SBA's Sep 21 Proposal: Who Counts as Small in Service Industries

SBA NPRM FR 2026-17042 · 91 Fed. Reg. 53741 (Aug 20, 2026) · As of Sep 18, 2026 · Proposed, not final

Who becomes “small” under SBA’s Sep 21 proposal — for the industries this site actually covers. Writers have covered IT mega-caps; this page publishes a transparent site-industry table: current vs proposed size standards for landscaping, cleaning, HVAC/plumbing, daycare, salons, and mobile food, with receipts vs employee measure flips and SBA’s national newly-small counts labeled. Comment deadline: 2026-09-21.

Critical disclosure: This is an NPRM (proposed rule). Current size standards remain in effect until a final rule. Figures are observed from the Federal Register comparison table (document 2026-17042), visually verified against the official PDF pages — not a size determination for any firm, not a prediction of set-aside wins or loan approvals, and not legal advice.

Key findings (observed NPRM table)

Landscaping (561730): $9.5 M receipts → $58 M receipts; SBA estimates +1,228 newly small firms (FR p. 53765).
HVAC / plumbing (238220): $19 M receipts → 550 employees (measure flip); +2,188 newly small (FR p. 53747).
Child care (624410): $9.5 M → $31 M receipts; +702 newly small (FR p. 53766).
Janitorial (561720): $22 M → $58 M receipts; +238 newly small (FR p. 53765).
Beauty salons (812112): $9.5 M → $34 M receipts; +113 newly small (FR p. 53768). Barber +13; nail salons +0 at $9 M → $34 M.
Mobile food (722330): $9 M receipts → 700 employees (measure flip); +31 newly small (FR p. 53767).

NPRM estimates (not firm-level outcomes): Newly-small counts are SBA’s national estimates from the NPRM table. We do not map those firms to states, claim they will win federal work, or invent individualized eligibility.

Comment deadline — Sep 21, 2026

The NPRM DATES line states SBA must receive comments on or before September 21, 2026. Docket SBA-2026-0199 (RIN 3245-AI67).

Citeable table — site industries only

Standards and firm counts below are transcribed from the NPRM comparison table and checked against the PDF page images cited in the last column.

SBA size standards NPRM (FR 2026-17042) — StartBusinessByState site NAICS · **proposed**
Industry	NAICS	Current standard	Proposed standard	Current small firms	Proposed small firms	Net newly small	FR page
HVAC / plumbing	`238220`	$19 M receipts	550 employees	104,612	106,800	+2,188	53747
Landscaping	`561730`	$9.5 M receipts	$58 M receipts	113,479	114,707	+1,228	53765
Child care	`624410`	$9.5 M receipts	$31 M receipts	61,933	62,635	+702	53766
Janitorial / cleaning	`561720`	$22 M receipts	$58 M receipts	62,516	62,754	+238	53765
Beauty salons	`812112`	$9.5 M receipts	$34 M receipts	72,638	72,781	+113	53768
Mobile food	`722330`	$9 M receipts	700 employees	11,478	11,509	+31	53767
Barber shops	`812111`	$9.5 M receipts	$34 M receipts	6,578	6,591	+13	53768
Nail salons	`812113`	$9 M receipts	$34 M receipts	33,649	33,649	+0	53768

Rows shaded pink mark a measure flip (receipts → employees). Sum of newly small across these eight codes: +4,513 (a subset of the rule-wide estimate below).

Chart — newly small firms by site industry

Horizontal bar chart of SBA estimated net newly small firms by site industry under the proposed size standards NPRM — Net newly small firm counts from the NPRM comparison table for site NAICS only. Proposed, not final.

Chart — receipts standards (current vs proposed)

Grouped horizontal bars comparing current versus proposed receipts-based size standards in millions of dollars for site industries without measure flips — Receipts-to-receipts comparisons only. HVAC and mobile food are omitted here because the proposal switches them to employee standards.

Measure flips — HVAC and mobile food

Two site industries move from average annual receipts to an employee size standard in the proposal. That is a different eligibility test — not a dollar ceiling raise that can be plotted on the same axis.

Side by side bar charts showing current versus proposed small firm counts for HVAC plumbing and mobile food under measure flips to employee standards — HVAC/plumbing: $19 M receipts → 550 employees (+2,188). Mobile food: $9 M receipts → 700 employees (+31).

Rule-wide context (NPRM text)

From the NPRM summary/discussion (national, not limited to site NAICS):

SBA proposes new size standards for 338 industry groups and industries.
The current structure is described as 102 size-standard levels covering 978 NAICS industries and 18 exceptions.
SBA estimates a net increase of about 114,541 businesses classified as small under the proposal.
SBA estimates nearly 37,002 unique firms with FY 2025 federal contracts would become newly eligible small businesses, associated with more than $71 billion in FY 2025 contract dollars (NPRM discussion).

Industry statistics companions on this site (different questions): cleaning, landscaping, HVAC, daycare, food truck, salon.

Different question from the $3M SOP loan size-band page

Do not confuse this eligibility-definition NPRM with our separate FOIA analysis of 7(a) GrossApproval ≥ $3 M size-band exposure ahead of SOP 50 10 8.1. That page is about loan approved amounts (size-band proxy for QoE talk). This page is about whether a firm is “small” under proposed NAICS size standards. Related volume context: SBA loan statistics and jobs & lenders by state.

Downloads

FAQ

Is this the final rule?

No. FR 2026-17042 is a proposed rule. Current standards remain in effect until SBA publishes a final rule after considering comments.

When do comments close?

September 21, 2026, per the NPRM DATES line. Use docket SBA-2026-0199 on regulations.gov.

Why highlight measure flips?

A jump from “$19 M receipts” to “550 employees” is not a larger dollar ceiling — it is a different size test. Mixing those on one receipts chart would mislead readers.

Can I use this to decide if my business is small?

No. Size determinations depend on affiliation, averaging periods, and the standard in effect for your NAICS. This page restates the proposal table for journalism and research context only — not legal advice.

Did you include IT services $531 M headlines?

Those industries are outside this site’s Main Street coverage. The editorial gap we fill is the transparent site-NAICS table above.

Methods & limitations

Primary source: SBA NPRM “Small Business Size Standards,” 91 Fed. Reg. 53741 (Aug. 20, 2026), document 2026-17042. Site-NAICS rows were verified against official PDF page images (pp. 53747, 53765–53768). Scout OCR was used only as a finding aid. Optional Census SUSB state footprints were not joined in this edition. Full methods: task folder METHODS.md.

Limitations: Proposed ≠ final; newly-small counts are national SBA estimates; firm counts are not state maps; receipts bands in other Census products are not the SBA average annual receipts test.