The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) on August 20, 2026, published a proposed rule to revise small‑business size standards across 338 industry groups and industries. The publication, listed as Federal Register document 2026-17042 (RIN 3245-AI67) in 13 CFR Part 121, opens a formal regulatory proceeding and establishes a September 21, 2026, deadline for public comment. The proposal and its docket materials are available on the Federal Register website.
What the proposal would cover
The proposed rule would update the numerical size standards that determine which firms qualify as “small” for SBA programs and many federal contracting set-asides. The document covers 338 distinct industry groups and industries; for some of those the standards are expressed in average annual receipts (receipt‑based standards) and for others in number of employees. The proposal specifically identifies receipt‑based standards as subject to proposed adjustment to reflect changes in both inflation and productivity growth.
The publication of a proposed rule is an initial regulatory step and does not itself change existing size standards. Any revisions described in the proposal would become effective only if and when the SBA issues a final rule following completion of the administrative process described in the Federal Register notice.
How the SBA says it developed the proposal
The preamble to the proposal sets out the agency’s stated methodology and lists several factors that the SBA considered in framing the revisions. Those factors include industry market structure, average firm size within an industry, the degree of competition among firms, the costs and barriers associated with starting a business in the industry, and the distribution of firms by size. For industries where contracting with the federal government is a relevant consideration, the SBA also said it considered a federal‑contracting factor.
As described in the proposal, the agency combined those qualitative and quantitative considerations with adjustments for economic measures: specifically, proposed changes to receipt‑based standards to reflect both inflation and productivity growth. The proposal document contains the agency’s assessments and the proposed numerical adjustments; the document itself is the primary source for the specific changes the SBA has proposed.
Key procedural details
The Federal Register notice includes several administrative identifiers and deadlines that are important for tracking the rulemaking. The document is listed as 2026-17042 with Regulatory Information Number (RIN) 3245-AI67 and appears in 13 CFR Part 121. The SBA docket for public submission and review is identified as SBA-2026-0199. The formal deadline for submitting comments on the proposed rule is September 21, 2026.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Federal Register document | 2026-17042 |
| RIN | 3245-AI67 |
| CFR part | 13 CFR Part 121 |
| Docket ID | SBA-2026-0199 |
| Comment deadline | September 21, 2026 |
How to participate in the rulemaking
The SBA’s publication initiates a notice‑and‑comment period, during which interested parties may submit written comments to the agency’s docket. The Federal Register posting for the proposal includes instructions for submitting comments and for accessing supporting materials in the docket. Comments and supporting documents submitted to the docket become part of the public record for the rulemaking.
After the comment period closes on September 21, 2026, the SBA will have the administrative record of comments and materials to review and consider when drafting any final rule. The agency’s next official action would be the issuance of a final rule, should it choose to adopt revisions; the proposal itself does not indicate a date for a final rule and the timing and content of any final action will depend in part on the comments and the agency’s further analysis.
What this means for readers
The proposal identifies the scope of industries under review (338 industry groups and industries) and the specific methodological elements the agency says it used in developing its proposed revisions. It also establishes the procedural timeline for public participation through the September 21, 2026, comment deadline. What remains undecided and unknown at this stage is whether the SBA will adopt the proposed numerical changes in whole, in part, or not at all; the final content and effective dates of any changes will be set out only in a future final rule, if issued.
For the full text of the proposed rule and procedural instructions, see the Federal Register posting: https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2026-17042.
For related coverage in our Business category, visit Business.
