2022 NAICS national industry in sector 23 Construction
238910 Site Preparation Contractors
NAICS 238910 is the US industry code for site preparation contractors. It covers establishments primarily engaged in site preparation activities, such as excavating and grading, demolition of buildings and other structures, and septic system installation.
- Code
- 238910 (2022 NAICS)
- Title
- Site Preparation Contractors
- Part of
- Other Specialty Trade Contractors
- SBA small business limit
- Average annual receipts up to $19 million
- Closest UK SIC
- 43110, 43120 (details)
Changes coming. The NAICS 2027 revision applies to data from 1 January 2027, and SBA proposed new size standards on 20 August 2026. The values on this page are the ones in force today; we update this page when the official files change.
Official definition
This industry comprises establishments primarily engaged in site preparation activities, such as excavating and grading, demolition of buildings and other structures, and septic system installation. Earthmoving and land clearing for all types of sites (e.g., building, nonbuilding, mining) is included in this industry. Establishments primarily engaged in construction equipment rental with operator (except cranes) are also included.
Examples Census gives
- Blasting, building demolition
- Building interior gutting and stripping
- Concrete breaking and cutting for demolition
- Cutting new rights of way
- Demolition, building and structure
- Exterior demolition contractors
- Foundation digging (i.e., excavation)
- Foundation drilling contractors
- Grading construction sites
- Interior demolition contractors
- Dewatering contractors
- Dirt moving for construction
- Equipment rental (except crane), construction, with operator
- Excavating, earthmoving, or land clearing contractors
- Line slashing or cutting (except maintenance)
- Septic system contractors
- Trenching (except underwater)
- Underground tank (except hazardous) removal
- Wrecking, building or other structure
- Whole building deconstruction
When to use a different code
Census classifies these close-sounding activities somewhere else. Businesses mainly engaged in:
- Servicing land and subdividing real property into lots for sale to builders are classified in Industry 237210, Land Subdivision.
- Constructing distribution lines and related buildings and structures for utilities (i.e., water, sewer, petroleum, gas, power, and communication) are classified in Industry Group 2371, Utility System Construction.
- Earth retention or underwater trenching are classified in Industry 237990, Other Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction.
- Crane rental with operator are classified in Industry 238990, All Other Specialty Trade Contractors.
- Overburden removal as an activity prior to mineral removal from quarries or open pit mines are classified in Sector 21, Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction.
- Drilling oil and gas field water intake wells are classified in U.S. Industry 213111, Drilling Oil and Gas Wells.
- Dismantling tanks in oil fields are classified in U.S. Industry 213112, Support Activities for Oil and Gas Operations.
- Construction equipment rental without an operator are classified in U.S. Industry 532412, Construction, Mining, and Forestry Machinery and Equipment Rental and Leasing.
- Tree and brush trimming for overhead utility lines are classified in Industry 561730, Landscaping Services.
- Nuclear power plant decommissioning and environmental remediation work, such as the removal of underground steel tanks for hazardous materials are classified in Industry 562910, Remediation Services.
Activities listed under 238910
The Census index assigns these 65 activities to this code. If your business matches one, this is your code.
- Aerial or picker truck, construction, rental with operator
- Backfilling, construction
- Backhoe rental with operator
- Blast hole drilling (except mining)
- Blasting, building demolition
- Blasting, construction site
- Boring, for building construction
- Building demolition
- Building interior gutting and stripping
- Bulldozer rental with operator
- Caisson (i.e., drilled building foundations) construction
- Cesspool construction
- Concrete breaking and cutting for demolition
- Construction equipment (except crane) rental with operator
- Core drilling and test boring for construction
- Crawler tractor rental with operator
- Culvert or bridge removal
- Cutting new rights of way
- Demolition contractor
- Demolition, building and structure
- Dewatering contractors
- Digging foundations
- Dirt moving for construction
- Dismantling engineering structures (e.g., oil storage tank)
- Drainage system (e.g., cesspool, septic tank) installation
- Drilled pier (i.e., for building foundations) contractors
- Drilled shaft (i.e., drilled building foundations) construction
- Dry well construction
- Equipment rental (except crane), construction, with operator
- Excavating, earthmoving or land clearing, mining (except overburden removal at open pit mine sites or quarries)
- Excavating, earthmoving, or land clearing contractors
- Excavation contractors
- Exterior demolition contractors
- Foundation digging (i.e., excavation)
- Foundation drilling contractors
- Grading construction sites
- Grave excavation contractors
- Ground thawing for construction site digging
- Helical pier (i.e., drilled building foundations) construction
- House demolishing
- House razing
- Hydrodemolition (i.e., demolition with pressurized water) contractors
- Interior demolition contractors
- Land clearing
- Land leveling contractors
- Line slashing or cutting (except maintenance)
- Machinery, construction (except cranes), rental with operator
- Mine site preparation and related construction activities, construction contractors
- Pile driving, building foundation
- Piling (i.e., bored, cast-in-place, drilled), building foundation, contractors
- Power shovel, construction, rental with operator
- Power, communication and pipe line right of way clearance (except maintenance)
- Removal of dams, dikes, and other heavy and civil engineering constructions
- Right of way cutting (except maintenance)
- Road decommissioning
- Septic system contractors
- Septic tank and weeping tile installation
- Soil compacting
- Soil test drilling
- Test boring for construction
- Trenching (except underwater)
- Underground tank (except hazardous material) removal
- Weeping tile installation
- Whole building deconstruction
- Wrecking, building or other structure
SBA size standard for 238910
To count as a small business for SBA loans and federal contracts under NAICS 238910, your business (including affiliates) must not exceed $19 million in average annual receipts. Check your business.
Source: SBA table of size standards, effective March 17, 2023.
Closest UK SIC 2007 codes
There is no official one-to-one link between NAICS and UK SIC. These codes share the same international class (ISIC Rev. 4: 4311, 4312, 4390), so treat them as a starting point and check the definition.
Built from Census concordances 2022→2017 NAICS and 2017 NAICS→ISIC Rev. 4.
Similar codes to compare
Data last changed November 14, 2026. How this page is built.