Category Archives: NAICS Code Appeals

Posts dealing with appeals of North American Industry Classification System Codes, decided by the SBA Office of Hearings and Appeals.

NAICS Code Appeals: A Quick Timeliness Reminder

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If you Google the simple phrase “10 days,” the top result is the IMDb page for the movie How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.   I haven’t seen this 2003 Matthew McConaughey/Kate Hudson romantic comedy, and Lord willing, never will (though I recall that my 80-something grandmother thoroughly enjoyed it).

Even though NAICS code appeals didn’t pop up first on the Google rankings, actors with a penchant for the Texas Longhorns aren’t the only thing that can be lost in 10 days.   If you want to file a NAICS code appeal with the SBA Office of Hearings and Appeals, act quickly.  Under the SBA OHA regulations, NAICS code appeals must be filed and served within 10 days after the issuance of the solicitation.  Any later, and you will lose your right to appeal, as one would-be appellant recently learned.

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SBA OHA, Not GAO, Decides NAICS Code Appeals

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Appealing the NAICS code a procuring agency assigns to a set-aside solicitation can be a powerful tool: after all, if the NAICS code and corresponding size standard change, it can dramatically alter the competitive playing field.  But if a company wants to file a  NAICS code appeal, it must file with the SBA Office of Hearings and Appeals, not the GAO, which lacks jurisdiction to hear challenges to NAICS code designations—something the protester in BlueStar Energy Solutions, B-405690 (Dec. 12, 2011) learned too late.

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See Ya! Contractor Wipes Out Two-Thirds of Its Potential Competitors with Successful NAICS Appeal

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Of all the many “protest” tools available to small government contractors, NAICS code appeals can be one of the most powerful.  Unfortunately, many contractors don’t fully understand the NAICS appeal process, or how it can help them reach their procurement goals.  The decision of the SBA Office of Hearings and Appeals in NAICS Appeal of 1st American Systems & Services, LLC, SBA No. NAICS-5119 (2010) provides a compelling example of how a savvy small business contractor can use the NAICS appeal process to vastly narrow the competitive playing field.

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