Construction NAICS Codes: Full 236–238 List by Trade

NAICS stands for North American Industry Classification System. The first two digits give the sector, the first three the subsector, and the full six digits the national industry. For construction, the sector breaks down like this:

The Bureau of Labor Statistics uses the same hierarchy in its sector 23 employment tables, where 2361 is residential building construction and 2362 is nonresidential building construction.

These are the codes for general contractors, builders and design-build firms. The titles below follow the 2022 NAICS list as reproduced in the SANDAG NAICS code list.

Two details matter here. First, the 2022 title for 236117 is "For-Sale Builders." Some older and third-party lists still call it "New Housing Operative Builders," so don't be thrown if you see both. Second, a description of 236220 in third-party NAICS listings says it includes general contractors, design-build firms and project construction management firms. That listing covers commercial and institutional projects only. A construction manager on residential, industrial or civil work should look at the matching building or civil code instead.

Site-development firms often straddle this group and the specialty trades. A firm that grades pads and trenches utilities for a subdivision can reasonably look at 237210, 237110 and 238910. Pick the one that matches the largest share of revenue.

Specialty trade firms are classified by the work they perform. Specialty work specific to heavy and civil projects can fall under 237 instead. The 19 industries under subsector 238, listed in the NAICS list on constructionbids.ai and in other directories, are:

Use the "other" codes (238190, 238290, 238390, 238990) only after you have checked that no named code fits. Directory sites that cover 238990 say it should not be a default. Read the official definition for your trade before you commit.

1. Find your largest revenue source. NAICS classifies an establishment by its primary activity. If 70 percent of your revenue is tenant improvement work, you are a 236220 firm, even if you also do some remodels.
2. Decide whether you are responsible for the whole project or one component. A firm that takes responsibility for a whole building project is classified as a building contractor even if it subcontracts the work. A firm that does one specific trade is a specialty trade contractor. Specialty work that is specific to heavy and civil projects can fall under 237 instead of 238.
3. Read the official definition. The NAICS Association's lookup and the Census Bureau's NAICS pages show the full text and cross-references for each code. Check the exclusions, which often point you to the right neighbor.
4. Keep a primary and a few secondary codes. Government portals, bid sites and insurers usually allow several. Use your primary code on legal filings and add secondaries for the work you pursue.
5. Be consistent. Use the same primary code on your business registration, insurance applications and bonding paperwork. A mismatch invites questions.

If you bid on federal work or want small-business status, the NAICS code decides how big you can be and still qualify. The Small Business Administration sets size standards by NAICS code in 13 CFR 121.201. Most construction codes use average annual receipts, and the thresholds are different from one code to the next. They also get adjusted over time, and older published tables show different numbers than current ones. Read the current table in the regulation instead of copying a figure from a blog post, including this one.

On a federal set-aside, the contracting officer names the NAICS code and size standard in the solicitation. Your own registration code doesn't set that threshold, and changing it won't change your eligibility. Compare your size against the code in the solicitation, and check the solicitation for how to challenge a designation you think is wrong. Your registered codes still matter for which solicitations you find.

Some older forms still ask for a Standard Industrial Classification code. SIC is the earlier system that NAICS replaced, and the mapping is not one-to-one. In the crosswalk tables, SIC 1521 (general contractors, single-family houses) maps to a residential building code, SIC 1541 (industrial buildings and warehouses) to an industrial building code, and SIC 1542 (nonresidential buildings, other than industrial) to a commercial and institutional building code, according to the Mississippi Department of Revenue crosswalk and related tables. Because one NAICS code can cover several SIC codes, use an official concordance file for any filing that depends on the answer.

Most firms hit the code at registration time and forget about it. It reappears in a few places:

• Bid and prequalification forms. Owners filter vendors by code, so a missing or wrong code means missed invitations.
• Insurance and bonding. Underwriters rate by classification, so a trade listed as a general contractor, or the other way round, changes the quote.
• Government contracts. Solicitations name a code, and your registration has to include it.
• Jurisdiction licensing. Local business licenses often ask for a NAICS code even when contractor licensing is handled separately by the state.

If you are also sorting out which approvals a project needs, our guide on how long a building permit is good for covers the permit clock.