U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA)
SBA From 355, Information for Small Business Size Determination Renewal
OMB Control Number 3245-0101
Justification – Part A Supporting Statement
Overview of Information Collection
This is a renewal of an existing information collection required whenever a U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Government Contracting Area Office needs to conduct a formal size determination of a firm following a size status protest. This information is collected via SBA’s Form 355, Information for Small Business Size Determination, which will expire and needs to be updated.
Need & Method for the Information Collection.
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and other Federal agencies offer financial assistance and special contracting opportunities for business concerns that are small according to size standards found at 13 CFR 121.201. This form provides information about the business being reviewed to determine whether it is eligible for small business programs. The form also collects information to allow SBA to determine whether the business seeking assistance has one or more affiliates, based on the affiliation rules in 13 CFR §§ 121.103 (contracting and development programs) and 121.301 (financial assistance).
Section 8(b)(6) of the Small Business Act authorizes SBA to determine status as a “small business concern” for a business seeking assistance under the Act, and 13 CFR 121.1008(c) authorizes SBA to collect information about the business subject to a review. SBA conducts formal size determinations when there is a size protest against an apparent awardee of a Federal solicitation that has been fully or partially restricted to small businesses. See 13 CFR §§ 121.1001 et seq. The size determination is conducted by the responsible SBA Office of Government Contracting. As part of the process of the size determination, the Office of Government Contracting collects information about the protested firm using SBA Form 355, Information for Small Business Size Determination. SBA Form 355 is electronically fillable and is reviewed by Size Specialists. If the information in SBA Form 355 is not collected, then it is not possible for the Size Specialist to conduct the formal size determination as required under 13 CFR § 121.1009.
This PRA submission makes no changes to SBA Form 355.
Use of the Information.
This information collection will be used to verify a business’s self-certification as a small business. When a size protest or administrative request for a size determination is filed with SBA at one of its Government Contracting Area Offices or Disaster Area Offices, a size specialist will inform the business that its size is being challenged and includes Form 355 with the notice letter. The size specialist will advise the business that the information requested in SBA Form 355 will be used in determining whether the business qualifies as small. The information collected is about the business’ organization; its owners and operators; its relationships, both personal and business-wise; and, depending on whether the determination is to be based on employees or receipts, the employees or the receipts received by the firm and its acknowledged affiliates and possible affiliates. The form explains that there are criminal penalties for false statements. The information collected will be used to measure whether a business is small or other than small, based on the applicable size standard, and based on the specific affiliation that applies to the program from which the business seeks assistance.
The information in Form 355 may be reviewed by the Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) when reviewing a formal size determination on appeal. Otherwise it is not subject to disclosure or any other privacy concerns.
Use of Information Technology.
The SBA Government Contracting Area Offices use electronic delivery of this form and other information related to size. For electronic submissions, SBA allows submission through encrypted file sharing (Box.com).
Non-duplication.
In 2024, SBA conducted a full review of Form 355 and deleted questions that are duplicative or unnecessary. For the questions concerning affiliation and size, there is no similar information available to SBA. This information collection does not contain any new requests that could duplicate others.
Burden on Small Business.
This information collection does not have a significant economic burden on a substantial number of small businesses, given the universe of businesses that fall into that category. A small business typically self certifies its size status and SBA does not conduct a size determination. SBA only collects the information requested in Form 355 in the event of a size protest or request for size determination, which affects between 200 to 300 businesses per year.
As noted above this information collection is the only way for SBA to access the data needed to make a formal size determination of a firm.
Less Frequent Collection.
The Federal Government would not be able to properly confirm a small business concern’s size without the collection of this data. Information about a business is collected to assist in determining its status as a small business for program participation purposes in cases where eligibility is questioned.
The frequency of this information collection is entirely dependent on how often a firm is subject to a size status protest or other formal size determination. In those circumstances, both the firm and SBA have specific timeframes withing which they must provide the requested information and conduct the size determination.
Paperwork Reduction Act Guidelines.
A firm may be required to complete Form 355 more often than quarterly depending on how often they are the subject of a size status protest or other formal size determination. A firm that is subject to a size status protest must complete Form 355 and return it to the Office of Government Contracting within 3 working days of receiving the blank form. 13 CFR 121.1008(c). This may be extended at SBA’s discretion.
Consultation and Public Comments.
SBA is requesting to approval of a revision to an information collection for the Small Business Size Determination. A 60-day notice and request for comments was published on January 24, 2025 at 90 FR 8168. No comments were received.
Gifts or Payment.
No gifts or payments will be given to respondents.
Privacy & Confidentiality.
The information collected in Form 355 is maintained under conditions designed to preclude access by other than Agency personnel who have need to such access. It is available for review by the Office of Government Contracting when making formal size determinations or by the Office of Hearings and Appeals in the event a party to a size protest or size determination appeals the decision. Because the information collected is not maintained in a system of Records, the Privacy Act is not implicated. SBA’s rules require that SBA will not disclose information obtained in the course of a size determination except as permitted by Federal law. 13 CFR § 121.1008(d).
Sensitive Questions.
No questions of a sensitive nature are asked in Form 355.
Burden Estimate.
The total number of respondents to SBA Form 355 is estimated to be about 250 annually. The SBA estimates 4 hours per response. Thus, total annual burden hours are calculated at 1,800 hours. The estimated annualized cost to the respondents for SBA’s collection of information is estimated at $32,250. This calculation is based on 1,000 hours times $32.52/hour1 (approximate wage rate for Federal government employees at a GS-9 step 10 level who would perform similar administrative support).
This is summarized in the table below.
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Estimated nonrecurring costs.
There are no capital or start-up cost components, nor are there any operation or maintenance and purchase of services components associated with this collection of information.
Estimated cost to the Government.
The estimated annual cost to the Federal Government of this collection of information is $43,140, calculated as follows:
250 respondents x 4 hours per respondent = 1,000
1,800 hours x $ 43.14/hour2 = $43,140
Reasons for changes.
There is a reduction in the estimated burden associated with completing this information collection.
Publicizing Results.
SBA does not plan to publish any of the information collected in Form 355.
OMB Not to Display Approval.
Not applicable.
Exceptions to "Certification for Paperwork Reduction Submissions.
There are no exceptions to the certification statement.
B. COLLECTION OF INFORMATION EMPLOYING STATISTICAL METHODS
This collection of information does not employ statistical methods.
1 Base wage rate based on the Office of Personnel Managements Salary Table 2025-GS,
https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/salary-tables/25Tables/html/GS_h.aspx
2 Base wage rate of GS-13 step 1 based on the Office of Personnel Managements Salary Table 2025-GS,
https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/salary-tables/25Tables/html/GS_h.aspx
| File Type | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document |
| File Modified | 0000-00-00 |
| File Created | 2025-06-30 |