NAICS 485991 and the other codes a NEMT company gets filed under
Overview
Most NEMT companies file under NAICS 485991, Special Needs Transportation, the code the Census Bureau's index gives nonemergency medical transportation other than ambulance service. A company giving medical care on board belongs in 621910, and a broker that only arranges rides in 488999. The code sets your SBA size standard, $19.0 million in receipts for 485991. Federal tax forms use a shorter list, where NEMT falls under 485990.
On this page
Which code fits a NEMT company?
For most NEMT companies the answer is NAICS 485991, Special Needs Transportation. The Census Bureau’s 2022 manual describes the industry as establishments whose main activity is special needs transportation for disabled or elderly people, other than trips to and from school or work, and adds that they “may use specially equipped vehicles.” Two of the entries the 2022 index file assigns to it are “nonemergency medical transportation services (except ambulance services)” and “paratransit transportation services.”
Medical care on board is what separates it from an ambulance company. Code 621910, Ambulance Services, is for moving patients by ground or air “along with medical care,” and the manual pictures vehicles “equipped with lifesaving equipment operated by medically trained personnel.” Its cross-reference sends transportation of disabled or elderly people without medical care back to 485991. A wheelchair or stretcher van whose drivers give no medical care on the way belongs in 485991.
Choose the code for your main line of business. Federal buyers see it first in your SAM.gov registration, which the government contracts guide walks through. Federal buyers also ask for a CAGE code, which comes with the SAM.gov registration.
Where the code follows you
- SAM.gov. Your codes go in the assertions part of the registration, next to the receipts and headcount figures SBA’s size rules use. The same registration issues your Unique Entity ID.
- Federal bids. Under 13 CFR 121.402, the contracting officer chooses the single code that best fits the purchase, and apart from multiple award contracts, each solicitation names a single code and a single size standard.
- Small business size. Under 13 CFR 121.201, a 485991 company stays small up to $19.0 million in average annual receipts, against $22.5 million for 621910 and $25.0 million for 488999.
- OSHA records. OSHA’s partially exempt list leaves out industry group 4859, home of 485991, so injury and illness logs apply once you had more than 10 employees at any point in the last calendar year. The OSHA guide explains the forms.
- Industry data. The Census establishment counts in our industry statistics are counts of this code.
When another code fits better
Six codes sit near NEMT, and the right one follows the company’s main work.
| Code | Industry title | Fits a company whose main work is |
|---|---|---|
| 485991 | Special Needs Transportation | Rides for elderly or disabled riders in wheelchair vans, stretcher vans, or sedans, with no medical care |
| 621910 | Ambulance Services | Patient transport with medical care from trained crews |
| 488999 | All Other Support Activities for Transportation | Coordinating rides that other companies drive (the broker role) |
| 485310 | Taxi and Ridesharing Services | Sedan, taxi, and rideshare trips off fixed routes and schedules |
| 485410 | School and Employee Bus Transportation | Buses taking students to school or staff to work, disabled or elderly riders included |
| 485999 | All Other Transit and Ground Passenger Transportation | Shuttles on set routes and times, car pools, and vanpools |
Why the tax return says 485990
The IRS keeps a shorter list. Its principal business activity codes, printed in the 2025 Schedule C and Form 1120 instructions, lump several NAICS industries into one number. Special needs transportation falls inside 485990, Other transit and ground passenger transportation. Schedule C puts taxi and rideshare work under 485300, while Form 1120 lists taxi and ridesharing services as 485310. Both put ambulances under 621900, Other ambulatory health care services.
Loan paperwork is where the two lists meet. On the 7(a) borrower information form (SBA Form 1919, March 19, 2025 version), the industry box takes a six-digit NAICS code, and the form says applicants “must match the business activity code provided on their IRS income tax filings, if applicable.” For a NEMT company whose return shows 485990, the six-digit code inside that group is 485991. The SBA loan guide walks through the other parts of a 7(a) application.
SIC 4119 and the 2026 proposals
If a form asks for a code from the older SIC system, the match is 4119, Local Passenger Transportation, Not Elsewhere Classified. When the Census Bureau mapped SIC to the first NAICS edition, it split 4119 several ways: special needs transportation went to 485991, ambulances to the ambulance industry (now 621910), and employee transportation to 485410.
Two proposals could change the picture. OMB’s July 13, 2026 notice on NAICS 2027 would fold four urban transit industries into one code, 485110, without touching 485991 or any other code in the table. SBA’s August 20, 2026 proposal would replace its six-digit limits with 338 limits for four- and five-digit groups, and would switch many industries from a receipts test to an employee count. Comments now close November 20, 2026, after an extension, and the $19.0 million limit stays in force unless SBA finalizes a change.
Frequently asked questions
- Can we change our NAICS code later?
- Yes. SAM.gov lets a registered company update its record at any time, and the yearly renewal is a good moment to review the codes. Keep the primary code in step with the activity code on your tax return, because SBA's 7(a) borrower form tells applicants to match the two.
- Would a stretcher van company ever use the ambulance code?
- Only if it gives medical care during the ride. The Census Bureau keeps 621910 for patient transport that comes with medical care from trained personnel. Its ambulance definition sends transportation of disabled or elderly people without medical care to 485991.
- What code goes on a VA special mode transportation bid?
- Check each notice, because the contracting officer assigns the code. The Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center's special mode transportation notice of May 29, 2026 used 485991 with its $19 million size standard and asked every responder for its business size under that code.
