SBIR Phase I — Department of Defense

Who qualifies

• For-profit US-based small business — must be incorporated (no sole proprietors, LLCs with pass-through-only structures may face issues depending on component)
• Fewer than 500 employees (including all affiliates and subsidiaries)
• 51% or more owned and controlled by US citizens or permanent legal residents (LPRs) — venture-backed companies with majority foreign VC ownership may be ineligible
• Principal Investigator (PI) must be primarily employed (>50% of working time) at the applicant small business at the time of award and during the Phase I performance period
• PI does not need to be a US citizen — permanent residents qualify
• Prior Phase II award limitation: companies that have received more than 15 Phase II awards (from all agencies combined) in the prior 5 fiscal years face heightened scrutiny (DoD policy requires justification from program offices for such companies — not a hard block but a process hurdle)
• No cost-sharing required for Phase I
• Work must be performed primarily in the United States
• Must register and maintain active status in SAM.gov with a valid UEI before award (registration must be active at time of proposal submission for some components)
• Must register in the SBIR Company Registry at sbir.gov before applying
• Must create an account in DSIP (Defense SBIR/STTR Innovation Portal) at dodsbirsttr.mil to submit proposals

Hard requirements

• Must be incorporated
• 51%+ US ownership required

What it covers

How to apply

1. 1

   Register in SAM.gov and obtain a UEI

   Go to sam.gov and register your company to obtain a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI). This replaced DUNS in 2022. Registration takes 7–14 business days to activate fully. Do this before you start writing — you cannot receive a federal award without an active SAM registration. Renew annually (lapse causes award delays).

   ~3 hrs

2. 2

   Register in the SBIR Company Registry

   Create a company profile at sbir.gov (the SBA's central SBIR registry). This is separate from SAM.gov and separate from DSIP. Required for all SBIR applicants. Captures your company's prior SBIR/STTR award history, ownership information, and employee count — information DoD uses to enforce the Phase II award limitation rule and ownership/control requirements.

   ~1 hrs

3. 3

   Create a DSIP account and review open topics

   Register at dodsbirsttr.mil — this is the DoD-specific submission portal (Defense SBIR/STTR Innovation Portal), distinct from sbir.gov and grants.gov. Browse the current BAA topic list by component (Army, Navy, Air Force, SOCOM, DARPA, etc.). Topics are written in dense govspeak — use the Q&A window (opens 2–4 weeks before close) to ask program managers whether your technology concept aligns with what they actually want. The Q&A window is critical; founders who skip it routinely miss the framing the evaluators expect.

   ~8 hrs

4. 4

   Submit technical questions during the Q&A window

   Submit written questions to the Topic Author (program manager) through DSIP during the published Q&A period. Questions and answers are posted publicly — read other companies' Q&As too, since they reveal what the evaluators are thinking. Strong Phase I awardees routinely cite program manager feedback in their proposals. Do not cold-call or email PMs directly — all communication must go through the official Q&A system.

   ~4 hrs

5. 5

   Write the technical volume

   Phase I proposals are typically 20–30 pages (check the specific topic's instructions — some components impose stricter limits). The technical volume must address the specific topic's requirements, establish your team's credentials, present a clear technical approach, and define measurable Phase I deliverables. DoD evaluators are typically active-duty or GS technical staff — they read proposals quickly and reward direct, jargon-light writing that maps clearly to the topic's stated goals. Avoid over-promising Phase III transition; reviewers have seen it all.

   ~60 hrs

6. 6

   Prepare and submit the cost volume via DSIP

   Cost proposals are submitted separately from the technical volume in DSIP. Include direct labor (hours × fully-loaded rate), subcontract costs (must be justified; generally capped at 33% of total award for Phase I), materials, equipment, travel, and indirect rates. DoD contracting officers will negotiate the final award amount — your initial cost proposal sets the ceiling. DSIP has its own cost-entry forms; do not create a standalone spreadsheet and expect to upload it directly.

   ~10 hrs

7. 7

   Respond to negotiations and execute the contract

   If selected, the relevant DoD component contracting office will contact you for technical and cost negotiations (typically 30–90 days post-close). DoD Phase I awards are contracts (not grants) — expect a FAR-compliant contract with milestone payments, IP clauses (SBIR Data Rights protect your tech for at least 4 years), and a Small Business Subcontracting Plan requirement if the award exceeds $750K (unlikely for Phase I). Maintain proposal version control — you may be asked to submit a Best and Final Offer.

   ~10 hrs

SBIR / STTR details

NAICS codes: 541715, 541714, 541511, 541512, 336411, 336412, 541330, 334511, 334220, 325411

Deadline & timing

DoD runs approximately three BAA (Broad Agency Announcement) cycles per fiscal year. Spring cycle typically opens April–May and closes June. Fall cycle opens September and closes November. Winter cycle opens January and closes March. Within each cycle, individual topics may have staggered close dates — the current spring cycle has Army topics closing May 13, June 3, and June 24, 2026. When no cycle is open for new proposals, program status is between-intakes. Topic Q&A windows (where you can submit questions to program managers) open 2–4 weeks before the proposal deadline and close 1–2 weeks before. Missing the Q&A window means losing your best shot at framing alignment.

Programs that stack well

• Research & Development Tax Credit (Section 41)
• SBIR Phase II — Department of Defense
• STTR Phase I — Department of Defense
• Nsf Sbir Phase 1
• Doe Sbir Phase 1
• Sba Sbic
• NIST Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP)

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