Powered by LevrYou can change your NAICS code yourself. No federal agency assigns or approves NAICS codes for businesses; the Census Bureau says plainly that it does not assign, monitor or certify them. The code is a description you choose, so changing it means picking the right code and then updating it everywhere it is recorded. If you are not sure what the right code is, describe the business in the NAICS calculator and it returns the code and its closest neighbors.
When a change is worth doing
Most businesses never need to touch their code. These are the situations where it pays to fix it.
Your business changed. You started as a retailer and now earn most of your revenue installing what you sell. You started hauling local freight and now run long haul. The primary code follows the activity that earns the most revenue, so when that shifts, the code should too.
The original code was wrong. Owners often pick a code from a keyword search when they form the company. A drywall contractor filed as a commercial builder or a marketing consultant filed as an advertising agency is common.
You are coded into a restricted industry by mistake. A business that advises lenders but is coded as a lender (sector 522) gets screened out by banks and by the SBA ineligible list. If your code puts you in an industry you are not in, correcting it reopens doors that should never have been closed. Our page on NAICS codes and business loans lists the codes lenders restrict.
Your size standard is wrong. SBA size standards are set by code. A specialty trade contractor under 238220 is held to $19 million in average receipts, while a general builder under 236220 is held to $45 million (13 CFR 121.201). The SBA size standards page shows how much the code changes your status.
Your insurance is priced on the wrong industry. Carriers rate policies by class, and many start from NAICS. A wrong code can mean overpaying or carrying a policy that does not match your operations.
Where to update your NAICS code
Work through this list in order. The tax return and SAM.gov feed other systems, so they go first.
| Where | How to change it | How long it takes |
|---|---|---|
| Federal tax return | Enter the new code on your next return | Next filing |
| SAM.gov | Update the entity registration and set a new primary code | Days after submission |
| SBA profiles | Pull through from SAM.gov | After SAM.gov updates |
| State business registration | Change it on your next annual report or by amendment | Varies by state |
| State unemployment insurance | Contact your state workforce agency or answer the Annual Refiling Survey | Next survey cycle |
| Dun and Bradstreet | Request a correction to your D&B business profile | After D&B review |
| Bank and lenders | Tell your banker and include the new code on applications | Immediately |
| Insurance carrier | Tell your agent at renewal or sooner if operations changed | Next policy change |
Your tax return
Enter the new code on your next return. Sole proprietors and single member LLCs use Schedule C line B, partnerships use item C of Form 1065, S corporations use item B of Form 1120-S and C corporations use Schedule K of Form 1120. There is no separate form and no need to amend past returns just for the code. Your EIN stays the same. The NAICS code on your tax return page explains how the IRS list maps to NAICS.
SAM.gov
If you do business with the federal government, SAM.gov holds your primary NAICS code and any secondary codes. Sign in, open your entity workspace, choose to update the registration, edit the NAICS codes, set the primary code and submit. SAM.gov recalculates your small business status for each code based on the receipts and employee figures you enter.
List every code you actually perform. You can only be considered for set aside contracts under codes in your registration.
SBA profiles
Your SBA Small Business Search profile and your certification profile draw business data from SAM.gov. Update SAM.gov and those profiles follow. If you have an SBA loan in process, tell your lender as well, since the loan file records the code separately.
State registrations
Many secretaries of state ask for a NAICS code on formation documents or annual reports. Change it on the next annual report or file an amendment if your state requires one.
Your state workforce agency also assigns a NAICS code to your unemployment insurance account, and that code can affect your tax rate. The Bureau of Labor Statistics and the states run the Annual Refiling Survey to confirm these codes. If you receive one, answer it with your current activity. If not, contact the agency directly.
Dun and Bradstreet
D&B assigns its own industry codes from the information it collects about your business, and lenders and suppliers pull those codes when they check your credit. Sign in to your D&B business profile and request a correction to the industry classification. Keep it consistent with your tax return so the two sources agree.
Your bank, lenders and insurer
Lenders keep the code on file from your last application. If the business has changed, tell your banker, and use the new code on every new application. Tell your insurance agent too, because coverage written for one industry may not fit another.
How to pick the new code
Changing to another wrong code helps nobody. Before you update anything:
- Write one sentence that describes what you sell, who buys it and how you deliver it.
- Identify the activity that earns most of your revenue today.
- Run that sentence through the calculator and read the official definition of the code it returns, including the exclusions.
- Check the code exists in NAICS 2022. Retired codes such as 454110 electronic shopping still appear on old filings.
The full process is on the how to find your NAICS code page.
What not to do
Do not choose a code to get around a restriction. A lending business that relabels itself as a consultant, or a passive real estate investor that relabels itself as a property manager, has not changed what it does. Lenders underwrite from bank statements, tax returns and contracts, and the activity shows through in all of them.
Knowingly putting a false industry on a loan application is misrepresentation. False statements made to influence a bank or the SBA on a loan application are a federal crime under 18 U.S.C. 1014, and a misstated code on a federal contract can lead to a size protest and loss of the award. The code should change because the business changed, not because the application did.
If your real activity is restricted for one product, there is usually another product built for it. Equipment financing, invoice factoring and revenue based financing all fund industries that bank term loans avoid.
After the change
Once the new code is everywhere, keep it consistent. A lender who sees the same code on your tax return, your D&B profile and your application sees a business that knows itself. Start an application and the AI matches the deal to lenders that fund your code.
Questions people ask
Can I change my NAICS code?
Yes. NAICS codes are self selected, so no agency approves a change. You update the code in each place it is recorded: your tax return, SAM.gov, state accounts, D&B and your lenders.
How do I update my NAICS code with the IRS?
Enter the new principal business code on your next return. There is no separate form, and changing the code does not change your EIN.
How do I change my NAICS code on SAM.gov?
Sign in, open your entity registration, choose update, edit the NAICS codes and the primary code, then submit. Your size status recalculates for each code you list.
What happens if I have the wrong NAICS code?
Usually nothing dramatic. A wrong code can send your loan application to the wrong lenders, misstate your SBA size status or misprice insurance, so fix it as soon as you notice.
Who assigns my NAICS code?
Nobody assigns it for you in most places. The Census Bureau does not assign or approve codes. You choose one, and some agencies and data providers record their own version based on what they know about you.