 .................................. 22.0 

524292 ..... Third Party Administration of Insurance and 

Pension Funds.

35.0 .................................. 40.0 .................................. 40.0 

524298 ..... All Other Insurance Related Activities .......... 16.5 .................................. 27.0 .................................. 27.0 

525110 ..... Pension Funds .............................................. 35.0 .................................. 32.5 .................................. 35.0 

525120 ..... Health and Welfare Funds ............................ 35.0 .................................. 32.5 .................................. 35.0 

525190 ..... Other Insurance Funds ................................. 35.0 .................................. 32.5 .................................. 35.0 

525910 ..... Open-End Investment Funds ........................ 35.0 .................................. 31.5 .................................. 35.0 

525920 ..... Trusts, Estates, and Agency Accounts ......... 35.0 .................................. 32.5 .................................. 35.0 

525990 ..... Other Financial Vehicles ............................... 35.0 .................................. 32.5 .................................. 35.0 

531110 * ... Lessors of Residential Buildings and Dwellings.30.0 .................................. 23.5 .................................. 30.0 

531120 * ... Lessors of Nonresidential Buildings (except 

Miniwarehouses).

30.0 .................................. 28.0 .................................. 30.0 

531130 * ... Lessors of Miniwarehouses and Self-Storage Units.30.0 .................................. 20.5 .................................. 30.0 

531190 * ... Lessors of Other Real Estate Property ......... 30.0 .................................. 16.0 .................................. 30.0 

531210 ..... Offices of Real Estate Agents and Brokers .. 8.0 .................................... 13.0 .................................. 13.0 

531311 ..... Residential Property Managers ..................... 8.0 .................................... 11.0 .................................. 11.0 

531312 ..... Nonresidential Property Managers ............... 8.0 .................................... 17.0 .................................. 17.0 

531320 ..... Offices of Real Estate Appraisers ................. 8.0 .................................... 8.5 .................................... 8.5 

531390 ..... Other Activities Related to Real Estate ........ 8.0 .................................... 17.0 .................................. 17.0 

532111 ..... Passenger Car Rental ................................... 41.5 .................................. 41.5 .................................. 41.5 

532112 ..... Passenger Car Leasing ................................ 41.5 .................................. 41.0 .................................. 41.5 

532120 ..... Truck, Utility Trailer, and RV (Recreational 

Vehicle) Rental and Leasing.

41.5 .................................. 41.5 .................................. 41.5 

532210 ..... Consumer Electronics and Appliances Rental.41.5 .................................. 40.5 .................................. 41.5 

532281 ..... Formal Wear and Costume Rental ............... 22.0 .................................. 12.5 .................................. 22.0 

532282 ..... Video Tape and Disc Rental ......................... 30.0 .................................. 31.0 .................................. 31.0 

532283 ..... Home Health Equipment Rental ................... 35.0 .................................. 36.0 .................................. 36.0 

532284 ..... Recreational Goods Rental ........................... 8.0 .................................... 7.5 .................................... 8.0 

532289 ..... All Other Consumer Goods Rental ............... 8.0 .................................... 11.0 .................................. 11.0 

532310 ..... General Rental Centers ................................ 8.0 .................................... 7.5 .................................... 8.0 

532411 ..... Commercial Air, Rail, and Water Transportation Equipment Rental and Leasing.35.0 .................................. 40.0 .................................. 40.0 

532412 ..... Construction, Mining, and Forestry Machinery and Equipment Rental and Leasing.35.0 .................................. 34.0 .................................. 35.0 

532420 ..... Office Machinery and Equipment Rental and 

Leasing.

35.0 .................................. 32.5 .................................. 35.0 

532490 ..... Other Commercial and Industrial Machinery 

and Equipment Rental and Leasing.

35.0 .................................. 30.0 .................................. 35.0 


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18632 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 62 / Thursday, March 31, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 

TABLE 2—SUMMARY OF SIZE STANDARDS REVISIONS IN NAICS SECTORS 48–49, 51, 52 AND 53—Continued 

NAICS 

code NAICS U.S. industry title 

Current 

size standard 

($ million) 

Calculated 

size standard 

($ million) 

Adopted size 

standard 

($ million) 

533110 ..... Lessors of Nonfinancial Intangible Assets 

(except Copyrighted Works).

41.5 .................................. 35.0 .................................. 41.5 

NAICS codes 531110, 531120, 531130, and 531190—Leasing of Building Space to the Federal Government by Owners: For Government procurement, a size standard of $41.5 million in gross receipts applies to the owners of building space leased to the Federal Government. The 

standard does not apply to an agent. See Footnote 9 to the SBA’s Table of Size Standards. 

Table 3, Summary of Adopted Size 

Standards Revisions by Sector, below, 

summarizes the adopted changes to size 

standards by NAICS sector. 

TABLE 3—SUMMARY OF ADOPTED SIZE STANDARDS REVISIONS BY SECTOR

NAICS sector Sector name 

Number of size 

standards 

reviewed 

Number of size 

standards 

increased 

Number of size 

standards 

decreased 

Number of size 

standards 

maintained 

48–49 ....................... Transportation and Warehousing .............. 43 18 0 25 

51 ............................. Information ................................................. 19 8 0 11 

52 * ........................... Finance and Insurance .............................. 39 10 0 29 

53 ............................. Real Estate and Rental and Leasing ........ 25 9 0 16 

All Sectors ........ .................................................................... 126 45 0 81 

Evaluation of Dominance in Field of 

Operation 

SBA determined that for the 

industries evaluated under this final 

rule, no individual firm at or below the 

adopted size standards would be large 

enough to dominate its field of 

operation. At the size standard levels 

adopted in this final rule, the small 

business share of total industry receipts 

among those industries would be, on 

average, 0.4%, varying from 0.005% to 

4.8%. These market shares effectively 

preclude a firm at or below the adopted 

size standards from exerting control on 

any of the industries. 

Alternatives Considered 

In response to the unprecedented 

economic impacts of the ongoing 

COVID–19 pandemic on small 

businesses and Government response, 

SBA is adopting increases to size 

standards where the data suggests 

increases are warranted, and retaining 

all current size standards where the data 

suggested lowering of size standards is 

appropriate. SBA is also retaining all 

current size standards where the data 

suggested no changes to the current size 

standards. 

Nonetheless, SBA considered two 

other alternatives. Alternative Option 

One was to adopt changes to size 

standards exactly as suggested by the 

analytical results. In other words, 

Alternative Option One would entail 

increasing size standards for 45 

industries, decreasing them for 69 

industries, and retaining them at their 

current levels for 12 industries. 

Alternative Option Two was to retain all 

current size standards. 

SBA did not adopt Alternative Option 

One because it would cause a 

substantial number of currently small 

businesses to lose their small business 

status and hence to lose their access to 

Federal small business assistance, 

especially small business set-aside 

contracts and SBA’s financial assistance 

in some cases. Lowering size standards 

in the current environment would also 

run counter to various measures the 

Federal Government has implemented 

to help small businesses and the overall 

economy recover from the ongoing 

COVID–19 pandemic. Considering the 

impacts of the Great Recession and 

Government actions that followed to 

support small businesses and the overall 

economy, SBA also adopted a policy of 

not decreasing size standards during the 

first five-year review of size standards, 

even though the data supported 

decreases. 

Under Alternative Option Two, given 

the current COVID–19 pandemic, SBA 

considered retaining the current level of 

all size standards even though the 

analytical results suggested changing 

them. Under this option, as the current 

situation develops, SBA will be able to 

assess new data available on economic 

indicators, Federal procurement, and 

SBA loans before adopting changes to 

size standards. However, SBA is not 

adopting Alternative Option Two 

because the results discussed in the 

Regulatory Impact Analysis section, 

below, show that retaining all size 

standards at their current levels would 

cause otherwise qualified small 

businesses to forgo various small 

business benefits becoming available to 

them under the option of increasing 45 

and retaining 81 size standards. Such 

benefits would include access to Federal 

contracts set aside for small businesses 

and capital through SBA’s loan and 

SBIC programs, and exemptions from 

paperwork and other compliance 

requirements. 

Compliance With Executive Orders 

12866, the Congressional Review Act (5 

U.S.C. 801–808), the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601–612), 

Executive Orders 13563, 12988, and 

13132, and the Paperwork Reduction 

Act (44 U.S.C. Ch. 35) 

Executive Order 12866 

The Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) has determined that this final 

rule is a significant regulatory action for 

purposes of Executive Order 12866. 

Accordingly, in the next section SBA 

provides a Regulatory Impact Analysis 

of this final rule, including (1) A 

statement of the need for the regulatory 

action, (2) An examination of alternative 

approaches, and (3) An evaluation of the 

benefits and costs—both quantitative 

and qualitative—of the regulatory action 

and the alternatives considered. 


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2The analysis of the disaster loan data excludes 

physical disaster loans that are available to anyone 

regardless of size, disaster loans issued to nonprofit 

entities, and EIDLs issued under the COVID–19 

relief program. Effective January 1, 2022, SBA 

stopped accepting applications for new COVID 

EIDL loans or advances. Thus, the disaster loan 

analysis presented here pertains to the regular EIDL 

loans only. 

SBA estimates impacts of size standards changes 

on EIDL loans by calculating the ratio of businesses 

getting EIDL loans to total small businesses (based 

on the Economic Census data) and multiplying it 

by the number of impacted small firms. Due to data 

limitations, for FY 2019–20, some loans with both 

physical and EIDL loan components could not be 

broken into the physical and EIDL loan amounts. 

In such cases, SBA applied the ratio of EIDL 

amount to total (physical loan + EIDL) amount 

using FY 2016–18 data to the FY 2019–20 data to 

obtain the amount attributable to the EIDL loans. 

Regulatory Impact Analysis 

1. What is the need for this regulatory 

action? 

SBA’s mission is to aid and assist 

small businesses through a variety of 

financial, procurement, business 

development and counseling, and 

disaster assistance programs. To 

determine the actual intended 

beneficiaries of these programs, SBA 

establishes numerical size standards by 

industry to identify businesses that are 

deemed small. 

Under the Small Business Act (Act) 

(15 U.S.C. 632(a)), SBA’s Administrator 

is responsible for establishing small 

business size definitions (or ‘‘size 

standards’’) and ensuring that such 

definitions vary from industry to 

industry to reflect differences among 

various industries. The Jobs Act requires 

SBA to review every five years all size 

standards and make necessary 

adjustments to reflect current industry 

and Federal market conditions. This 

final rule is part of the second five-year 

review of size standards in accordance 

with the Jobs Act. The first five-year 

review of size standards was completed 

in early 2016. Such periodic reviews of 

size standards provide SBA with an 

opportunity to incorporate ongoing 

changes to industry structure and 

Federal market environment into size 

standards and to evaluate the impacts of 

prior revisions to size standards on 

small businesses. This also provides 

SBA with an opportunity to seek and 

incorporate public input to the size 

standards review and analysis. SBA 

believes that the size standards 

revisions adopted for industries being 

reviewed in this final rule will make 

size standards more reflective of the 

current economic characteristics of 

businesses in those industries and the 

latest trends in the Federal marketplace. 

The revisions to the existing size 

standards for 45 industries in NAICS 

Sectors 48–49, 51, 52, and 53 are 

consistent with SBA’s statutory mandate 

to help small businesses grow and 

create jobs and to review and adjust size 

standards every five years. This 

regulatory action promotes the 

Administration’s goals and objectives as 

well as meets the SBA’s statutory 

responsibility. One of SBA’s goals in 

support of promoting the 

Administration’s objectives is to help 

small businesses succeed through fair 

and equitable access to capital and 

credit, Federal Government contracts 

and purchases, and management and 

technical assistance. Reviewing and 

modifying size standards, when 

appropriate, ensures that intended 

beneficiaries are able to access Federal 

small business programs that are 

designed to assist them to become 

competitive and create jobs. 

2. What are the potential benefits and 

costs of this regulatory action? 

OMB directs agencies to establish an 

appropriate baseline to evaluate any 

benefits, costs, or transfer impacts of 

regulatory actions and alternative 

approaches considered. The baseline 

should represent the agency’s best 

assessment of what the world would 

look like absent the regulatory action. 

For a new regulatory action 

promulgating modifications to an 

existing regulation (such as modifying 

the existing size standards), a baseline 

assuming no change to the regulation 

(i.e., making no changes to current size 

standards) generally provides an 

appropriate benchmark for evaluating 

benefits, costs, or transfer impacts of 

regulatory changes and their 

alternatives. 

Changes to Size Standards 

Based on the results from the analyses 

of the latest industry and Federal 

contracting data, as well as 

consideration of the impact of size 

standards changes on small businesses 

and significant adverse impacts of the 

COVID–19 emergency on small firms 

and the overall economy, of the total of 

126 industries in Sectors 48–49, 51, 52, 

and 53 that have receipts-based size 

standards, SBA is adopting increases to 

size standards for 45 industries and 

maintaining current size standards for 

the remaining 81 industries. 

The Baseline 

For purposes of this regulatory action, 

the baseline represents maintaining the 

‘‘status quo,’’ i.e., making no changes to 

the current size standards. Using the 

number of small businesses and levels 

of small business benefits (such as setaside contracts, SBA’s loans, disaster 

assistance, etc.) they receive under the 

current size standards as a baseline, one 

can examine the potential benefits, 

costs, and transfer impacts of changes to 

size standards on small businesses and 

on the overall economy. 

Based on the 2012 Economic Census 

(the latest available when the proposed 

rule was prepared), of a total of about 

700,544 firms in industries in Sectors 

48–49, 51, 52 (except assets-based size 

standards), and 53 for which SBA 

evaluated their receipt-based size 

standards, 97.2% are considered small 

under the current size standards. That 

percentage varies from 95.8% in Sector 

51 to 97.9% in Sector 53. Based on the 

data from Federal Deposit Insurance 

Corporation (FDIC) and National Credit 

Union Administration (NCUA), from a 

total of about 5,415 depository 

institutions 77.3% are small and from a 

total of 5,492 credit unions, 91.2% are 

small under the current asset-based size 

standards. Based on the data from 

FPDS–NG for fiscal years 2018–2020, 

about 11,939 unique firms in those 

industries with receipt-based size 

standards, received at least one Federal 

contract during that period, of which 

73.5% were small under the current size 

standards. For these sectors, of $20.3 

billion in total average annual contract 

dollars awarded to businesses during 

that period, 21.4% went to small 

businesses. From the total small 

business contract dollars awarded 

during the period considered, 43.8% 

were awarded through various set-aside 

programs and 56.2% were awarded 

through non-set aside contracts. Based 

on the FDIC data, of a total of $18,034 

billion in assets, 4.6% are owned by 

small depository institutions. With 

respect to Credit Unions, from a total of 

$1,471 billion in assets, 25.7% are 

owned by small credit unions. 

Based on the SBA’s internal data on 

its loan programs for fiscal years 2018– 

2020, small businesses in those 

industries received, on an annual basis, 

a total of 6,570 7(a) and 504 loans in 

that period, totaling about $2.7 billion, 

of which 83% was issued through the 

7(a) program and 17% was issued 

through the CDC/504 program. During 

fiscal years 2018–2020, small businesses 

in those industries also received 749 

loans through the SBA’s Economic 

Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program, 

totaling about $19.2 million on an 

annual basis.2 Table 4, Baseline for All 

Industries, provides these baseline 

results by NAICS sector. 

Increases to Size Standards 

As stated above, of 126 receipts-based 

size standards in NAICS Sectors 48–49, 

51, 52, and 53 reviewed, based on the 

results from analyses of latest industry 


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18634 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 62 / Thursday, March 31, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 

and Federal market data, impacts of size 

standards changes on small businesses, 

and considerations of the impacts of the 

COVID–19 pandemic and public 

comments to the proposed rule, SBA is 

adopting increases to size standards for 

45 industries and maintaining size 

standards for 79 industries and two 

subindustries (exceptions). Below are 

descriptions of the benefits, costs, and 

transfer impacts of the increases to size 

standards adopted in this final rule. 

The results of regulatory impact 

analyses SBA provided in the October 

2020 proposed rule were based on the 

FPDS–NG and SBA loan data for fiscal 

years 2016–2018. In this final rule, SBA 

is updating the impact analysis results 

by using the FPDS–NG and SBA loan 

data for fiscal years 2018–2020. 

Accordingly, there can be some 

differences between the proposed rule 

and this final rule with respect to 

impacts of size standards changes on 

Federal contracts and SBA loans. 

TABLE 4—BASELINE FOR ALL INDUSTRIES

Sector 48–49 Sector 51 Sector 52 Sector 53 Total 

Baseline All Industries (current size standards) .............. 43 19 39 25 126 

Total firms (2012 Economic Census) .............................. 162,147 45,821 220,860 271,716 700,544 

Total small firms under current size standards (2012 

Economic Census) ....................................................... 156,173 43,915 214,790 265,977 680,855 

Small firms as % of total firms ......................................... 96.3% 95.8% 97.3% 97.9% 97.2% 

Total contract dollars ($ million) (FPDS–NG FY2018– 

2020) ............................................................................ $8,205 $8,103 $3,012 $986 $20,306 

Total small business contract dollars under current 

standards ($ million) (FPDS–NG FY2020–2018) ........ $1,492 $1,926 $410. $520 $4,348 

Small business dollars as % of total dollars (FPDS–NG 

FY2018–2020) .............................................................. 18.2% 23.8% 13.6% 52.7% 21.4% 

Total no. of unique firms getting contracts (FPDS–NG 

FY2018–2020) .............................................................. 3,378 5,119 500 3,351 11,939 

Total no. of unique small firms getting small business 

contracts (FPDS–NG FY2018–2020) ........................... 2,558 3555 258 2,591 8,777 

Small business firms as % of total firms ......................... 75.7% 69.4% 51.6% 77.3% 73.5% 

No. of 7(a) and 504/CDC loans (FY 2018–2020) ........... 3,406 402 1,165 1,597 6,570 

Amount of 7(a) and 504 loans ($ million) (FY 2018– 

2020) ............................................................................ $933 $190 $547 $1,079 $2,749 

No. of EIDL loans (FY 2018–2020) * ............................... 87 19 45 598 749 

Amount of EIDL loans ($ million) (FY 2018–2020) * ....... $3.9 $0.5 $1.6 $13.2 $19.2 

Total Number of Depository Institutions (FDIC, SDI) 

(2018) ........................................................................... ............................ ........................ 5,415 

Number of Small Depository Institutions (FDIC, SDI) 

(2018) ........................................................................... ............................ ........................ 4,188 ........................ ........................

Small firms as % of total Depository Institutions (2018) ............................ ........................ 77.3% ........................ ........................

Total Assets of Depository Institutions ($ million) (FDIC, 

SDI) (2018) ................................................................... ............................ ........................ $18,034,372 ........................ ........................

Total Assets of Small Depository Institutions ($ million) 

(FDIC, SDI) (2018) ....................................................... ............................ ........................ $837,836 ........................ ........................

SB Assets as % of Total Assets ...................................... ............................ ........................ 4.6% ........................ ........................

Total Number of Credit Unions (NCUA) (2018) .............. ............................ ........................ 5,492 ........................ ........................

Number of small Credit Unions (NCUA) (2018) .............. ............................ ........................ 5,010 ........................ ........................

Small firms as % of total Depository Institutions ............. ............................ ........................ 91.2% ........................ ........................

Total Assets of Credit Unions ($ million) (NCUA) (2018) ............................ ........................ $1,470,839 ........................ ........................

Total Assets of Small Credit Unions ($ million) (NCUA) 

(2018) ........................................................................... ............................ ........................ $377,619 ........................ ........................

SB Assets as % of Total Assets of Credit Unions .......... ............................ ........................ 25.7% ........................ ........................

* Excludes COVID–19 related EIDL loans due to their temporary nature. Effective January 1, 2022, SBA stopped accepting applications for 

new COVID EIDL loans or advances. 

Benefits of Increasing Size Standards 

The most significant benefit to 

businesses from increases to size 

standards is gaining eligibility for 

Federal small business assistance 

programs or retaining eligibility for a 

longer period. These include SBA’s 

business loan programs, Economic 

Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program, 

and Federal procurement programs 

intended for small businesses. Federal 

procurement programs provide targeted, 

set-aside opportunities for small 

businesses under SBA’s various 

business development and contracting 

programs. These include the 8(a)/ 

Business Development (BD) Program, 

the Small Disadvantaged Businesses 

(SDB) Program, the Historically 

Underutilized Business Zones 

(HUBZone) Program, the WomenOwned Small Businesses (WOSB) 

Program, the Economically 

Disadvantaged Women-Owned Small 

Businesses (EDWOSB) Program, and the 

Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small 

Businesses (SDVOSB) Program. 

Besides set-aside contracting and 

financial assistance discussed above, 

small businesses also benefit through 

reduced fees, less paperwork, and fewer 

compliance requirements that are 

available to small businesses through 

the Federal Government programs. 

However, SBA has no data to estimate 

the number of small businesses 

receiving such benefits. 

Based on the 2012 Economic Census 

(latest available), SBA estimates that in 

45 industries in NAICS Sectors 48–49, 

51, 52, and 53 for which it is increasing 

size standards, about 1,790 firms not 

small under the current size standards, 

will become small under the adopted 

size standards increases and therefore 

become eligible for these programs. That 

represents about 0.6% of all firms 

classified as small under the current 


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Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 62 / Thursday, March 31, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 18635 

size standards in industries for which 

SBA is adopting increases to size 

standards. When adopted, SBA’s size 

standards would result in an increase to 

the small business share of total receipts 

in those industries from 29.9% to 

32.7%. Table 5, Impacts of Increasing 

Size Standards, provides impacts of 

increasing 45 industries by NAICS 

sector. 

With more businesses qualifying as 

small under the adopted increases to 

size standards, Federal agencies will 

have a larger pool of small businesses 

from which to draw for their small 

business procurement programs. 

Growing small businesses that are close 

to exceeding the current size standards 

will be able to retain their small 

business status for a longer period under 

the higher size standards, thereby 

enabling them to continue to benefit 

from the small business programs. 

As shown in Table 5, based on the 

FPDS–NG data for fiscal years 2018– 

2020, SBA estimates that about 53 firms 

that are active in Federal contracting in 

those industries would gain small 

business status under the adopted size 

standards. Based on the same data, SBA 

estimates that those newly-qualified 

small businesses under the increases to 

45 size standards could receive Federal 

small business contracts totaling about 

$20 million annually. That represents a 

2.3% increase to small business dollars 

from the baseline. 

Based on the FDIC data for fiscal year 

2018, SBA estimates that about 200 

depository institutions would gain small 

institution status under the adopted 

increases to asset-based size standards 

with an additional $132 billion or 

15.8% increase in small depository 

institutions’ assets. Also, based on the 

NCUA data for fiscal year 2018, SBA 

estimates that about 85 credit unions 

would gain small business status under 

the adopted increases to size standards, 

with an additional $56 billion in assets 

or 14.9% increase for small credit 

unions (see Table 5). 

TABLE 5—IMPACTS OF INCREASING SIZE STANDARDS

Sector 48–49 Sector 51 Sector 52 Sector 53 Total 

No. of industries with increases to size standards .......... 18 8 10 9 45 

Total current small businesses in industries with increases to size standards (2012 Economic Census) .. 27,255 5,368 135,774 150,404 318,800 

Additional firms qualifying as small under standards 

(2012 Economic Census) ............................................. 184 13 623 970 1,790 

% of additional firms qualifying as small relative to current small businesses in industries with increases to 

size standards .............................................................. 0.7% 0.2% 0.5% 0.6% 0.6% 

No. of current unique small firms getting small business 

contracts in industries with increases to size standards (FPDS–NG FY2018–2020) 1 ................................ 419 267 93 1173 1,943 

Additional small business firms getting small business 

status (FPDS–NG FY2018–2020) 1 ............................. 23 4 5 22 53 

% increase to small businesses relative to current 

unique small firms getting small business contracts in 

industries with increases to size standards (FPDS– 

NG FY2018–2020) ....................................................... 5.5% 1.5% 5.4% 1.9% 2.7% 

Total small business contract dollars under current 

standards in industries with increases to size standards ($ million) (FPDS–NG FY2018–2020) ................. $331.4 $132.1 $178.3 $245.6 $887.3 

Estimated additional small business dollars available to 

newly-qualified small firms (using avg. dollars obligated to small businesses) ($ million) (FPDS–NG FY 

2018–2020) 2 ................................................................ $5.9 $2.1 $3.5 $8.7 $20.3 

% increase to small business dollars relative to total 

small business contract dollars under current standards in industries with increases to size standards ..... 1.8% 1.6% 2.0% 3.6% 2.3% 

Total no. of 7(a) and 504 loans to small business in industries with increases to size standards (FY 2018– 

2020) ............................................................................ 360 49 761 703 1,873 

Total 7(a) and 504 loan amounts to small businesses in 

industries with increases to size standards ($ million) 

(FY 2018–2020) ........................................................... $150.6 $21.7 $301.5 $249.8 $723.6 

Estimated no. of 7(a) and 504 loans to newly-qualified 

small firms .................................................................... 4 1 4 5 14 

Estimated 7(a) and 504 loan amounts to newly-qualified 

small firms ($ million) ................................................... $2.5 $0.4 $1.6 $1.8 $6.3 

% increase to 7(a) and 504 loan amount relative to the 

total amount of 7(a) and 504 loans in industries with 

increases to size standards ......................................... 0.3% 0.2% 0.3% 0.2% 0.2% 

Total no. of EIDL loans to small businesses in industries with increases to size standards (FY 2018– 

2020) 3 .......................................................................... 59 8 0 98 165 

Total amount of EIDL loans to small businesses in industries with increases to size standards ($ million) 

(FY 2018–2020) 3 ......................................................... $2.7 $0.2 $1.5 $4.3 $8.6 

Estimated no. of EIDL loans to newly-qualified small 

firms 3 ............................................................................ 2 1 1 1 5 

Estimated EIDL loan amount to newly-qualified small 

firms ($ million) 3 ........................................................... $0.05 $0.02 $0.04 $0.04 $0.2 


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18636 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 62 / Thursday, March 31, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 

TABLE 5—IMPACTS OF INCREASING SIZE STANDARDS—Continued 

Sector 48–49 Sector 51 Sector 52 Sector 53 Total 

% increase to EIDL loan amount relative to the total 

amount of disaster loans in industries with increases 

to size standards 3 ........................................................ 2.0% 12.5% 2.4% 1.0% 1.8% 

Total current small businesses in industries with increases to size standards (FDIC) (2018) ..................... ............................ ........................ 4,188 ........................ ........................

Additional firms qualifying as small under adopted 

standards (FDIC) .......................................................... ............................ ........................ 198 ........................ ........................

% Increase small institutions with increases to size 

standards ...................................................................... ............................ ........................ 4.7% ........................ ........................

Total Assets of Small Depository Institutions ($ million) 

(FDIC, SDI) (2018) ....................................................... ............................ ........................ $837,836 ........................ ........................

Estimated increase in total assets of Small Depository 

Institutions ($ million) ................................................... ............................ ........................ $132,440 ........................ ........................

% increase in total assets of small depository institutions .............................................................................. ............................ ........................ 15.8% ........................ ........................

Number of small Credit Unions (NCUA) (2018) .............. ............................ ........................ 5,010 ........................ ........................

Additional small Credit Unions (NCUA) ........................... ............................ ........................ 84 ........................ ........................

% Increase small institutions with increases to size 

standards ...................................................................... ............................ ........................ 1.7% ........................ ........................

Total Assets of Small Credit Unions ($ million) (NCUA) 

(2018) ........................................................................... ............................ ........................ $377,619 ........................ ........................

Estimated increase in total assets of Small Credit 

Unions ($ million) ......................................................... ............................ ........................ $56,327 ........................ ........................

% increase in total assets of small Credit Unions ........... ............................ ........................ 14.9% ........................ ........................

1Total impact represents total unique number of firms impacted to avoid double counting as some firms are participating in more than one industry. 2Additional dollars are calculated multiplying average small business dollars obligated per DUNS times change in number of firms. Numbers of 

firms are calculated using the SBA current size standard, not the contracting officer’s size designation. 3Excludes COVID–19 related EIDL loans due to their temporary nature. Effective January 1, 2022, SBA stopped accepting applications for 

new COVID EIDL loans or advances. 

The added competition from more 

businesses qualifying as small can result 

in lower prices to the Federal 

Government for procurements set aside 

or reserved for small businesses, but 

SBA cannot quantify this impact. Costs 

could be higher when full and open 

contracts are awarded to HUBZone 

businesses that receive price evaluation 

preferences. However, with agencies 

likely setting aside more contracts for 

small businesses in response to the 

availability of a larger pool of small 

businesses under the adopted increases 

to size standards, HUBZone firms might 

receive more set-aside contracts and 

fewer full and open contracts, thereby 

resulting in some cost savings to 

agencies. SBA cannot estimate such 

costs savings as it is impossible to 

determine the number and value of 

unrestricted contracts to be otherwise 

awarded to HUBZone firms will be 

awarded as set-asides. However, such 

cost savings are likely to be relatively 

small as only a small fraction of full and 

open contracts are awarded to HUBZone 

businesses. 

Under SBA’s 7(a) and 504 loan 

programs, based on the data for fiscal 

years 2018–2020, SBA estimates up to 

about 14 SBA 7(a) and 504 loans 

totaling about $6.3 million could be 

made to these newly-qualified small 

businesses in those industries under the 

adopted size standards. That represents 

a 0.2% increase to the loan amount 

compared to the group baseline (see 

Table 5). 

Newly-qualified small businesses will 

also benefit from the SBA’s EIDL 

program. Because the benefits provided 

through this program are contingent on 

the occurrence and severity of a disaster 

in the future, SBA cannot make a 

meaningful estimate of this impact. 

However, based on the historical trends 

of the disaster loan program data, SBA 

estimates that, on an annual basis, the 

newly-defined small businesses under 

the increases to 45 size standards could 

receive 5 disaster loans (except physical 

disaster loans), totaling about $0.2 

million. Additionally, the newlydefined small businesses would also 

benefit through reduced fees, less 

paperwork, and fewer compliance 

requirements that are available to small 

businesses through the Federal 

Government, but SBA has no data to 

quantify this impact. 

Costs Increasing Size Standards 

Aside from taking time to register in 

sam.gov to be eligible to participate in 

Federal contracting, and update the 

System for Award Management (SAM) 

profile annually, small businesses incur 

no direct costs to gain or retain their 

small business status as a result of 

increases to size standards. All 

businesses willing to do business with 

the Federal Government must register in 

SAM and update their SAM profiles 

annually, regardless of their size status. 

SBA believes that a vast majority of 

businesses that are willing to participate 

in Federal contracting are already 

registered in SAM and update their 

SAM profiles annually. This final rule 

does not establish the new size 

standards for the very first time; rather 

it intends to modify the existing size 

standards in accordance with a statutory 

requirement, the latest data, and other 

relevant factors. 

To the extent that the newly-qualified 

small businesses could become active in 

Federal procurement, the adopted 

increases to size standards, if adopted, 

may entail some additional 

administrative costs to the Government 

as a result of more businesses qualifying 

as small for Federal small business 

programs. For example, there will be 

more firms seeking SBA’s loans, more 

firms eligible for enrollment in the 

Dynamic Small Business Search (DSBS) 

database or in certify.sba.gov, more 

firms seeking certification as 8(a)/BD or 

HUBZone firms or qualifying for small 

business, SDB, WOSB, EDWOSB, and 

SDVOSB status, and more firms 

applying for SBA’s 8(a)/BD mentorprote ́ge ́ program. With an expanded 

pool of small businesses, it is likely that 


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Federal agencies would set-aside more 

contracts for small businesses under the 

adopted increases to size standards. One 

may surmise that this might result in a 

higher number of small business size 

protests and additional processing costs 

to agencies. However, the SBA’s 

historical data on the number of size 

protests processed shows that the 

number of size protests decreased 

following the increases to receipts-based 

size standards as part of the first fiveyear review of size standards. 

Specifically, on an annual basis, the 

number of size protests fell from about 

600 during fiscal years 2011–2013 

(review of most receipts-based size 

standards was completed by the end of 

fiscal year 2013), as compared to about 

500 during fiscal years 2018–2020 when 

size standard increases were in effect. 

That represents a 17% decline. 

Among those newly-defined small 

businesses seeking SBA’s loans, there 

could be some additional costs 

associated with verification of their 

small business status. However, small 

business lenders have an option of using 

the tangible net worth and net incomebased alternative size standard instead 

of using the industry-based size 

standards to establish eligibility for 

SBA’s loans. For these reasons, SBA 

believes that these added administrative 

costs will be minor because necessary 

mechanisms are already in place to 

handle these added requirements. 

Additionally, some Federal contracts 

may possibly have higher costs. With a 

greater number of businesses defined as 

small due to the adopted increases to 

size standards, Federal agencies may 

choose to set aside more contracts for 

competition among small businesses 

only instead of using a full and open 

competition. The movement of contracts 

from unrestricted competition to small 

business set-aside contracts might result 

in competition among fewer total 

bidders, although there will be more 

small businesses eligible to submit 

offers under the adopted size standards. 

However, the additional costs associated 

with fewer bidders are expected to be 

minor because, by law, procurements 

may be set aside for small businesses 

under the 8(a)/BD, SDB, HUBZone, 

WOSB, EDWOSB, or SDVOSB programs 

only if awards are expected to be made 

at fair and reasonable prices. 

Costs may also be higher when full 

and open contracts are awarded to 

HUBZone businesses that receive price 

evaluation preferences. However, with 

agencies likely setting aside more 

contracts for small businesses in 

response to the availability of a larger 

pool of small businesses under the 

adopted increases to size standards, 

HUBZone firms might receive fewer full 

and open contracts, thereby resulting in 

some cost savings to agencies. However, 

such cost savings are likely to be 

minimal as only a small fraction of 

unrestricted contracts are awarded to 

HUBZone businesses. 

Transfer Impacts of Increasing Size 

Standards 

The increases to 45 size standards that 

are adopted in this final rule may result 

in some redistribution of Federal 

contracts between the newly-qualified 

small businesses and large businesses 

and between the newly-qualified small 

businesses and small businesses under 

the current standards. However, it 

would have no impact on the overall 

economic activity because total Federal 

contract dollars available for businesses 

to compete for will not change with 

changes to size standards. Although 

SBA cannot quantify with certainty the 

actual outcome of the gains and losses 

from the redistribution contracts among 

different groups of businesses, it can 

identify several probable impacts in 

qualitative terms. With the availability 

of a larger pool of small businesses 

under the adopted increases to size 

standards, some unrestricted Federal 

contracts that would otherwise be 

awarded to large businesses may be setaside for small businesses. As a result, 

large businesses may lose some Federal 

contracting opportunities. Similarly, 

some small businesses under the current 

size standards may obtain fewer setaside contracts due to the increased 

competition from larger businesses 

qualifying as small under the adopted 

increases to size standards. This impact 

may be offset by a greater number of 

procurements being set-aside for all 

small businesses. With larger businesses 

qualifying as small under the higher size 

standards, smaller small businesses 

could face some disadvantage in 

competing for set-aside contracts against 

their larger counterparts. However, SBA 

cannot quantify these impacts. 

3. What alternatives have been 

considered? 

Under OMB Circular A–4, SBA is 

required to consider regulatory 

alternatives to the adopted changes in 

this final rule. In this section, SBA 

describes and analyzes two such 

alternatives. Alternative Option One to 

the final rule, a more stringent 

alternative to the adopted change, 

would propose adopting size standards 

based solely on the analytical results. In 

other words, the size standards of 45 

industries for which the analytical 

results, as presented in Table 4 of the 

October 2020 proposed rule, suggest 

raising them would be raised. However, 

the size standards of 69 industries for 

which the analytical results suggest 

lowering them would be lowered. For 

the 12 remaining industries, size 

standards would be maintained at their 

current levels based on the results. 

Alternative Option Two would propose 

retaining size standards for all 

industries, given the uncertainty 

generated by the ongoing COVID–19 

pandemic. Below, SBA discusses 

benefits, costs, and the net impacts of 

each option. 

Alternative Option One: Adopting All 

Calculated Size Standards 

As discussed previously in the 

Alternatives Considered section of this 

final rule, Alternative Option One 

would cause a substantial number of 

currently small businesses to lose their 

small business status and hence to lose 

their access to Federal small business 

assistance, especially small business setaside contracts and SBA’s financial 

assistance in some cases. These 

consequences could be mitigated. For 

example, in response to the 2008 

Financial Crisis and economic 

conditions that followed, SBA adopted 

a general policy in the first five-year 

comprehensive size standards review to 

not lower any size standard (except to 

exclude one or more dominant firms) 

even when the analytical results 

suggested the size standard should be 

lowered. Currently, because of the 

economic challenges presented by the 

COVID–19 pandemic and the measures 

taken to protect public health, SBA has 

decided to adopt the same general 

policy of not lowering size standards in 

the ongoing second five-year 

comprehensive size standards review as 

well. 

The primary benefits of adopting 

Alternative Option One would include: 

(1) SBA’s procurement, management, 

technical and financial assistance 

resources would be targeted to the most 

appropriate beneficiaries of such 

programs according to the analytical 

results; (2) Adopting the size standards 

based on the analytical results would 

also promote consistency and 

predictability in SBA’s implementation 

of its authority to set or adjust size 

standards; and (3) Firms who would 

remain small would face less 

competition from larger small firms for 

the remaining set-aside opportunities. 

Specifically, SBA sought public 

comment on the impact of adopting the 

size standards based on the analytical 

results. 

As explained in the ‘‘Size Standards 

Methodology’’ white paper, in addition 

to adopting all results of the primary 


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analysis, SBA evaluates other relevant 

factors as needed such as the impact of 

the reductions or increases of size 

standards on the distribution of 

contracts awarded to small businesses, 

and may adopt different results with the 

intention of mitigating potential 

negative impacts. 

We have discussed already the 

benefits, costs, and transfer impacts of 

increasing 45 size standards. Below we 

discuss the benefits, costs, and transfer 

impacts of decreasing 69 size standards 

based on the analytical results. 

Benefits of Decreasing Size Standards 

Under Alternative Option One 

The most significant benefit to 

businesses from decreases to size 

standards when SBA’s analysis suggests 

such decreases is to ensure that size 

standards are more reflective of latest 

industry structure and Federal market 

trends and that Federal small business 

assistance is more effectively targeted to 

its intended beneficiaries. These include 

SBA’s business loan programs, EIDL 

program, and Federal procurement 

programs intended for small businesses. 

Federal procurement programs provide 

targeted, set-aside opportunities for 

small businesses under SBA’s business 

development programs, such as small 

business, SDB, 8(a)/BD, HUBZone, 

WOSB, EDWOSB, and SDVOSB 

programs. The adoption of calculated 

size standards diminishes the risk of 

awarding contracts to firms that are not 

small anymore. 

Decreasing size standards may reduce 

the administrative costs of the 

Government, because the risk of 

awarding set-aside contracts to other 

than small businesses may diminish 

when the size standards reflect better 

the structure of the market. This may 

also diminish the risks of providing 

SBA’s loans to firms that do not need 

them the most. This may provide a 

better chance for smaller small firms to 

grow and benefit from the opportunities 

available on the Federal marketplace, 

and strengthen the small business 

industrial base for the Federal 

Government. 

Costs of Decreasing Size Standards 

Under Alternative Option One 

Table 6, Impacts of Decreasing Size 

Standards Under Alternative Option 

One, below, shows the various impacts 

of lowering size standards in 69 

industries based solely on the analytical 

results. Based on the 2012 Economic 

Census, about 5,500 (0.9%) firms would 

lose their small business status under 

Alternative Option One. Similarly, 

based on the FPDS–NG data for fiscal 

years 2018–2020, nearly 500 (5.0%) 

small businesses participating in 

Federal contracting would lose their 

small status and become ineligible to 

compete for set-aside contracts. With 

fewer businesses qualifying as small 

under the decreases to size standards, 

Federal agencies will have a smaller 

pool of small businesses from which to 

draw for their small business 

procurement programs. For example, 

during fiscal years 2018–2020, agencies 

awarded, on an annual basis, about 

$3,338 million in small business 

contracts in those 69 industries for 

which SBA considered decreasing size 

standards under Alternative Option 

One. Lowering size standards in 69 

industries would reduce Federal 

contract dollars awarded to small 

businesses by $87 million or about 2.6% 

relative to the baseline level. 

TABLE 6—IMPACTS OF DECREASING SIZE STANDARDS UNDER ALTERNATIVE OPTION ONE

Sector 48–49 Sector 51 Sector 52 Sector 53 Total 

No. of industries for which SBA considered decreasing 

size standards (2012 Economic Census) .................... 23 9 24 13 69 

Total current small businesses in industries for which 

SBA considered decreasing size standards (2012 

Economic Census) ....................................................... 133,032 39,030 76,036 114,495 510,777 

Estimated no. of firms losing small status for which SBA 

considered decreasing size standards (2012 Economic Census) ............................................................. 1,086 72 246 234 1,738 

% of Firms losing small status relative to current small 

businesses in industries for which SBA considered 

decreasing size standards ........................................... 0.50% 0.19% 0.34% 0.21% 0.92% 

No. of current unique small firms getting small business 

contracts in industries for which SBA considered decreasing size standards (FPDS–NG FY2018–2020) 1 2,188 3,200 131 1,339 6,744 

Estimated number of small business firms that would 

have lost small business status for Federal contracting in the decreases that SBA considered 1 ......... 110 17 5 28 155 

% decrease to small business firms relative to current 

unique small firms getting small business contracts in 

industries for which SBA considered decreasing size 

standards (FPDS–NG FY2018–2020) ......................... 5.0% 0.5% 0.0% 2.1% 2.3% 

Total small business contract dollars under current size 

standards in industries for which SBA considered decreasing size standards ($ million) (FPDS–NG 

FY2018–2020) .............................................................. $1,157 $1,776 $145 $260 $3,338 

Estimated small business dollars not available to firms 

that would have lost business status (Using avg dollars obligated to SBs) ($ million) 2 (FPDS–NG FY 

2018–2020) .................................................................. $64.7 $11.2 $4.0 $6.8 $86.6 

% decrease to small business dollars relative to total 

small business contract dollars under current size 

standards in industries for which SBA considered decreasing to size standards ........................................... 5.6% 0.6% 0.0% 2.6% 2.6% 

Total no. of 7(a) and 504 loans to small businesses in 

industries for which SBA considered decreasing size 

standards (FY 2018–2020) .......................................... 3,046 346 372 846 4,610 


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TABLE 6—IMPACTS OF DECREASING SIZE STANDARDS UNDER ALTERNATIVE OPTION ONE—Continued 

Sector 48–49 Sector 51 Sector 52 Sector 53 Total 

Total amount of 7(a) and 504 loans to small businesses 

in industries for which SBA considered decreasing 

size standards ($ million) (FY 2018–2020) .................. $782 $165 $232 $807 $1,986 

Estimated no. of 7(a) and 504 loans not available to 

firms that would have lost small business status ........ 5 1 1 1 8 

Estimated 7(a) and 504 loan amounts not available to 

firms that would have small status ($ million) .............. $1.6 $0.5 $0.6 $1.0 $3.6 

% decrease to 7(a)and 504 loan amounts relative to the 

total amount of 7(a) and 504 loans in industries for 

which SBA considered decreasing size standards ...... 0.2% 0.3% 0.1% 0.1% 0.3% 

Total no. of EIDL loans to small businesses in industries for which SBA considered decreasing size 

standards (FY 2018–2020) 3 ........................................ 110 19 22 868 1,019 

Total amount of EIDL loans to small businesses in industries for which SBA considered decreasing size 

standards ($ million) (FY 2018–2020) 3 ....................... $4.6 $1.0 $0.8 $11.6 $18.0 

Estimated no. of EIDL loans not available to firms that 

would have lost small business status 3 ...................... 2 1 1 1 5 

Estimated EIDL loan amount not available to firms that 

would have lost small business status ($ million) 3 ..... $0.08 $0.05 $0.04 $0.01 $0.18 

% decrease to EIDL loan amount relative to the baseline 3 .............................................................................. 2.0% 10.7% 2.4% 0.1% 1.4% 

1Total impact represents total unique number of firms impacted to avoid double counting as some firms are participating in more than one industry. 2Additional dollars are calculated multiplying average small business dollars obligated per DUNS times change in number of firms. Numbers of 

firms are calculated using the SBA current size standard, not the contracting officer’s size designation. 3Excludes COVID–19 related EIDL loans due to their temporary nature. Effective January 1, 2022, SBA stopped accepting applications for 

new COVID EIDL loans or advances. 

Because of the importance of these 

sectors for the Federal procurement, 

SBA may adopt mitigating measures to 

reduce the negative impact under the 

assumptions of Alternative Option One. 

SBA could adopt one or more of the 

following three actions: (1) Accept 

decreases in size standards as suggested 

by the analytical results, (2) Decrease 

size standards by a smaller amount than 

the calculated threshold, and (3) Retain 

the size standards at their current levels. 

Nevertheless, because Federal 

agencies are still required to meet the 

statutory small business contracting goal 

of 23%, actual impacts on the overall 

set-aside activity is likely to be smaller 

as agencies are likely to award more setaside contracts to small businesses that 

continue to remain small under the 

reduced size standards. 

With fewer businesses qualifying as 

small, the decreased competition can 

also result in higher prices to the 

Government for procurements set-aside 

or reserved for small businesses, but 

SBA cannot quantify this impact. 

Lowering size standards may cause 

current small business contract or 

option holders to lose their small 

business status, thereby making those 

dollars unavailable to count toward the 

agencies’ small business procurement 

goals. Additionally, impacted small 

businesses will be unable to compete for 

upcoming options as small businesses. 

As shown in Table 6, decreasing size 

standards would have a very minor 

impact on small businesses applying for 

SBA’s 7(a) and 504 loans because a vast 

majority of such loans are issued to 

businesses that are far below the 

reduced size standards. For example, 

based on the loan data for fiscal years 

2018–2020, SBA estimates that about 8 

of SBA’s 7(a) and 504 loans with total 

amounts of $3.6 million could not be 

made to those small businesses that 

would lose eligibility under the reduced 

size standards. That represents about 

0.3% decrease of the loan amounts 

compared to the baseline. However, the 

actual impact could be much less as 

businesses losing small business 

eligibility under the decreases to 

industry-based size standards could still 

qualify for SBA’s loans under the 

tangible net worth and net incomebased alternative size standard. 

Businesses losing small business 

status would also be impacted by way 

of access to loans through SBA’s EIDL 

loan program. However, SBA expects 

such impact to be minimal as only a 

small number of businesses in those 

industries received such loans during 

fiscal years 2018–2020. For example, 

based on the disaster loan data for fiscal 

years 2018–2020, SBA estimates that, 

under Alternative Option One, about 5 

EIDL loans with total amounts of $0.2 

million could not be made to those 

small businesses that would lose 

eligibility under the reduced size 

standards (before mitigation). That 

represents about 1.4% decrease of the 

loan amounts compared to the baseline. 

Because this program is contingent on 

the occurrence and severity of a disaster 

in the future, SBA cannot make a more 

meaningful estimate of this impact. 

Small businesses becoming other than 

small if size standards were decreased 

might lose benefits through reduced 

fees, less paperwork, and fewer 

compliance requirements that are 

available to small businesses through 

the Federal Government programs, but 

SBA has no data to quantify this impact. 

However, if agencies determine that 

SBA’s size standards do not adequately 

serve such purposes, they can establish 

a different size standard with an 

approval from SBA if they are required 

to use SBA’s size standards for their 

programs. 

Transfer Impacts of Decreasing Size 

Standards Under Alternative Option 

One 

If the size standards were decreased 

under Alternative Option One, it may 

result in a redistribution of Federal 

contracts between small businesses 

losing their small business status and 

large businesses and between small 

businesses losing their small business 

status and small businesses remaining 

small under the reduced size standards. 

However, as under the adopted 


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increases to size standards, it would 

have no impact on the overall economic 

activity because the total Federal 

contract dollars available for businesses 

to compete for will stay the same. 

Although SBA cannot estimate with 

certainty the actual outcome of the gains 

and losses among different groups of 

businesses from contract redistribution 

resulting from decreases to size 

standards, it can identify several 

probable impacts. With a smaller pool of 

small businesses under the decreases to 

size standards, some set-aside Federal 

contracts to be otherwise awarded to 

small businesses may be competed on 

an unrestricted basis. As a result, large 

businesses may have more Federal 

contracting opportunities. However, 

because agencies are still required by 

law to award 23% of Federal dollars to 

small businesses, SBA expects the 

movement of set-aside contracts to 

unrestricted competition to be limited. 

For the same reason, small businesses 

under the reduced size standards are 

likely to obtain more set-aside contracts 

due to the reduced competition from 

fewer businesses qualifying as small 

under the decreases to size standards. 

With some larger small businesses 

losing small business status under the 

decreases to size standards, smaller 

small businesses would likely become 

more competitive in obtaining set-aside 

contracts. However, SBA cannot 

quantify these impacts. 

Net Impact of Alternative Option One 

To estimate the net impacts of 

Alternative Option One, SBA followed 

the same methodology used to evaluate 

the impacts of the increasing size 

standards (see Table 5). However, under 

Alternative Option One, SBA used the 

calculated size standards instead of the 

adopted ones to determine the impacts 

of changes to current thresholds. The 

impact of the increases of size standards 

were already shown in Table 5. Table 6 

and Table 7, Net Impacts of Size 

Standards Changes under Alternative 

Option One, below, present the impact 

of the decreases of size standards and 

the net impact of adopting the 

calculated results under Alternative 

Option One, respectively. 

Based on the 2012 Economic Census, 

SBA estimates that in 114 industries in 

NAICS Sectors 48–49, 51, 52 and 53 for 

which the analytical results suggested to 

change size standards, about 50 firms 

(see Table 7), would become small 

under Alternative Option One. That 

represents about 0.01% of all firms 

classified as small under the current 

size standards in those industries. That 

is about 1,740 fewer firms qualifying as 

small under Alternative Option One, 

which represents a 97.0% reduction 

from about 1,790 firms that would 

qualify as small (see Table 5) under the 

proposal being adopted in this final rule 

(i.e., increasing 45 and retaining 81 size 

standards). 

TABLE 7—NET IMPACTS OF SIZE STANDARDS CHANGES UNDER ALTERNATIVE OPTION ONE

Sector 48–49 Sector 51 Sector 52 Sector 53 Total 

No. of industries with changes to size standards ............ 41 17 34 22 114 

Total no. of small business under the current size 

standards (2012 Economic Census) ............................ 156,173 42,803.4 208,456 265,559 669,991 

Additional firms qualifying as small under size standards 

(2012 Economic Census) ............................................. ¥1,002 ¥60 377 736 52 

% of additional firms qualifying as small relative to total 

current small businesses .............................................. ¥0.6% ¥0.1% 0.2% 0.3% 0.01% 

No. of current unique small firms getting small business 

contracts (FPDS–NG FY2018–2020) 1 ........................ 2,538 3428 218 2,481 8,504 

Additional small firms getting small business status 

(FPDS–NG FY2018–2020) 1 ........................................ ¥88 ¥14 0 ¥7 ¥109 

% increase to small firms relative to current unique 

small firms getting small business contracts (FPDS– 

NG FY2018–2020) ....................................................... ¥3.5% ¥0.4% 0.0% ¥0.3% ¥1.3% 

Total small business contract dollars under current size 

standards ($ million) (FPDS–NG FY2018–2020) ........ $1,488 $1,908 $324 $505 $4,225 

Estimated small business dollars available to newlyqualified small firms ($ million) (FPDS–NG FY 2018– 

2020) 2 .......................................................................... ¥$59 ¥$9 ¥$0.5 ¥$2 ¥$66 

% increase to dollars relative to total small business 

contract dollars under current size standards .............. ¥3.9% ¥0.5% ¥0.1% 0.4% ¥1.6% 

Total no. of 7(a) and 504 loans to small businesses (FY 

2018–2020) .................................................................. 3,406 402 1,165 1,597 6,570 

Total amount of 7(a) and 504 loans to small businesses 

(FY 2018–2020) ........................................................... $933 $190 $547 $1,079 $2,749 

Estimated no. of additional 7(a) and 504 loans to newlyqualified small firms ...................................................... ¥1 0 3 4 6 

Estimated additional 7(a) and 504 loan amount to 

newly-qualified small firms ($ million) .......................... $0.9 $0.0 $1.0 $0.8 $2.6 

% increase to 7(a)and 504 loan amount relative to the 

total amount of 7(a) and 504 loans to small businesses .......................................................................... 0.1% 0.0% 0.18% 0.08% 0.08% 

Total no. of EIDL loans to small businesses (FY 2018– 

2020) 3 .......................................................................... 87 19 45 598 749 

Total amount of EIDL loans to small businesses (FY 

2018–2020) 3 ................................................................ $3.9 $0.5 $1.6 $13.2 $19.2 

Estimated no. of additional EIDL loans to 

newly¥qualified small firms 3 ....................................... 0 0 0 0 0 

Estimated additional EIDL loan amount to newly-qualified small firms ($ million) 3 .......................................... ¥$0.02 ¥$0.03 $0.01 $0.03 ¥$0.03 

% increase to EIDL loan amount relative to the total 

amount of EIDL loans to small businesses 3 ............... ¥0.6% ¥5.9% ¥0.1% 0.2% ¥0.1% 


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TABLE 7—NET IMPACTS OF SIZE STANDARDS CHANGES UNDER ALTERNATIVE OPTION ONE—Continued 

Sector 48–49 Sector 51 Sector 52 Sector 53 Total 

Total current small businesses in industries with proposed increases to size standards (FDIC) (2018) ....... ............................ ........................ 4,188 ........................ ........................

Additional firms qualifying as small under adopted 

standards (FDIC) .......................................................... ............................ ........................ 198 ........................ ........................

% increase small institutions with increases to size 

standards ...................................................................... ............................ ........................ 4.7% ........................ ........................

Total Assets of Small Depository Institutions (FDIC, 

SDI) (2018) ................................................................... ............................ ........................ $837,836 ........................ ........................

Estimated increase in total assets of Small Depository 

Institutions .................................................................... ............................ ........................ $132,440 ........................ ........................

% increase in total assets of small depository institutions .............................................................................. ............................ ........................ 15.8% ........................ ........................

Number of small Credit Unions (NCUA) (2018) .............. ............................ ........................ 5,010 ........................ ........................

Additional small Credit Unions (NCUA) ........................... ............................ ........................ 84 ........................ ........................

% increase small institutions with increases to size 

standards ...................................................................... ............................ ........................ 1.7% ........................ ........................

Total Assets of Small Credit Unions (NCUA) (2018) ...... ............................ ........................ $377,619 ........................ ........................

Estimated increase in total assets of Small Credit 

Unions .......................................................................... ............................ ........................ $56,327 ........................ ........................

% increase in total assets of small Credit Unions ........... ............................ ........................ 14.9% ........................ ........................

1Total impact represents total unique number of firms impacted to avoid double counting as some firms are participating in more than one industry. 2Additional dollars are calculated multiplying average small business dollars obligated per DUNS times change in number of firms. Numbers of 

firms are calculated using the SBA current size standard, not the contracting officer’s size designation. 3Excludes COVID–19 related EIDL loans due to their temporary nature. Effective January 1, 2022, SBA stopped accepting applications for 

new COVID EIDL loans or advances. 

As shown in Table 7, based on the 

FPDS–NG data for fiscal years 2018– 

2020, SBA estimates that, in aggregate, 

about 109 active firms in Federal 

contracting in those industries would 

lose small business status under 

Alternative Option One, most of them 

from Sector 48–49. This represents a 

decrease of about 1.3% of the total 

number of small businesses 

participating in Federal contracting 

under the current size standards. Based 

on the same data, SBA estimates that 

about $660 million of Federal 

procurement dollars would not be 

available to firms losing their small 

status. That is a decrease of 1.6% from 

the baseline. A large portion of these 

losses is accounted for by Sector 48–49. 

Based on the SBA’s loan data for 

fiscal years 2018–2020, the total number 

of 7(a) and 504 loans will increase by 

six loans, while the total loan amount 

will increase by about $2.6 million. This 

is a 0.08% rise of the loan amounts 

relative to the baseline. Firms’ 

participation under the SBA’s EIDL loan 

program will be affected as well. 

Because the benefit provided through 

this program is contingent on the 

occurrence and severity of a disaster in 

the future, SBA cannot make a 

meaningful estimate of this impact. 

However, based on the historical trends 

of the EIDL loan program data, SBA 

estimates that there will be no change to 

the total number of EIDL loans, while 

the total loan amount will be reduced by 

about $.03 million. This represents a 

0.1% decrease of the loan amounts 

relative to the baseline. Table 7 provides 

these results by NAICS sector. 

Alternative Option Two: Retaining All 

Current Size Standards 

Under this option, given the current 

COVID–19 pandemic, as discussed 

elsewhere, SBA considered retaining the 

current levels of all size standards even 

though the analytical results suggested 

changing them. Under this option, as 

the current situation develops, SBA will 

be able to assess new data available on 

economic indicators, federal 

procurement, and SBA loans as well. 

When compared to the baseline, there is 

a net impact of zero (i.e., zero benefit 

and zero cost) for retaining all size 

standards. However, this option would 

cause otherwise qualified small 

businesses to forgo various small 

business benefits (e.g., access to setaside contracts and capital) that become 

available to them under the option of 

increasing 45 and retaining 81 size 

standards adopted in this final rule. 

Moreover, retaining all size standards 

under this option would also be 

contrary to the SBA’s statutory mandate 

to review and adjust, every five years, 

all size standards to reflect current 

industry and Federal market conditions. 

Retaining all size standards without 

required periodic adjustments would 

increasingly exclude otherwise eligible 

small firms from small business 

benefits. 

Congressional Review Act 

Subtitle E of the Small Business 

Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 

1996 (codified at 5 U.S.C. 801–808), also 

known as the Congressional Review Act 

or CRA, generally provides that before a 

rule may take effect, the agency 

promulgating the rule must submit a 

rule report, which includes a copy of 

the rule, to each House of the Congress 

and to the Comptroller General of the 

United States. SBA will submit a report 

containing this rule and other required 

information to the U.S. Senate, the U.S. 

House of Representatives, and the 

Comptroller General of the United 

States. A major rule under the CRA 

cannot take effect until 60 days after it 

is published in the Federal Register. 

OMB’s Office of Information and 

Regulatory Affairs has determined that 

this rule is not a ‘‘major rule’’ as defined 

by 5 U.S.C. 804(2). 

Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis 

According to the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act (RFA), 5 U.S.C. 601–612, 

when an agency issues a rulemaking, it 

must prepare a regulatory flexibility 

analysis to address the impact of the 

rule on small entities. This final rule 

may have a significant impact on a 

substantial number of small businesses 

in the industries covered by this final 

rule. As described above, this final rule 

may affect small businesses seeking 

Federal contracts, loans under SBA’s 

7(a), 504 and disaster loan programs, 


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and assistance under other Federal 

small business programs. 

Immediately below, SBA sets forth a 

final regulatory flexibility analysis 

(FRFA) of this final rule addressing the 

following questions: (1) What is the 

need for and objective of the rule? (2) 

What is SBA’s description and estimate 

of the number of small businesses to 

which the rule will apply? (3) What are 

the projected reporting, record keeping, 

and other compliance requirements of 

the rule? (4) What are the relevant 

Federal rules that may duplicate, 

overlap, or conflict with the rule? (5) 

What alternatives will allow SBA to 

accomplish its regulatory objectives 

while minimizing the impact on small 

businesses? 

1. What is the need for and objective of 

the rule? 

Changes in industry structure, 

technological changes, productivity 

growth, mergers and acquisitions, and 

updated industry definitions have 

changed the structure of many the 

industries covered by this final rule. 

Such changes can be enough to support 

revisions to current size standards for 

some industries. Based on the analysis 

of the latest data available, SBA believes 

that the size standards adopted in this 

final rule more appropriately reflect the 

size of businesses that need Federal 

assistance. The 2010 Jobs Act also 

requires SBA to review all size 

standards and make necessary 

adjustments to reflect market 

conditions. 

2. What is SBA’s description and 

estimate of the number of small 

businesses to which the rule will apply? 

Based on data from the 2012 

Economic Census, SBA estimates that 

there are about 319,000 small firms 

covered by this rulemaking under 

industries with changes to size 

standards. Under this final rule, SBA 

estimates that an additional 1,790 

businesses will be defined as small. 

3. What are the projected reporting, 

record keeping and other compliance 

requirements of the rule? 

The size standard changes in this final 

rule impose no additional reporting or 

record keeping requirements on small 

businesses. However, qualifying for 

Federal procurement and a number of 

other programs requires that businesses 

register in SAM and self-certify that 

they are small at least once annually 

(FAR 52.204–13). For existing contracts, 

small business contractors are required 

to update their SAM registration as 

necessary, to ensure that they reflect the 

Contractor’s current status (FAR 52.219– 

28). Businesses are also required to 

verify that their SAM registration is 

current, accurate, and complete with the 

submission of an offer for every new 

contract (FAR 52.204–7 and 52.204–8).). 

Therefore, businesses opting to 

participate in those programs must 

comply with SAM requirements. 

Changes in small business size 

standards do not result in additional 

costs associated with SAM registration 

or certification. Changing size standards 

alters the access to SBA’s programs that 

assist small businesses but does not 

impose a regulatory burden because 

they neither regulate nor control 

business behavior. 

4. What are the relevant Federal Rules 

that may duplicate, overlap, or conflict 

with the rule? 

Under section 3(a)(2)(C) of the Small 

Business Act, 15 U.S.C. 632(a)(2)(c), 

Federal agencies must use SBA’s size 

standards to define a small business, 

unless specifically authorized by statute 

to do otherwise. In 1995, SBA published 

in the Federal Register a list of statutory 

and regulatory size standards that 

identified the application of SBA’s size 

standards as well as other size standards 

used by Federal agencies (60 FR 57988 

(November 24, 1995)). SBA is not aware 

of any Federal rule that would duplicate 

or conflict with establishing size 

standards. 

However, the Small Business Act and 

SBA’s regulations allow Federal 

agencies to develop different size 

standards if they believe that SBA’s size 

standards are not appropriate for their 

programs, with the approval of SBA’s 

Administrator (13 CFR 121.903). The 

Regulatory Flexibility Act authorizes an 

agency to establish an alternative small 

business definition, after consultation 

with the Office of Advocacy of the U.S. 

Small Business Administration (5 U.S.C. 

601(3)). 

5. What alternatives will allow SBA to 

accomplish its regulatory objectives 

while minimizing the impact on small 

entities? 

By law, SBA is required to develop 

numerical size standards for 

establishing eligibility for Federal small 

business assistance programs. Other 

than varying size standards by industry 

and changing the size measures, no 

practical alternative exists to the 

systems of numerical size standards. 

However, SBA considered two 

alternatives to increasing 45 and 

maintaining 81 size standards at their 

current levels. The first alternative SBA 

considered was adopting size standards 

based solely on the analytical results. In 

other words, the size standards of 45 

industries for which the analytical 

results suggest raising size standards 

would be raised. However, the size 

standards of 69 industries for which the 

analytical results suggest lowering them 

would be lowered. This would cause a 

significant number of small businesses 

to lose their small business status, 

particularly in Sector 48–49 (see Table 

6). Under the second alternative, in 

view of the COVID–19 pandemic, SBA 

considered retaining all size standards 

at the current levels, even though the 

analytical results may suggest increasing 

45 and decreasing 69 size standards. 

SBA believes retaining all size standards 

at their current levels would be more 

onerous for small businesses than the 

option of increasing 45 and retaining 35 

size standards. Postponing the adoption 

of the higher calculated size standards 

would be detrimental for otherwise 

small businesses in terms of access to 

various small business benefits, 

including access to set-aside contracts 

and capital through SBA contracting 

and financial programs, and exemptions 

from paperwork and other compliance 

requirements. 

Executive Order 13563 

Executive Order 13563 emphasizes 

the importance of quantifying both costs 

and benefits, reducing costs, 

harmonizing rules, and promoting 

flexibility. A description of the need for 

this regulatory action and benefits and 

costs associated with this action, 

including possible distributional 

impacts that relate to Executive Order 

13563, is included above in the 

Regulatory Impact Analysis under 

Executive Order 12866. Additionally, 

Executive Order 13563, section 6, calls 

for retrospective analyses of existing 

rules. 

The review of size standards in the 

industries covered by this final rule is 

consistent with section 6 of Executive 

Order 13563 and the 2010 Jobs Act, 

which requires SBA to review all size 

standards and make necessary 

adjustments to reflect market 

conditions. Specifically, the 2010 Jobs 

Act requires SBA to review at least onethird of all size standards during every 

18-month period from the date of its 

enactment (September 27, 2010) and to 

review all size standards not less 

frequently than once every five years, 

thereafter. SBA had already launched a 

comprehensive review of size standards 

in 2007. In accordance with the Jobs 

Act, SBA completed the comprehensive 

review of the small business size 

standard for each industry, except those 

for agricultural enterprises previously 

set by Congress, and made appropriate 

adjustments to size standards for a 


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Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 62 / Thursday, March 31, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 18643 

number of industries to reflect current 

Federal and industry market conditions. 

The first comprehensive review was 

completed in early 2016. Prior to 2007, 

the last time SBA conducted a 

comprehensive review of all size 

standards was during the late 1970s and 

early 1980s. 

SBA issued a white paper entitled 

‘‘Size Standards Methodology’’ and 

published a notice in the April 11, 2019, 

edition of the Federal Register (84 FR 

14587) to advise the public that the 

document is available for public review. 

The ‘‘Size Standards Methodology’’ 

white paper explains how SBA 

establishes, reviews, and modifies its 

receipts-based and employee-based 

small business size standards. SBA 

considered all input, suggestions, 

recommendations, and relevant 

information obtained from industry 

groups, individual businesses, and 

Federal agencies in developing size 

standards for those industries covered 

by this final rule. SBA received a total 

of four comments to the proposed rule. 

In the Discussion of Comments section 

of this final rule, SBA summarizes and 

provides responses to the comments 

received on the proposed rule. 

Executive Order 12988 

This action meets applicable 

standards set forth in sections 3(a) and 

3(b)(2) of Executive Order 12988, Civil 

Justice Reform, to minimize litigation, 

eliminate ambiguity, and reduce 

burden. The action does not have 

retroactive or preemptive effect. 

Executive Order 13132 

For purposes of Executive Order 

13132, SBA has determined that this 

final rule will not have substantial, 

direct effects on the States, on the 

relationship between the National 

Government and the States, or on the 

distribution of power and 

responsibilities among the various 

levels of Government. Therefore, SBA 

has determined that this final rule has 

no federalism implications warranting 

preparation of a federalism assessment. 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

For the purpose of the Paperwork 

Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. Ch. 35, SBA 

has determined that this final rule will 

not impose any new reporting or record 

keeping requirements. 

List of Subjects in 13 CFR Part 121 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Government procurement, 

Government property, Grant programs— 

business, Individuals with disabilities, 

Loan programs—business, Reporting 

and recordkeeping requirements, Small 

businesses. 

For the reasons set forth in the 

preamble, SBA amends 13 CFR part 121 

as follows: 

PART 121—SMALL BUSINESS SIZE 

REGULATIONS 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 121 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 15 U.S.C. 632, 634(b)(6), 

636(a)(36), 662, and 694a(9); Pub. L. 116–136, 

Section 1114. 

■ 2. In § 121.201, amend the table 

‘‘Small Business Size Standards by 

NAICS Industry’’ as follows: 

■ a. Revise the entries for ‘‘481219’’, 

‘‘484122’’, ‘‘485111’’ through ‘‘485113’’, 

‘‘485119’’, ‘‘485210’’, ‘‘485410’’, 

‘‘486210’’, ‘‘487110’’, ‘‘487210’’, 

‘‘487990’’, ‘‘488210’’, ‘‘488490’’, 

‘‘488510’’, ‘‘488510 (Exception)’’, 

‘‘488999’’, ‘‘493120’’, ‘‘493190’’, 

‘‘512132’’, ‘‘512199’’, ‘‘512240’’, 

‘‘512290’’, ‘‘515111’’, ‘‘517410’’, 

‘‘519110’’, ‘‘519120’’, ‘‘522110’’, 

‘‘522120’’, ‘‘522130’’, ‘‘522190’’, 

‘‘522210’’, ‘‘522310’’, ‘‘522390’’, 

‘‘524210’’, ‘‘524292’’, ‘‘524298’’, 

‘‘531210’’, ‘‘531311’’, ‘‘531312’’, 

‘‘531320’’, ‘‘531390’’, ‘‘532282’’, 

‘‘532283’’, ‘‘532289’’, and ‘‘532411’’, 

and 

■ b. Revise footnote 10. 

The revisions read as follows: 

§ 121.201 What size standards has SBA 

identified by North American Industry 

Classification System codes? 

* * * * * 

SMALL BUSINESS SIZE STANDARDS BY NAICS INDUSTRY

NAICS codes NAICS U.S. industry title 

Size standards 

in millions of 

dollars 

Size standards 

in number of 

employees 

*******

Sectors 48–49—Transportation and Warehousing 

Subsector 481—Air Transportation 

*******

481219 ................................ Other Nonscheduled Air Transportation .......................................................... $22.0 ................ ............................

* * * * * * * 

Subsector 484—Truck Transportation 

*******

484122 ................................ General Freight Trucking, Long-Distance, Less Than Truckload ................... 38.0 .................. ............................

* * * * * * * 

Subsector 485—Transit and Ground Passenger Transportation 

*******

485111 ................................ Mixed Mode Transit Systems .......................................................................... 25.5 .................. ............................

485112 ................................ Commuter Rail Systems .................................................................................. 41.5 .................. ............................

485113 ................................ Bus and Other Motor Vehicle Transit Systems ............................................... 28.5 .................. ............................

485119 ................................ Other Urban Transit Systems .......................................................................... 33.0 .................. ............................

485210 ................................ Interurban and Rural Bus Transportation ........................................................ 28.0 .................. ............................


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SMALL BUSINESS SIZE STANDARDS BY NAICS INDUSTRY—Continued 

NAICS codes NAICS U.S. industry title 

Size standards 

in millions of 

dollars 

Size standards 

in number of 

employees 

*******

485410 ................................ School and Employee Bus Transportation ...................................................... 26.5 .................. ............................

* * * * * * * 

Subsector 486—Pipeline Transportation 

*******

486210 ................................ Pipeline Transportation of Natural Gas ........................................................... 36.5 .................. ............................

* * * * * * * 

Subsector 487—Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation 

487110 ................................ Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation, Land ................................................ 18.0 .................. ............................

487210 ................................ Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation, Water ............................................... 12.5 .................. ............................

487990 ................................ Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation, Other ............................................... 22.0 .................. ............................

Subsector 488—Support Activities for Transportation 

*******

488210 ................................ Support Activities for Rail Transportation ........................................................ 30.0 .................. ............................

* * * * * * * 

488490 ................................ Other Support Activities for Road Transportation ........................................... 16.0 .................. ............................

488510 ................................ Freight Transportation Arrangement 10 ........................................................... 10 17.5 ............... ............................

488510 (Exception) ............. Non-Vessel Owning Common Carriers and Household Goods Forwarders .. 30.0 .................. ............................

* * * * * * * 

488999 ................................ All Other Support Activities for Transportation ................................................ 22.0 .................. ............................

* * * * * * * 

Subsector 493—Warehousing and Storage 

*******

493120 ................................ Refrigerated Warehousing and Storage .......................................................... 32.0 .................. ............................

* * * * * * * 

493190 ................................ Other Warehousing and Storage .................................................................... 32.0 .................. ............................

Sector 51—Information 

*******

Subsector 512—Motion Picture and Sound Recording Industries 

*******

512132 ................................ Drive-In Motion Picture Theaters .................................................................... 11.0 .................. ............................

* * * * * * * 

512199 ................................ Other Motion Picture and Video Industries ..................................................... 25.0 .................. ............................

* * * * * * * 

512240 ................................ Sound Recording Studios ............................................................................... 9.5 .................... ............................

* * * * * * * 

512290 ................................ Other Sound Recording Industries .................................................................. 20.0 .................. ............................

Subsector 515—Broadcasting (except Internet) 

515111 ................................ Radio Networks ............................................................................................... 41.5 .................. ............................


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SMALL BUSINESS SIZE STANDARDS BY NAICS INDUSTRY—Continued 

NAICS codes NAICS U.S. industry title 

Size standards 

in millions of 

dollars 

Size standards 

in number of 

employees 

*******

Subsector 517—Telecommunications 

*******

517410 ................................ Satellite Telecommunications .......................................................................... 38.5 .................. ............................

* * * * * * * 

Subsector 519—Other Information Services 

519110 ................................ News Syndicates ............................................................................................. 32.0 .................. ............................

519120 ................................ Libraries and Archives ..................................................................................... 18.5 .................. ............................

* * * * * * * 

Sector 52—Finance and Insurance 

Subsector 522—Credit Intermediation and Related Activities 

522110 ................................ Commercial Banking 8 ..................................................................................... 750 million in 

assets 8.

............................

522120 ................................ Savings Institutions 8 ....................................................................................... 750 million in 

assets 8.

............................

522130 ................................ Credit Unions 8 ................................................................................................. 750 million in 

assets 8.

............................

522190 ................................ Other Depository Credit Intermediation 8 ........................................................ 750 million in 

assets 8.

............................

522210 ................................ Credit Card Issuing 8 ....................................................................................... 750 million in 

assets 8.

............................

* * * * * * * 

522310 ................................ Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers ..................................................... 13.0 .................. ............................

* * * * * * * 

522390 ................................ Other Activities Related to Credit Intermediation ............................................ 25.0 .................. ............................

* * * * * * * 

Subsector 524—Insurance Carriers and Related Activities 

*******

524210 ................................ Insurance Agencies and Brokerages .............................................................. 13.0 .................. ............................

* * * * * * * 

524292 ................................ Third Party Administration of Insurance and Pension Funds ......................... 40.0 .................. ............................

524298 ................................ All Other Insurance Related Activities ............................................................. 27.0 .................. ............................

* * * * * * * 

Sector 53—Real Estate and Rental and Leasing 

Subsector 531—Real Estate 

*******

531210 ................................ Offices of Real Estate Agents and Brokers 10 ................................................ 10 13.0 ............... ............................

531311 ................................ Residential Property Managers ....................................................................... 11.0 .................. ............................

531312 ................................ Nonresidential Property Managers .................................................................. 17.0 .................. ............................

531320 ................................ Offices of Real Estate Appraisers ................................................................... 8.5 .................... ............................

531390 ................................ Other Activities Related to Real Estate ........................................................... 17.0 .................. ............................

Subsector 532—Rental and Leasing Services 

*******

532282 ................................ Video Tape and Disc Rental ........................................................................... 31.0 .................. ............................

532283 ................................ Home Health Equipment Rental ...................................................................... 36.0 .................. ............................

* * * * * * * 

532289 ................................ All Other Consumer Goods Rental ................................................................. 11.0 .................. ............................


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1On December 21, 2021, the U. S. Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) published its 

‘‘Notice of NAICS 2022 Final Decisions . . . ’’ (86 

FR 72277), accepting the Economic Classification 

Policy Committee (ECPC) recommendations, as 

outlined in the July 2, 2021, Federal Register notice 

(86 FR 35350), for the 2022 revisions to the North 

American Industry Classification System (NAICS), 

. . . .’’ In the near future, SBA will issue a proposed 

rule to adopt the OMB’s NAICS 2022 revisions for 

its table of size standards. SBA anticipates updating 

its size standards with the NAICS 2022 revisions, 

effective October 1, 2022. 

SMALL BUSINESS SIZE STANDARDS BY NAICS INDUSTRY—Continued 

NAICS codes NAICS U.S. industry title 

Size standards 

in millions of 

dollars 

Size standards 

in number of 

employees 

*******

532411 ................................ Commercial Air, Rail, and Water Transportation Equipment Rental and 

Leasing.

40.0 .................. ............................

* * * * * * * 

Footnotes 

* * * * * * * 8 NAICS Codes 522110, 522120, 522130, 522190, and 522210—A financial institution’s assets are determined by averaging the assets reported on its four quarterly financial statements for the preceding year. ‘‘Assets’’ for the purposes of this size standard means the assets defined 

according to the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council 041 call report form for NAICS Codes 522110, 522120, 522190, and 522210 

and the National Credit Union Administration 5300 call report form for NAICS code 522130. 

* * * * * * * 10 NAICS codes 488510 (excluding the exception), 531210, 541810, 561510, 561520 and 561920—As measured by total revenues, but excluding funds received in trust for an unaffiliated third party, such as bookings or sales subject to commissions. The commissions received are 

included as revenues. 

* * * * * * * 

Isabella Casillas Guzman, 

Administrator. 

[FR Doc. 2022–06609 Filed 3–30–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8026–03–P 

SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION 

13 CFR Part 121 

RIN 3245–AG88 

Small Business Size Standards: 

Education Services; Health Care and 

Social Assistance; Arts, Entertainment 

and Recreation; Accommodation and 

Food Services; Other Services 

AGENCY: U.S. Small Business 

Administration. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Small Business 

Administration (SBA) is increasing its 

receipts-based small business size 

definitions (commonly referred to as 

‘‘size standards’’) for North American 

Industry Classification System (NAICS) 

sectors related to Education Services; 

Health Care and Social Assistance; Arts, 

Entertainment and Recreation; 

Accommodation and Food Services; and 

Other Services. Specifically, SBA is 

increasing the size standards for 70 

industries in those sectors, including 14 

industries in NAICS Sector 61 

(Education Services), 18 industries in 

Sector 62 (Health Care and Social 

Assistance), 11 industries in Sector 71 

(Arts, Entertainment and Recreation), 

four industries in Sector 72 

(Accommodation and Food Services), 

and 23 industries in Sector 81 (Other 

Services). 

DATES: This rule is effective May 2, 

2022. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Samuel Castilla, Economist, Office of 

Size Standards, (202) 205–6618 or 

sizestandards@sba.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Discussion of Size Standards 

To determine eligibility for Federal 

small business assistance, SBA 

establishes small business size 

definitions (usually referred to as ‘‘size 

standards’’) for private sector industries 

in the United States. SBA uses two 

primary measures of business size for 

size standards purposes: average annual 

receipts and average number of 

employees. SBA uses financial assets for 

certain financial industries and refining 

capacity, in addition to employees, for 

the petroleum refining industry to 

measure business size. In addition, 

SBA’s Small Business Investment 

Company (SBIC), Certified Development 

Company (CDC/504), and 7(a) Loan 

Programs use either the industry-based 

size standards or tangible net worth and 

net income-based alternative size 

standards to determine eligibility for 

those programs. 

In September 2010, Congress passed 

the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 

(Pub. L. 111–240, 124 Stat. 2504, 

September 27, 2010) (‘‘Jobs Act’’), 

requiring SBA to review all size 

standards every five years and make 

necessary adjustments to reflect current 

industry and market conditions. In 

accordance with the Jobs Act, in early 

2016, SBA completed the first five-year 

review of all size standards—except 

those for agricultural enterprises for 

which size standards were previously 

set by Congress—and made appropriate 

adjustments to size standards for a 

number of industries to reflect current 

industry and Federal market conditions. 

SBA also adjusts its monetary-based size 

standards for inflation at least once 

every five years. An interim final rule 

on SBA’s latest inflation adjustment to 

size standards, effective August 19, 

2019, was published in the Federal 

Register on July 18, 2019 (84 FR 34261). 

SBA also updates its size standards 

every five years to adopt the Office of 

Management and Budget’s (OMB) 

quinquennial North American Industry 

Classification (NAICS) revisions to its 

table of small business size standards. 

Effective October 1, 2017, SBA adopted 

the OMB’s 2017 NAICS revisions to its 

size standards (82 FR 44886, September 

27, 2017).1

This final rule is one of a series of 

final rules that will revise size standards 

of industries grouped by various NAICS 

sectors. Rather than revise all size 

standards at one time, SBA is revising 

size standards by grouping industries 

within various NAICS sectors that use 

the same size measure (i.e., employees 

or receipts). In the prior review, SBA 

revised size standards mostly on a 

sector-by-sector basis. As part of the 

second five-year review of size 

standards under the Jobs Act, SBA 

reviewed all receipt-based size 

standards in NAICS Sectors 61, 62, 71, 

72, and 81 to determine whether the 

existing size standards should be 

retained or revised based on the current 


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