SIC code for electrical contractors: 1731, and NAICS 238210

This page is for electrical contractors and electricians who need a code for an insurance, bonding or bank application, a vendor portal, SAM.gov or a tax return, and for sellers building a list of electrical firms. It covers both code systems, the edge cases, Census counts and the federal size standard.

The electrical contractor codes

The NAICS index for 238210 is broad. Besides electricians and electrical wiring contractors, it lists low-voltage work, computer and network cabling, fiber optic cable (except transmission lines), telephone and cable TV hookups, audio-visual and home theater installation, home automation and building automation systems, standby generator installation, photovoltaic and solar panel installation, lighting, traffic signals and airport runway lighting, and fire, burglar and surveillance alarm installation done without monitoring.

How to choose: the edge cases

Most of these come straight from Census cross-references. Electrical work within buildings is 238210, and so are highway lighting and traffic signals, while building power and communication lines, substations and power plants is 237130. Alarm installation alone stays in 238210, but "burglar and fire alarm installation combined with sales, maintenance, or monitoring services" is 561621. Electric utilities that maintain their own lines are classified in utilities (2211), not construction.

How SIC 1731 maps to NAICS

In the Census concordance, SIC 1731 maps to 238210 alone. The reverse isn't quite one to one: 238210 also takes the environmental control installation work that used to sit in SIC 1711, Plumbing, Heating, and Air-Conditioning. So a list built on SIC 1731 misses some controls contractors that NAICS counts as electrical.

The SEC uses 1731 for its own industry list, and its assignments follow history more than today's revenue mix. Quanta Services, whose work is largely utility and power line infrastructure, and Comfort Systems USA, mainly a mechanical (HVAC and plumbing) contractor, both file under 1731.

How many electrical contractors there are

County Business Patterns counted 83,342 establishments in 238210 in 2023, with 1,015,983 employees and an annual payroll of $77.8 billion, about $76,500 per employee.

The top states are California (10,162), Florida (6,492), Texas (6,124), New York (5,232) and North Carolina (3,089). CBP counts locations with paid employees, so it leaves out electricians working alone and counts each branch of a multi-office contractor separately. CBP 2023 uses NAICS 2017; 238210 didn't change in 2022.

SBA size standards

From 13 CFR 121.201, effective March 17, 2023 and unchanged in the eCFR as of 28 October 2026, averaged over your latest five complete fiscal years. Receipts include the equipment and materials you bill, since SBA allows only the exclusions its rule lists (13 CFR 121.104). On a materials-heavy job such as a solar or generator install, that brings the $19.0 million line closer than a labor-only view suggests.

Where the code is used

• Federal contracts. A solicitation carries one NAICS code chosen by the contracting officer for the component with the greatest share of the value (13 CFR 121.402). Electrical work on a building job is 238210; the same firm bidding on a transmission line project competes under 237130 and its $45.0 million standard. List both in SAM.gov if you do both.
• Tax returns. Schedule C uses 238210, Electrical contractors.
• Insurance and bonding. Underwriters treat power line, solar and low-voltage work as different risks, so describe your work mix along with the code.

Finding electrical contractors

Where your state licenses electricians, its license lookup is the best starting list, and permit records show who's pulling electrical permits now. For public companies, EDGAR lists SIC 1731 registrants. The largest:

These four are far larger than almost all of the 83,342 establishments, and IES is the one whose business is mostly building electrical and technology systems. For the private contractors, a Bebop search such as commercial electrical contractors in North Carolina with 20 to 100 employees doing data center work returns matching firms with the reason each fits.

Worked example

Illustrative example. The business and figures are invented.

Brightline Electric (brightline.example) earned $14.2 million last year: commercial and industrial wiring $8.4 million (59%), rooftop solar installs $3.9 million (27%), and structured cabling for offices $1.9 million (13%). All three are 238210, so it needs one code, not three.

Its five-year receipts were $8.8 million, $10.1 million, $11.6 million, $12.9 million and $14.2 million: $57.6 million in total, an average of $11.5 million, under the $19.0 million standard. If it wins a $9 million utility-scale solar subcontract next year, that project is 237130 work. Brightline would list 237130 as a secondary code; its primary stays 238210 as long as building electrical work is the bigger share.

Next step: see how the trades fit together in the NAICS code for construction guide.