HUBZone Map: How to Check If Your Business Qualifies

The HUBZone map is a free tool from the Small Business Administration (SBA), at maps.certify.sba.gov, that tells you whether an address is in a Historically Underutilized Business Zone. To qualify for the HUBZone program, your principal office must be in a HUBZone and at least 35% of your employees must live in one, so you check your office address and every employee's home address. The map only answers the location question: you also have to be small, majority-owned by U.S. citizens (or certain entities), and certified by SBA.

What is a HUBZone?

A HUBZone is an area that SBA treats as economically distressed. SBA's HUBZone program steers federal contracts to small businesses based in these areas that hire people who live in them. The program applies to every federal agency with contracting officers. It doesn't apply to state and local government contracts.

SBA's rules (13 CFR Part 126) list seven kinds of HUBZone. Each one lasts a different length of time:

How to use the HUBZone map

SBA's map is the official way to check an address. You don't need an account, and there's no fee.

Search by address

1. Open the map at maps.certify.sba.gov/hubzone/map.
2. Type the full street address in the search bar and press Enter. You can also enter GPS coordinates, latitude first (for example, 38.93655, -77.01993).
3. Check the pin. Make sure the map found the right building. If the marker lands in the wrong spot, try the coordinates instead.
4. Read the status. The panel says Qualified HUBZone or Not Qualified.
5. Open the details. Under "Designations," you'll see the type (for example, Census Tract) and the tract ID. An expiring area also shows an end date.
6. Save a printable copy. Each result shows a "Qualification Valid as of" date. Keep a printout for your records.

Repeat this for your office and for each employee's home address.

Can you check the HUBZone map by ZIP code?

You can type a ZIP code, but the answer isn't reliable. When we searched a ZIP code on September 28, 2026, the map dropped a single pin at one point in that ZIP and reported the status of that one spot. HUBZones follow census tract and county lines, not ZIP codes, so the house down the street can have a different answer. Always search each full address.

Reading the legend

The legend splits areas into Qualified HUBZones (census tracts, counties and Indian lands) and Expiring HUBZones (redesignated, disaster and governor-designated areas). Expiring areas have end dates, so don't build a long-term plan around them.

The HUBZone map in 2026: what changed

SBA updates the core of the map (qualified census tracts and counties) every five years. The current map took effect in July 2023. SBA says it "will not update Qualified Census Tracts and Qualified Non-Metropolitan Counties on the map again until July 2028."

The big 2026 change was the end of the redesignated areas created in 2023. When a tract or county loses its qualified status, it stays a HUBZone for three years as a redesignated area. SBA's map help page says areas newly redesignated in the 2023 update "will expire on July 1, 2026." SBA's HUBZone page also says the map is due for an update "at some point in 2026" to reflect those expiring areas. Search each address on the map to see its current status.

Other areas come and go during the year. Disaster areas are generally added monthly, and governor-designated areas when SBA approves a governor's petition. Both generally end at the next five-year update.

HUBZone eligibility: the rules the map doesn't check

A "Qualified HUBZone" result on the map is only the first step. SBA's HUBZone page lists four requirements:

• Be a small business under SBA size standards.
• Be at least 51% owned and controlled by U.S. citizens, or by a Community Development Corporation, an agricultural cooperative, an Alaska Native corporation, a Native Hawaiian organization or an Indian tribe.
• Have your principal office in a HUBZone.
• Have at least 35% of your employees living in a HUBZone.

The details behind the last two are where most applications go wrong.

What counts as your principal office?

Your principal office is "the location where the greatest number of the concern's employees at any one location perform their work." It isn't your mailing address or where you're incorporated. A few rules apply:

• Paperwork: a deed, or a lease that started at least 30 days before SBA's review date and runs at least 60 days past it.
• Real business activity: SBA may ask for photos or a virtual walk-through. In a coworking space, you must show dedicated space with enough desks and equipment for the employees you claim.
• Split time: an employee who works at several places counts at the one where they spend more than 50% of their time.
• Job sites don't count for service and construction firms. Employees who spend more than half their time at contract job sites are left out when SBA finds your principal office. If everyone works at job sites, you don't meet the rule.

If you buy a building or sign a lease of at least 10 years in a HUBZone, SBA treats that office as being in a HUBZone for up to 10 years, even if the map later changes. This protection doesn't apply to redesignated or disaster areas, shared offices, or a personal residence.

Who counts as an employee?

SBA counts anyone who generally works at least 10 hours a week in the four weeks before the review date, full-time or part-time. That includes:

• Owners who work at least 10 hours a week, even unpaid.
• Temporary and leased workers, including people co-employed through a professional employer organization (PEO).
• Employees on paid leave, and Reservists or National Guard members called to active duty.

It doesn't include independent contractors paid on a 1099 form (in most cases), subcontractors, unpaid non-owners, or people paid only deferred compensation.

What does "live in a HUBZone" mean?

An employee resides at an address if they live there full-time and have for at least 90 calendar days before the review date. SBA looks first at the address on their driver's license or other government ID. If that doesn't match, you'll need proof such as a lease, deed or utility bills. Owning a rental property in a HUBZone doesn't count.

How the 35% math works

SBA rounds to the nearest whole number. With 25 employees, 35% is 8.75, so 9 must live in a HUBZone. With 95 employees, 35% is 33.25, so 33 must. If you have only one employee, that person must live in a HUBZone. Because working owners count, a solo owner has to live in a HUBZone.

After you're certified, up to four "legacy" employees can keep counting even if they move, or their area loses HUBZone status. Each must have lived in a HUBZone for at least 180 days after your certification date (or anniversary), work at least 30 hours a week, and not have first qualified through a redesignated or disaster area. You also need at least one other HUBZone employee.

HUBZone eligibility self-check

Run through this before you apply. As of September 2026, these are SBA's rules:

If you're unsure about size, read who can get government contracts. Every HUBZone firm also needs an active SAM.gov registration.

How to get HUBZone certification

1. Register on SAM.gov and list your NAICS codes. SBA checks your size against the codes in your profile.
2. Gather your documents: your deed or lease, payroll records, and proof of where each HUBZone employee lives.
3. Apply at MySBA Certifications. SBA calls it "home to SBA's free online certification process." The majority owner is responsible for the accuracy of everything you submit.
4. Answer SBA's requests quickly. SBA doesn't start processing until your package is complete. If you don't send what it asks for in time, SBA can assume the missing information would show you're ineligible.
5. Get a decision. The rule says SBA decides within 60 calendar days after it receives a complete package.

Keeping it: you recertify every three years, in the 90 calendar days before your certification anniversary. If you miss it, you have 30 days to recertify and be reinstated. SBA also examines each certified firm at least once every three years. If your firm merges, is bought, or buys another business, you have 30 calendar days to show SBA you still qualify.

There's no fee, and you don't need a consultant. An APEX Accelerator can review your application with you for free. Be wary of anyone who charges to "certify" you (see how to spot registration scams).

HUBZone program benefits

• HUBZone set-asides. A contracting officer may reserve a contract above the micro-purchase threshold ($15,000 for most purchases) for HUBZone firms when two or more are expected to offer at a fair market price.
• Sole-source awards. An agency can award a contract to one HUBZone firm without competition, up to $5.5 million, or $8.5 million for manufacturing (FAR 19.1306). The FAR overhaul text (19.105-3) uses the same figures. SBA's own rule (13 CFR 126.612) still lists older, lower limits of $4.5 million and $7 million. See sole-source award.
• A 10% price evaluation preference in full and open competitions. If a large business has the lowest price, the contracting officer adds 10% to its price before comparing. In SBA's example, a HUBZone firm bids $98 and a large business bids $93. The large bid counts as $102.30, so the HUBZone firm wins on price. The preference doesn't apply when a small business has the lowest price.
• The 3% goal. Agencies aim to award at least 3% of contract dollars to HUBZone firms. In fiscal year 2025 (FY2025), they reached 2.66% and missed it, so agencies have a reason to look for more HUBZone firms.

On HUBZone contracts, you also have to do a real share of the work yourself. The limits on subcontracting apply at any contract value: generally 50% for services and supplies, 85% for general construction and 75% for special trade construction.

On September 28, 2026, FedReady's search of SAM.gov data showed 23 open HUBZone set-aside notices, 13 of them from the Defense Logistics Agency. There were 15 more that were sole-source or limited to approved sources. You can filter for them in FedReady's free search, and how to find government contracts covers other places to look.

Common HUBZone map mistakes

• Checking only the office. The 35% rule depends on where your employees live.
• Searching by ZIP code or city. Search each full street address and confirm the pin.
• Counting 1099 contractors. They usually aren't employees for HUBZone purposes.
• Counting new residents too early. An employee who just moved into a HUBZone counts only after 90 days.
• Using a mailing address as the principal office. SBA looks at where most of your people work.
• Relying on an expiring area. Redesignated, disaster and governor-designated areas all end. Plan for the July 2028 update too.
• Checking once. You must meet the rules on the date of each initial HUBZone offer, so recheck the map before big bids.

Next steps

See how HUBZone fits with the other programs in set-aside contracts explained. If you need to register first, start with how to register on SAM.gov. Then set up your searches with how to find government contracts.

This guide is general information, not legal or financial advice. Rules and thresholds change, so confirm details on SAM.gov and the official agency sites linked above before you act. FedReady is an independent company and is not affiliated with any government agency.