Registering with the SBA as a Small Business

As a way to promote small business, the U.S. government guarantees that 23 percent of its contracts shall be awarded to small businesses. The Small Business Administration (SBA) is the government agency that ensures that small businesses get their allotted government contracts. When you register with the Central Contractor Registry (CCR), you begin the process of being certified by the SBA. (Read Registering as a Contractor with the Government

The SBA uses the information you give the CCR to establish your eligibility for a variety of government programs, such as Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB) and HUBZone, both of which can help your company secure government contracts.

The CCR sends your business’s Trading Partner Profile (TPP) to the SBA for certification. Using the guidelines set by the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), the SBA certifies your small business size status. Your company’s total revenue and number of employees, including all divisions, branches, and affiliates as indicated on your TPP, determine your business status.

When establishing or reviewing size requirements, the SBA uses the following factors:

• Industry structure analysis
• Degree of competition
• Average firm size
• Startup cost
• Entry barriers
• Distribution of sales and employment by firm size
• Impact of different size standard levels on the objectives of SBA programs
• Comments from the public on notices of proposed rulemaking