Short answer
The NAICS code for handyman services is 236118, Residential Remodelers: the Census Bureau's index lists "handyman construction service, residential building" there. Handyman work on commercial or institutional buildings is 236220. If one trade brings in most of your revenue, use that trade's code instead (238320 painting, 238310 drywall, 238350 finish carpentry), and if you mainly pressure wash or clean gutters, use 561790. The usual SIC code is 1521.
- Census indexes residential handyman work under 236118 and commercial handyman work under 236220.
- If one trade is most of your revenue, use that trade's 238 code instead.
- Pressure washing, gutter and chimney cleaning are 561790; lawnmower repair (811411) is not handyman work.
- 236118 had 135,337 establishments in 2023, and 81% had fewer than five employees.
- Federal multi-trade maintenance jobs with no trade over 50% are classified under the 238990 exception at $19.0 million.
On this page
This page is for handyman businesses filling in a business license, insurance or bank application, a tax return or SAM.gov, and for sellers who want to find handyman firms. It sets out the official answer, the cases where a different code fits, the SIC code, Census counts and the federal rules for multi-trade work.
The handyman codes
| NAICS 2022 | Official title | When it fits a handyman | Establishments, 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 236118 | Residential Remodelers | General repair, maintenance and small improvements to houses and apartments, across several trades | 135,337 |
| 236220 | Commercial and Institutional Building Construction | The same mix of work on offices, shops, schools and other nonresidential buildings | 39,072 |
| 238990 | All Other Specialty Trade Contractors | Specialty work no other trade code covers | 42,748 |
| 561790 | Other Services to Buildings and Dwellings | Pressure washing, gutter, chimney, duct and drain cleaning, pool cleaning | 18,069 |
The answer for most handymen is 236118. Its definition covers "remodeling construction (including additions, alterations, reconstruction, maintenance, and repairs)" of houses and other residential buildings, and its index entries include "handyman construction service, residential building" and "home improvement". 236220 has the matching entry for commercial and institutional buildings.
Some data vendors publish extended codes such as "236118-15 Handyman Services". Those are vendor subdivisions, not NAICS. Government forms take six digits, so enter 236118.
How to choose
| If most of your revenue comes from... | Use | Not |
|---|---|---|
| Mixed repairs and small jobs in homes (fixtures, doors, patching, assembly, small carpentry) | 236118 | 811411 or 811490 |
| The same mix in commercial buildings | 236220 | 561210 |
| One trade, such as interior painting | 238320 Painting and Wall Covering Contractors | 236118 |
| Drywall and insulation | 238310 | 236118 |
| Trim, cabinets, doors and other finish carpentry | 238350 | 236118 |
| Pressure washing, gutter cleaning or chimney sweeping | 561790 | 236118 |
| Lawn care with seasonal snow plowing | 561730 Landscaping Services | 561790 |
| Repairing appliances in customers' homes | 811412 Appliance Repair and Maintenance | 236118 |
| Building new houses | 236115 | 236118 |
The trap in the search results is 811411. Its official title is Home and Garden Equipment Repair and Maintenance, and it covers servicing lawnmowers, power tools, snowblowers and trimmers, not repairing homes.
If electrical, plumbing or HVAC work is most of your revenue, you're an electrical contractor (238210) or plumbing and HVAC contractor (238220), not a handyman, for coding purposes.
The SIC code for handyman services
The usual SIC code is 1521, General Contractors, Single-Family Houses. In the Census concordance, 1521 splits in two: new construction goes to 236115 and remodeling contractors to 236118. Other SIC codes a handyman might see:
| SIC 1987 | Title | Maps to NAICS 2022 |
|---|---|---|
| 1521 | General Contractors, Single-Family Houses | 236115, 236118 |
| 1522 | General Contractors, Residential Buildings Other Than Single-Family | 236116, 236118, 236220 |
| 1799 | Special Trade Contractors, NEC | 13 codes, including 238320, 238350, 238990 and 561790 |
| 7349 | Building Cleaning and Maintenance Services, NEC | 561720, 561790 |
SIC 1799 is the catch-all. Its pieces include power washing building exteriors (now 561790), paint stripping, countertop installation and modular furniture installation, which is why it maps to 13 NAICS codes and why a SIC 1799 list is a poor proxy for handymen.
How many handyman businesses there are
County Business Patterns doesn't count handymen separately: they're inside 236118 with remodelers of every size. In 2023, 236118 had 135,337 establishments with paid employees, 480,272 employees and $27.4 billion in annual payroll.
| Employees | Establishments | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer than 5 | 109,661 | 81.0% |
| 5 to 9 | 15,730 | 11.6% |
| 10 to 19 | 6,723 | 5.0% |
| 20 to 49 | 2,600 | 1.9% |
| 50 to 99 | 463 | 0.3% |
| 100 to 249 | 143 | 0.1% |
| 250 to 499 | 15 | under 0.1% |
Census doesn't publish the count for the two largest size classes, so the bands sum to two fewer than the total. The top states are California (16,792), New York (13,427), Florida (10,287), Texas (6,224) and Illinois (6,209).
The bigger caveat is who's missing. CBP counts only businesses with paid employees, and most handymen work alone. A one-person handyman business with no staff is outside these numbers, so the 135,337 is a floor for remodeling businesses, not a count of handymen. CBP 2023 uses NAICS 2017; 236118 didn't change in 2022.
Size standards and federal maintenance work
| Code | SBA size standard (average annual receipts) |
|---|---|
| 236118 Residential Remodelers | $45.0 million |
| 236220 Commercial and Institutional Building Construction | $45.0 million |
| 238990 exception: Building and Property Specialty Trade Services | $19.0 million |
| 561790 Other Services to Buildings and Dwellings | $9.0 million |
| 561210 Facilities Support Services | $47.0 million |
From 13 CFR 121.201, effective March 17, 2023 and unchanged in the eCFR as of 28 October 2026. The footnotes matter to handyman firms that bid on federal maintenance:
- Building and Property Specialty Trade Services. If a procurement needs several specialty trades (plumbing, painting, plastering, carpentry) and none accounts for 50% or more of its value, SBA classifies it under this 238990 exception, with a $19.0 million standard.
- Facilities Support Services. A contract only goes under 561210 if it combines three or more separate activities, and "Building and Property Specialty Trade Services" counts as only one of them.
So a federal "handyman" or general maintenance contract will usually carry 238990, not 236118. If you want that work, list 238990 in SAM.gov as well as your primary code.
Where else the code is used
- Tax returns. Schedule C uses the IRS's list: 236100 for residential building construction (it doesn't split out remodelers), or 238990 and 561790 if those fit better.
- Insurance. Underwriters rate the work you actually do, so give a code and a description that match it, not the riskiest trade you occasionally take on.
- Business licenses. If a city or state form asks for a NAICS code, remember the code doesn't decide whether you need a contractor license; the licensing rules for your trade and job size do.
Finding handyman businesses
There are no large public handyman companies to look up on EDGAR: the SEC registrants under SIC 1520 and 1531 are homebuilders and building-products installers. The names come from local sources: city business license lists, state contractor registries where handymen must register, and online review sites. Bebop can search by description, for example handyman and home repair businesses in a metro with three to ten technicians, and explain why each company fits.
Worked example
Illustrative example. The business and figures are invented.
Two Oaks Home Repair (twooaks.example) has four technicians. Last year's revenue was $640,000: small repairs and installs in homes $390,000 (61%), interior painting $150,000 (23%), and pressure washing and gutter cleaning $100,000 (16%).
Its largest line is mixed repair work across trades, so its primary code is 236118. Painting is a secondary code (238320), and 561790 covers the cleaning work. If painting grew to become the largest line, 238320 would become the primary code.
For a federal maintenance contract with a $200,000 base (carpentry $70,000, painting $60,000, plumbing repairs $40,000, electrical repairs $30,000), the largest trade is 35% of the value. No trade reaches 50%, so the contracting officer would classify it under the 238990 exception, and Two Oaks, with receipts far below $19.0 million, would be small.
Next step: if your customers are local contractors, the construction leads guide shows where to find them by trade.
Sources
- North American Industry Classification System, 2022: 236118 Residential Remodelers, US Census Bureau, accessed 30 October 2026
- 2022 NAICS Manual files: descriptions, cross-references and index, US Census Bureau, accessed 30 October 2026
- NAICS concordances (1987 SIC to 2002 NAICS through 2017 to 2022 NAICS), US Census Bureau, accessed 30 October 2026
- County Business Patterns: 2023, US Census Bureau, accessed 30 October 2026
- 13 CFR 121.201, What size standards has SBA identified by NAICS codes? (including footnotes 12 and 13), Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, accessed 30 October 2026
- Instructions for Schedule C (Form 1040) (2025), Internal Revenue Service, accessed 30 October 2026
- SIC Manual, Division C: Construction, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, accessed 30 October 2026
Written by the Bebop team at Blackpearl Group. Published .
Questions people ask
What is the NAICS code for handyman services?
236118, Residential Remodelers. The Census Bureau's NAICS index lists "handyman construction service, residential building" under 236118, and the commercial equivalent under 236220. If one trade, such as painting or drywall, makes up most of your revenue, use that trade's 238 code. If you mostly pressure wash or clean gutters, use 561790, Other Services to Buildings and Dwellings.
What is the SIC code for a handyman?
SIC 1521, General Contractors, Single-Family Houses, is the usual choice; its remodeling and repair work maps to NAICS 236118. Handyman work on apartment buildings fits SIC 1522. SIC 1799, Special Trade Contractors NEC, is sometimes used, but it's a catch-all that maps to 13 NAICS codes, from painting to power washing, so it says little about what you do.
Is NAICS 811411 the code for handyman services?
No. 811411 is Home and Garden Equipment Repair and Maintenance: servicing lawnmowers, handheld power tools, snowblowers, edgers and trimmers. Repairing and maintaining homes is construction work, which the Census Bureau classifies under 236118, Residential Remodelers. Appliance repair has its own code, 811412, and repairing other household goods is 811490. None of these is the right primary code for a handyman.
What NAICS code should a property maintenance company use?
It depends on the service mix. Repairs and small improvements across several trades fit 236118 for residential or 236220 for commercial buildings. Pressure washing, gutter and duct cleaning fit 561790. Seasonal landscaping with snow plowing is 561730. A company supplying on-site staff for three or more separate services inside a client's facility is 561210, Facilities Support Services.
What is the SBA size standard for handyman services?
Under SBA's table effective March 17, 2023, 236118 Residential Remodelers has a size standard of $45.0 million in average annual receipts. Federal maintenance contracts that need several trades, with none over half the value, use the 238990 Building and Property Specialty Trade Services exception at $19.0 million. Building services under 561790 have a $9.0 million standard.