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Are You Eligible for SBIR/STTR? A Quick Check
SBIR/STTR eligibility in plain English: who qualifies, common disqualifiers, and the registrations you will need before you can be paid.
Before you spend a minute on a proposal, make sure you can play. SBIR/STTR eligibility is straightforward — here is the quick version.
You generally qualify if you are…
- A U.S.-based, for-profit small business with 500 or fewer employees.
- More than 50% owned and controlled by U.S. individuals (or by other small businesses that are U.S.-owned).
- Performing the R&D work in the United States.
- Doing genuinely innovative R&D — not routine engineering or off-the-shelf integration.
For STTR specifically, you also partner with a nonprofit research institution (such as a university) that performs a portion of the work.
A few common disqualifiers
- Majority ownership by another company, or by a venture fund, can complicate eligibility — the rules vary by agency.
- For SBIR, the principal investigator generally must be primarily employed by your company at the time of award.
Registrations you will need
To be paid, you will need to register in SAM.gov and set up the relevant agency portal accounts (such as SBIR.gov and the DoD DSIP). These take time — start early.
Not sure?
Eligibility has edge cases, and agencies differ. The fastest way to find out is to apply — Eric reviews every application personally and will tell you honestly whether you are a fit before you pay anything.