Short answer
The NAICS code for a law firm is 541110, Offices of Lawyers: law firms, solo attorneys and legal aid offices, whatever the practice area. Legal work done by non-lawyers has other codes: paralegals, process servers, patent agents and notaries public are 541199, title and settlement offices 541191, and non-lawyer mediators and arbitrators 541990. Government lawyers are 922130. The SIC code for a law firm or attorney is 8111, Legal Services.
- Practice area doesn't change the code: criminal, corporate, family, patent, real estate and tax law are all 541110.
- The test is who does the work: a lawyer's practice is 541110; the same service by a paralegal, agent or notary is 541199.
- County Business Patterns counted 165,491 law offices with paid employees in 2023, paying $137.3 billion, about $125,600 per employee.
- The SBA's small-business limit for 541110 is $15.5 million in average annual receipts.
- SIC 8111 maps only to 541110, and EDGAR's 8111 list has one listed company, a consulting firm.
On this page
- The NAICS codes for legal services
- How to choose: who does the work
- SIC codes for law firms and attorneys
- How many law firms there are
- SBA size standards for legal codes
- Where the code is used and what a wrong one costs
- Finding law firms by code
- Worked example: a firm with a title affiliate
- Sources
- Questions people ask
This page is for law firms and legal service businesses filling in a form that asks for a NAICS or SIC code (SAM.gov, a bank, an insurer, a tax return) and for sellers listing law firms by code.
The NAICS codes for legal services
All the legal codes sit in 5411, Legal Services, in Sector 54, Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services, except government legal offices.
| NAICS 2022 code | Official title | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| 541110 | Offices of Lawyers | Offices of lawyers or attorneys practicing law, in any area: criminal, corporate, family and estate, patent, real estate, tax. Law firms, solo practices and legal aid services. |
| 541191 | Title Abstract and Settlement Offices | Non-law offices that search land records for title, prepare transfer and financing documents, and conduct real estate closings. Title search and settlement companies. |
| 541199 | All Other Legal Services | Specialized legal or paralegal services by non-lawyers: paralegals, process servers, patent agents, notaries public, jury and trial consultants. |
| 541120 | Offices of Notaries | Non-law offices empowered to draft, approve and execute legal documents such as wills and contracts. A notary who only witnesses signatures and takes oaths is 541199. |
| 922130 | Legal Counsel and Prosecution | Government legal offices: attorneys general, district attorneys, US attorneys and public defenders. |
How to choose: who does the work
The Census definition of 541110 is about the practitioner, not the matter. If lawyers practice law, it's 541110. The cross-references send non-lawyers doing legal work to 54119.
| If the business mainly... | Use | What the Census definition or index says |
|---|---|---|
| Is a law firm or solo attorney, any practice area | 541110 | "Law firms"; "Law offices"; "Attorneys' private practices" |
| Is a nonprofit legal aid office | 541110 | "Legal aid services" |
| Files and searches patents without being lawyers (patent agents) | 541199 | Patent attorneys are 541110; patent agents 541199 |
| Provides paralegal, process serving or notary public services | 541199 | Named in the illustrative examples |
| Advises on juries and trial strategy, without practicing law | 541199 | "Jury consulting services"; "Trial consulting services" |
| Mediates or arbitrates, staffed by non-lawyers | 541990, All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | "Arbitration and conciliation services (except by attorney, paralegal)" |
| Runs title searches and closings, not as a law office | 541191 | Real estate attorneys who close deals stay 541110 |
| Sells title insurance as an agent | 524210, Insurance Agencies and Brokerages | Title insurance agents go to Subsector 524 |
| Supplies contract attorneys or paralegals to firms | 561320, Temporary Help Services | Index lists legal personnel suppliers there |
| Provides court reporting | 561492, Court Reporting and Stenotype Services | "Court reporting services" |
| Records depositions on video | 541922, Commercial Photography | "Video taping services for legal depositions" |
| Is a district attorney, attorney general or public defender | 922130 | Government; not counted in County Business Patterns |
A corporation's in-house legal department isn't a law firm: it takes its employer's code. A law school is 611310, Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools.
SIC codes for law firms and attorneys
The SIC code for a law firm or attorney is 8111, Legal Services. The Census concordance maps it to one NAICS code, 541110. The other legal codes came from different SIC codes:
| SIC 1987 | NAICS 2022 codes it maps to |
|---|---|
| 8111 Legal Services | 541110 Offices of Lawyers |
| 6541 Title Abstract Offices | 541191 Title Abstract and Settlement Offices |
| 7389 Business Services, NEC (part) | 541199 All Other Legal Services, along with dozens of unrelated codes |
| 9222 Legal Counsel and Prosecution | 922130 Legal Counsel and Prosecution |
A SIC list for 8111 is clean, but paralegal and process server businesses are hidden inside SIC 7389, the catch-all for business services (see SIC code 7389). To convert other codes, use the NAICS to SIC converter.
How many law firms there are
County Business Patterns (CBP) 2023, the Census Bureau's count of establishments with paid employees:
| NAICS code | Establishments | Employees | Annual payroll |
|---|---|---|---|
| 541110 Offices of lawyers | 165,491 | 1,093,331 | $137.3 billion |
| 541191 Title abstract and settlement offices | 9,825 | 62,997 | $4.2 billion |
| 541199 All other legal services | 5,776 | 33,969 | $2.5 billion |
| 561492 Court reporting and stenotype services | 3,195 | 12,440 | $0.8 billion |
CBP publishes no count for 541120, Offices of Notaries.
Law offices are small: 118,754 (71.8%) have fewer than five employees, 24,921 have 5 to 9, 12,198 have 10 to 19 and 6,619 have 20 to 49. Only 1,150 have 100 or more, and 14 have 1,000 or more.
| State | Law offices | Employees | Payroll per employee (our calculation) |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 22,821 | 148,867 | $138,500 |
| Florida | 17,261 | 97,156 | $117,400 |
| Texas | 13,833 | 87,363 | $126,500 |
| New York | 11,745 | 114,660 | $163,700 |
| Illinois | 6,918 | 52,434 | $147,600 |
| District of Columbia | 1,197 | 31,104 | $234,200 |
Florida has more law offices than New York, but New York's are bigger and better paid. Washington, DC has 26 employees per office, against 6.6 nationally.
CBP counts locations with paid employees: a firm with 20 offices counts 20 times, and a solo lawyer with no staff isn't counted. Directories that include solo practitioners show far higher numbers. CBP 2023 uses NAICS 2017; no legal code changed in 2022.
SBA size standards for legal codes
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):
| NAICS code | Small if average annual receipts are no more than |
|---|---|
| 541110 Offices of lawyers | $15.5 million |
| 541191 Title abstract and settlement offices | $19.5 million |
| 541199 All other legal services | $20.5 million |
| 541990 All other professional, scientific and technical services | $19.5 million |
| 561492 Court reporting and stenotype services | $19.0 million |
| 561320 Temporary help services | $34.0 million |
541120 has no size standard of its own in the table. 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. Agencies buy legal support (paralegal services, litigation support, court reporting) under the code that fits the work, and your size is judged against that code. A litigation support company with $18 million in average receipts is small under 541199 but not under 541110. An adversely affected party can appeal a solicitation's code to the SBA's Office of Hearings and Appeals within 10 calendar days.
- Tax returns. The IRS Schedule C list has a single code, 541100, Legal services, for all of 5411: lawyers, paralegals, title offices and process servers alike.
- Insurance and banking. Professional liability insurers and banks often ask for a code or SIC. A non-lawyer business that lists 541110 or 8111 is describing itself as a law practice.
Finding law firms by code
Law firms don't appear on SEC EDGAR: its SIC 8111 list has one listed company, CRA International of Boston, which describes itself in its 10-K as "a leading global consulting firm specializing in providing economic, financial and management consulting services" (revenue $751.6 million, year to 3 January 2026). The public sources for firm lists are state bar directories, which list licensed attorneys and their firms, and court dockets, which show who appears in which cases. The selling to law firms guide covers who buys at a solo practice, a midsize firm and a large one. A Bebop search takes plain-language criteria (practice area, firm size, city) and returns firms and contacts with the reason each fits.
Worked example: a firm with a title affiliate
Illustrative example. The companies and figures are invented.
Harbor & Pine LLP (harborpine.example) is a 30-lawyer real estate and estate planning firm in Tampa. Its partners also own Harbor Title LLC, which runs title searches and closings and acts as agent for a title insurer. Five-year average receipts: law firm $11.0 million, title company $3.5 million.
- Law firm. Lawyers practicing law: 541110 and SIC 8111, whatever the share of real estate work.
- Title company. Searches and closings are 541191 (SIC 6541). If selling title insurance as agent earned more, it would be 524210.
- Size check. Common ownership makes the two affiliates, so the SBA adds their receipts: $14.5 million, under the $15.5 million limit for 541110, with $1.0 million to spare.
- Tax returns. Both would use 541100 on a Schedule C, but each LLC files its own return.
Next step: if you sell to law firms rather than run one, read selling to law firms for who decides at each size of firm and how they buy.
Sources
- 2022 NAICS definition: 541110 Offices of Lawyers, US Census Bureau, accessed 30 October 2026
- 2022 NAICS definition: 541199 All Other Legal Services, US Census Bureau, accessed 30 October 2026
- 2022 NAICS definition: 541191 Title Abstract and Settlement Offices, 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?, Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, accessed 30 October 2026
- 13 CFR 121.1103, What are the procedures for appealing a NAICS code or size standard designation?, Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, accessed 30 October 2026
- 2025 Instructions for Schedule C (Form 1040): Principal Business or Professional Activity Codes, Internal Revenue Service, accessed 30 October 2026
- Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code list, US Securities and Exchange Commission, accessed 30 October 2026
- CRA International Form 10-K, fiscal year ended January 3, 2026, US Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR), 26 February 2026
Written by the Bebop team at Blackpearl Group. Published .
Questions people ask
What is the NAICS code for a law firm?
541110, Offices of Lawyers. It covers law firms, solo attorneys and legal aid offices in every practice area, from criminal and family law to corporate, patent, real estate and tax law. It sits in 5411, Legal Services, in Sector 54. The SBA treats a 541110 business as small if its average annual receipts over five years are no more than $15.5 million.
What is the SIC code for an attorney?
SIC 8111, Legal Services, covers attorneys, law offices and legal aid. The Census Bureau's concordance maps it to a single NAICS code, 541110, Offices of Lawyers. Title abstract offices have their own SIC code, 6541, and paralegal and process server businesses fall inside SIC 7389, Business Services, NEC. Government legal offices are SIC 9222.
What NAICS code do paralegals use?
Independent paralegal businesses use 541199, All Other Legal Services, the code for specialized legal or paralegal services by people who aren't lawyers. The same code covers process servers, patent agents, notaries public and jury consultants. A paralegal employed by a law firm works in 541110 with the firm. Agencies that place contract paralegals with firms are 561320, Temporary Help Services.
What is the NAICS code for a mediator or arbitrator?
It depends on who runs it. A mediation or arbitration practice run by lawyers is 541110, Offices of Lawyers. Arbitration and conciliation services by non-lawyers are 541990, All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services; the Census index lists them there with the words "except by attorney, paralegal." The SBA size standard for 541990 is $19.5 million.
How many law firms are there in the US?
County Business Patterns counted 165,491 law offices with paid employees in 2023, employing 1,093,331 people with $137.3 billion in payroll. California had 22,821, Florida 17,261 and Texas 13,833. The count is of locations, so a multi-office firm counts once per office, and solo lawyers without employees aren't included, which is why directories show higher numbers.