What SBIR and STTR are and how to apply
Use this guide to check your research idea, choose a program, and prepare the registrations and proposal.
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Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) support small businesses developing technology with commercial potential. SBA coordinates these programs, also called America’s Seed Fund, while participating federal agencies select proposals and award funding. Read the official program overview. Your starting point is an agency’s research need and application instructions.
Check whether you have a research project
SBIR supports research and development with potential for commercialization. STTR adds a formal collaboration with a research institution. Both use competitive agency solicitations. SBIR.gov explains the programs’ purposes. Start by describing what your team needs to discover or demonstrate, then identify a solicitation that fits that work.
NSF offers a useful fit check: its program seeks substantial research and development, and excludes straightforward engineering or incremental product development. Its Project Pitch asks for the innovation, technical challenges, market opportunity, and team. Read NSF’s project suitability and pitch instructions. Use those questions to test whether you can explain the research clearly before committing to a full proposal.
Choose between SBIR and STTR
For STTR, the small business is the direct award recipient and must partner with a qualifying US research institution. The business must perform at least 40% of the work, and the institution at least 30%. Eligible partners include nonprofit universities, nonprofit research organizations, and federally funded research and development centers. Check SBIR.gov’s partnership requirements.
SBIR permits research partners without requiring the STTR partnership structure. NIH’s comparison explains that SBIR businesses may outsource up to 33% of Phase I research and 50% of Phase II research. It also distinguishes investigator employment: NIH SBIR generally requires primary employment with the business, while NIH STTR allows employment with either the business or research partner. Read NIH’s SBIR/STTR comparison. Verify the specific agency’s rules before allocating work or naming the principal investigator.
Check ownership, size, and location
The program’s eligibility rules cover for-profit status, US business operations, ownership and control, and a size limit of no more than 500 employees including affiliates. The usual ownership route requires more than 50% ownership and control by eligible US citizens, permanent residents, qualifying small businesses, or a combination. Some SBIR agencies allow a separate route for certain investment-owned businesses. Use SBA’s full eligibility guide (PDF) to examine your ownership structure.
Make a list of owners, controlling interests, related companies, and employees before certifying eligibility. SBA’s guide explains how affiliation affects the employee count and says eligibility certifications are required at award; some agencies also require application-stage certifications. Read the guide’s certification and affiliation sections. If your structure is complicated, work through it with the agency’s grants or contracting contact before submitting.
Understand the funding phases
Phase I develops proof of concept. Phase II continues the research and development, typically following Phase I. Phase III pursues commercialization using sources outside SBIR/STTR program funds, including private-sector opportunities or federal contracting. SBIR.gov describes the phases. Use the current solicitation for the available award size, project duration, and application route.
Some agencies offer additional paths. NIH describes Fast-Track, which combines Phase I and Phase II in one application, and Direct to Phase II for projects that have already demonstrated feasibility. Review NIH’s funding-path explanation. Discuss the evidence you already have with program staff before choosing a path.
Apply in five practical steps
1. Find an agency and read its solicitation
Use the official participating-agency directory to reach agency programs. Applications respond to a specific solicitation and technical topic; SBIR.gov says unsolicited proposals are not accepted. See the application eligibility FAQs. Save the solicitation and any instructions it incorporates, then mark its eligibility, scope, and submission requirements.
2. Complete the required registrations
Register in SAM.gov and separately in the SBIR/STTR Company Registry. The registry provides an identifier and a downloadable registration record for your application. SAM registration does not replace it. Follow the Company Registry instructions. Our SAM.gov and UEI guide covers the federal entity registration steps.
Also check agency systems. NIH lists SAM.gov, Grants.gov, eRA Commons, and SBA registration, and warns that completing the overall registration process can take six weeks or more. See NIH’s registration checklist. Put account owners and completion dates on your planning sheet.
3. Use the agency’s entry process
NSF starts with a project suitability assessment and Project Pitch, followed by an invitation before a full proposal. It uses Research.gov for proposal preparation and submission. Review NSF’s starting steps and full-proposal instructions. Follow your chosen agency’s route instead of assuming every SBIR/STTR application goes through Grants.gov Workspace.
4. Build the research plan and budget together
For each technical challenge, explain the experiment or test, what result would demonstrate progress, and who will do the work. Connect that work to the customer need and your team’s capabilities. These are central elements in NSF’s pitch guidance. Check the solicitation for required proposal sections and supporting documents; NSF’s full-proposal page directs applicants to those official requirements.
5. Submit, track, and review the result
Follow the agency’s submission checklist through its status checks. For NIH, submission includes tracking the application in Grants.gov and eRA Commons and viewing the assembled application. Errors must be corrected before the deadline. Use NIH’s submit, track, and view instructions. If using Workspace, read our Grants.gov guide.
Continue your search in grants for small businesses or science and technology grants. If your immediate need is ordinary business financing, compare the options in what the SBA actually offers before investing time in a research proposal.
Questions about SBIR and STTR
Can a nonprofit apply as the SBIR or STTR award recipient?
No. The direct award recipient must be an eligible small business. A qualifying nonprofit research institution can participate as the research partner in STTR. SBIR.gov’s eligibility FAQs.
Does SAM.gov registration also register my company for SBIR?
No. The SBIR/STTR Company Registry is a separate required registration. Save its registration document and identifier for the agency application. SBIR.gov’s registry FAQs.
Does the government take equity in my company?
SBIR.gov describes the programs as equity-free, non-dilutive funding. Participating agencies select and fund proposals to develop technology toward commercialization. SBIR.gov’s program overview.