NAICS code for interior design: 541410, and when a design firm needs another code

This page is for interior designers and decorators filling in a form that asks for a NAICS or SIC code (SAM.gov, a resale certificate, an insurer, a tax return) and for sellers listing design firms by code.

The NAICS codes for interior design and its neighbors

Interior design sits in 5414, Specialized Design Services, in Sector 54, Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services.

How to choose: design, build or sell

The 541410 definition is about design work. Once a firm builds what it designs, or makes most of its money selling furniture and finishes, the code follows that activity.

The furniture question decides more codes than any other. Many residential designers buy furniture at trade prices and resell it with a markup. If design fees earn more, the code is 541410. If product sales do, the business is a retailer in NAICS terms. Use the one that brings in more revenue: the IRS asks for "the principal source of your sales or receipts."

SIC codes for interior design

The official SIC system (1987) has no code for interior design. The Census concordance puts it inside 7389, Business Services, NEC, alongside industrial design, fashion design and dozens of unrelated services:

So a SIC 7389 list of "interior designers" is mostly not interior designers (see SIC code 7389). Codes such as 7389-02 or 1522-07 that some directories show are their own six-digit extensions, not part of the official four-digit SIC. To convert other codes, use the NAICS to SIC converter.

How many interior design firms there are

County Business Patterns (CBP) 2023, the Census Bureau's count of establishments with paid employees:

Interior design firms are tiny: 13,720 (81.7%) have fewer than five employees, 2,035 have 5 to 9, 720 have 10 to 19, 264 have 20 to 49 and only 57 have 50 or more. The average is 3.3 employees per location, and payroll per employee is about $66,800 (our calculation). Architecture firms average 8.3.

The top states are California (2,853), Florida (2,003), New York (1,484), Texas (1,299) and Illinois (708). Together they hold almost half of all interior design establishments.

CBP counts locations with paid employees. Designers who work alone without staff aren't counted, so the real number of practicing designers is far higher. CBP 2023 uses NAICS 2017; 541410 didn't change in 2022.

SBA size standards

For federal contracts, the SBA compares your average annual receipts over your last five completed fiscal years, affiliates included, with the standard for the contract's code. From 13 CFR 121.201 on the eCFR (last amended March 17, 2023):

Furniture an agency buys is a supply, and 13 CFR 121.402(b) says supply purchases take a manufacturing or supply code, not a retail or wholesale one. A firm that also manages build-outs should list 236220 too. The small business size standards page explains how receipts and affiliates are counted.

Where the code is used and what a wrong one costs

• Federal contracts. The contracting officer picks one code per solicitation. A design firm with $11 million in average receipts is other than small under 541410 but small under 541310 or 236220.
• Tax returns. The IRS Schedule C list has one code for the whole design group: 541400, Specialized design services (including interior, industrial, graphic, & fashion design).
• Lists. A design firm coded 541310 or 236118 drops out of searches for interior designers.

Finding interior design firms

SEC EDGAR has no SIC code for interior design (it would sit in 7389 with unrelated businesses), so public filings won't give you a list. CBP gives counts by state and county but no names. The practical sources are professional association directories, state licensing boards in the states that regulate interior design, and project credits in trade press. A Bebop search takes plain-language criteria (residential or commercial, hospitality or health care focus, firm size, city) and returns firms and contacts with the reason each fits.

Worked example: coding a residential design studio

Illustrative example. The company and figures are invented.

Linden Row Interiors (lindenrow.example) in Atlanta designs homes and a few boutique hotel lobbies. Last year it billed $1.4 million in design fees and $0.9 million reselling furniture and lighting to homeowners, and it hired out all construction. Average annual receipts over five fiscal years: $1.9 million.

1. Primary code. Design fees are 61% of revenue ($1.4 million of $2.3 million): 541410.
2. Watch the mix. If product resale passes design fees, the primary code becomes 449110, Furniture Retailers (our reading). Linden Row tracks the split each year.
3. Size check. $1.9 million is far under the $9.0 million limit.
4. Other forms. SIC 7389 on a bank form; 541400 on a Schedule C. A state resale certificate for the furniture purchases is a separate sales tax registration.

Next step: for the codes around design (architects, engineers, consultants), see the NAICS code for professional services.