Small Business Set-Aside Contracts Posted in September 2026
In September 2026, federal agencies posted 12,985 new contract opportunities on SAM.gov, and 6,187 of them (48%) were set aside for small businesses. The most common types were small business (5,058), WOSB (490) and SDVOSB (459). Defense Logistics Agency posted the most set-aside notices (4,763).
Partial month: counted from notices still active on October 10, 2026, when FedReady started logging every notice. Totals are a minimum.
- Notices posted
- 12,985
- Small business set-asides
- 6,187
- Share set aside
- 48%
By set-aside type
| Set-aside | Notices | Share of all notices |
|---|---|---|
| Total small business set-aside | 5,058 | 39% |
| Women-owned set-aside | 490 | 4% |
| Service-disabled veteran-owned set-aside | 459 | 4% |
| HUBZone set-aside | 73 | 1% |
| EDWOSB set-aside | 34 | 0% |
| 8(a) set-aside | 21 | 0% |
| Indian small business economic enterprise | 15 | 0% |
| 8(a) sole source | 14 | 0% |
| Service-disabled veteran-owned sole source | 11 | 0% |
| Partial small business set-aside | 5 | 0% |
| HUBZone sole source | 3 | 0% |
| Veteran-owned set-aside (VA) | 3 | 0% |
| Women-owned sole source | 1 | 0% |
| Indian economic enterprise (not a small business set-aside) | 6 | 0% |
| Buy Indian set-aside (not a small business set-aside) | 2 | 0% |
| Local area set-aside (disaster) (not a small business set-aside) | 1 | 0% |
| No set-aside | 6,789 | 52% |
Top NAICS codes for set-aside notices
| NAICS code | Industry | Set aside | Share of code's notices |
|---|---|---|---|
| 332510 | Hardware Manufacturing | 570 | 67% |
| 332722 | Bolt, Nut, Screw, Rivet, and Washer Manufacturing | 506 | 75% |
| 336413 | Other Aircraft Parts and Auxiliary Equipment Manufacturing | 248 | 33% |
| 332911 | Industrial Valve Manufacturing | 174 | 36% |
| 334419 | Other Electronic Component Manufacturing | 140 | 51% |
| 333998 | All Other Miscellaneous General Purpose Machinery Manufacturing | 135 | 52% |
| 334417 | Electronic Connector Manufacturing | 130 | 47% |
| 339991 | Gasket, Packing, and Sealing Device Manufacturing | 127 | 56% |
| 333996 | Fluid Power Pump and Motor Manufacturing | 115 | 68% |
| 335312 | Motor and Generator Manufacturing | 105 | 53% |
| 333613 | Mechanical Power Transmission Equipment Manufacturing | 99 | 53% |
| 336390 | Other Motor Vehicle Parts Manufacturing | 98 | 59% |
| 333618 | Other Engine Equipment Manufacturing | 89 | 66% |
| 334519 | Other Measuring and Controlling Device Manufacturing | 87 | 54% |
| 332994 | Small Arms, Ordnance, and Ordnance Accessories Manufacturing | 83 | 58% |
Agencies posting the most set-asides
| Agency | Set aside | Share of agency's notices |
|---|---|---|
| Defense Logistics Agency | 4,763 | 54% |
| Dept of the Army | 429 | 53% |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | 253 | 41% |
| Dept of the Air Force | 166 | 41% |
| Dept of the Navy | 139 | 14% |
| Forest Service | 87 | 90% |
| US Coast Guard | 40 | 51% |
| US Fish and Wildlife Service | 30 | 81% |
| Bureau of Land Management | 26 | 76% |
| Federal Prison System / Bureau of Prisons | 24 | 46% |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | 14 | 23% |
| Agricultural Research Service | 14 | 61% |
| Federal Acquisition Service | 12 | 55% |
| Indian Health Service | 12 | 55% |
| Bureau of Reclamation | 11 | 46% |
Where the set-aside work is
| State (place of performance) | Set aside | Share of state's notices |
|---|---|---|
| California | 69 | 44% |
| Texas | 56 | 48% |
| Virginia | 51 | 25% |
| Maryland | 42 | 26% |
| Florida | 35 | 40% |
| New York | 32 | 43% |
| Oklahoma | 29 | 38% |
| North Carolina | 28 | 55% |
| District of Columbia | 27 | 24% |
| Ohio | 24 | 27% |
Many notices don't name a place of performance, so these don't add up to the total.
By notice type
| Notice type | Notices | Set aside |
|---|---|---|
| Combined Synopsis/Solicitation | 9,342 | 5,408 |
| Solicitation | 1,373 | 409 |
| Presolicitation | 851 | 203 |
| Sources Sought | 807 | 85 |
| Special Notice | 612 | 82 |
Methodology
Source: SAM.gov Contract Opportunities data, as loaded by FedReady from SAM.gov's public daily extract. Figures as of Oct 10, 2026.
- A notice is counted once, in the month it was first posted. Amendments and later versions of the same notice (same agency, solicitation number and title) don't count again, and the set-aside, NAICS code, agency and place are taken from the first version.
- Award notices, justifications, surplus sales and bundling notices are left out, since they don't ask for bids. Solicitations, combined synopses, presolicitations, sources sought and special notices count.
- Small business set-asides include total and partial small business, 8(a), HUBZone, service-disabled veteran-owned, veteran-owned (VA), women-owned (WOSB and EDWOSB) and Indian small business economic enterprise set-asides, including sole-source awards under those programs.
- FedReady logs every notice the first time its nightly load sees it and keeps that record after SAM.gov archives the notice, so a month's totals don't shrink later. The log started on October 10, 2026 from the notices still active that day, so September 2026 undercounts notices that were posted and archived earlier. Treat these totals as a minimum.
- Agencies are the sub-tier agency SAM.gov names, or the department when there's none.
Cite as: FedReady, “Small Business Set-Aside Contracts Posted in September 2026,” https://www.fedready.us/reports/set-asides/2026-09.