SBIR Phase I — NSF (America's Seed Fund)

Who qualifies

• Small business concern with fewer than 500 employees (including affiliates)
• At least 51% of company equity must be owned by US citizens or permanent residents — this applies at the individual ownership level, not just at the entity level
• Company must NOT be majority-owned by a venture capital operating company (VCOC), hedge fund, or private equity firm — this is stricter than DoD/NIH and disqualifies many well-funded deep-tech startups
• All funded R&D work must be performed within the United States
• Principal Investigator (PI) must be legally employed by the small business for at least 20 hours/week and commit a minimum of one month (173 hours) of effort per six months of project duration
• Only one Project Pitch and/or proposal may be submitted per deadline cycle
• A PI may be named on only one SBIR/STTR proposal at a time
• Company must register in SAM.gov (Unique Entity Identifier required) and the SBIR Company Registry at sbir.gov before submitting a full proposal
• Research must not involve Schedule I controlled substances or clinical trials

Hard requirements

• Must be incorporated
• 51%+ US ownership required

What it covers

How to apply

1. 1

   Complete the Project Fit self-assessment

   Before anything else, use NSF's online fit checker at seedfund.nsf.gov to verify your project qualifies. NSF funds R&D that is genuinely unproven and high-risk — not applied engineering, product refinement, or commercialization execution. Projects that are too applied or too early (basic science without a commercial path) are both disqualifying. The checker surfaces common mismatches in under 10 minutes.

   ~1 hrs

2. 2

   Register accounts and prerequisites

   Create an account on the NSF SBIR application portal. Simultaneously register your company in SAM.gov (if not already registered — required for any federal award) and the SBIR Company Registry at sbir.gov. SAM registration can take 1–3 weeks for new entities; start this before drafting your pitch. You'll need your company's UEI (Unique Entity Identifier).

   ~3 hrs

3. 3

   Write and submit the Project Pitch

   The Project Pitch has four character-limited sections: (1) Technology Innovation — up to 3,500 chars describing the R&D innovation and its origins; (2) Technical Objectives and Challenges — up to 3,500 chars on your feasibility work and technical risks; (3) Market Opportunity — up to 1,750 chars on your target customer and commercial focus; (4) Company and Team — up to 1,750 chars on the business and key people. Only one pitch per company at a time. Engage your NSF Program Director BEFORE submitting — they read pitches and informal pre-submission calls are encouraged and often change how founders frame their work.

   ~20 hrs

4. 4

   Receive NSF invitation decision (1–2 months)

   NSF Program Directors review pitches and respond within approximately 4–8 weeks. Roughly half of pitches receive invitations to submit a full proposal. If declined, NSF provides written reasons. You may not resubmit a revised pitch on the same project until those concerns are addressed — a previous declination on substantially similar work requires a genuinely new approach, not a reframed pitch.

   ~0 hrs

5. 5

   Prepare and submit the full proposal via Research.gov

   Invited applicants submit a full proposal through Research.gov. The proposal includes a 15-page Project Description, budget (up to $305,000 total inclusive of all costs including indirect costs), and required supplementary documents. The budget cannot include equipment purchases (items ≥$5,000) or foreign travel. Subawards to universities or labs are capped at one-third of the total budget. Indirect costs are capped at 50% of direct salaries/wages if you lack a negotiated rate agreement (or use 15% de minimis on MTDC).

   ~80 hrs

6. 6

   Merit review and award decision (~6 months from proposal submission)

   NSF convenes an external panel to review proposals on three criteria: Intellectual Merit, Commercialization Potential, and Broader Impacts. Review panels include both technical and industry experts. NSF notifies applicants approximately 6 months after the proposal deadline. Award rate among invited proposals is approximately 25%. Funded projects receive a Fixed Amount Cooperative Agreement — funds are disbursed in tranches, not reimbursement. NSF Program Directors remain actively engaged throughout the award period.

   ~0 hrs

SBIR / STTR details

NAICS codes: 541714, 541715, 541511, 541512, 336411, 325412, 334413, 541330

Deadline & timing

NSF SBIR historically runs 4–5 submission windows per year rather than the classic two-per-year cycle. Project Pitch invitations remain valid for two consecutive proposal deadlines after the invite is issued. Proposals submitted without a prior Project Pitch invitation are returned without review. NSF announced a pause on new Project Pitch submissions on April 16, 2026, citing internal processing needs; Program Directors continue reviewing previously submitted pitches during the pause. Check seedfund.nsf.gov/critical-information/ or email sbir@nsf.gov for the exact reopening date.

Programs that stack well

• Research & Development Tax Credit (Section 41)
• SBIR Phase II — NSF (America's Seed Fund)
• Doe Sbir Phase 1
• SBIR Phase I — Department of Defense
• SBIR Phase I — NIH (PHS Omnibus)
• Nsf I Corps

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