The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs are reauthorized through September 30, 2031. President Trump signed the Small Business Innovation and Economic Security Act (S. 3971, Public Law 119-83) on April 13, 2026, ending a lapse that began when authority expired on September 30, 2025.
The law did more than restart the clock. It added national security screening of applicants, a new Strategic Breakthrough award of up to $30 million, limits on how many proposals a company can file from fiscal 2027 (FY2027), and changes meant to make Phase III production contracts easier. This page explains each change, where implementation stands as of November 14, 2026, and what founders should do now.
SBIR reauthorization 2026: status as of November 14, 2026
SBIR and STTR are fully authorized and agencies are issuing solicitations. The Department of Defense (DoD), which has also styled itself the Department of War since September 2025, released more than 90 topics right after enactment, according to a Covington & Burling analysis of April 30, 2026. The Air Force's FY2027 Release 1 closes November 25, 2026.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| Sep 30, 2025 | SBIR and STTR authority expires; new solicitations and funding commitments halt |
| Mar 3, 2026 | Senate passes S. 3971 |
| Mar 16-17, 2026 | House considers and passes the bill |
| Apr 13, 2026 | President signs Public Law 119-83 |
| Apr 15, 2026 | Army Direct to Phase II contract with Deepnight starts, one of the first DoD awards after the lapse |
| Apr 20, 2026 | DoD announces its post-reauthorization plan and the Accelerated Research for Transition (ART) program |
| Apr 29, 2026 | AFWERX and SpaceWERX open new solicitations |
| Jun 12, 2026 | Deadline (60 days after enactment) for eligible agencies to brief Congress on whether they will use Strategic Breakthrough awards |
| Jul 3, 2026 | Deadline (90 days before FY2027) for agencies to set proposal limits |
| Oct 1, 2026 | FY2027 begins; proposal limits apply; unspent FY2026 SBIR funds may be used |
| Oct 16, 2026 | New award ceilings on sbir.gov: $335,937 (Phase I), $2,239,578 (Phase II) |
| Apr 13, 2027 | Deadline for SBA to update its policy directive on Phase III advocacy |
| Sep 30, 2031 | Programs and the Strategic Breakthrough authority expire unless extended |
Sources: legislative history and deadlines from the enacted text; the halt from Fox Rothschild; the Deepnight award from its federal award record; AFWERX dates from DVIDS; ceilings from sbir.gov.
What did the SBIR reauthorization change?
The enacted text has ten sections. Six of them change how the programs work for a company.
1. Security screening of every applicant
Section 2 requires agencies to "evaluate whether a small business concern presents a security risk for any reason," through due diligence, the company's disclosures, or coordination with the intelligence community and law enforcement. An agency must deny an award when the company has a security risk connecting it to an entity on eight government lists, including the Commerce Department Entity List, the Section 1260H list of Chinese military companies and the Section 889 prohibition list, or a risk with a classified source. Denied companies must be told the basis "in a manner that does not compromise national security," and a denial does not bar them from later cycles.
2. The Strategic Breakthrough award (up to $30 million)
Section 3 lets agencies that must spend more than $100 million a year on SBIR use up to 0.50% of their extramural R&D budget, from FY2026 on, for awards of up to $30 million to one company over a project of up to 48 months. The company must:
- hold at least one prior Phase II award;
- show at least 100% matching funds from new private capital, new non-SBIR government funding, or both;
- demonstrate through market research that the technology is an effective solution;
- at DoD, also show a commitment for inclusion in a program objective memorandum from a program acquisition executive or higher, a path into a military department's acquisition process, and at least 20% of the match from new DoD money.
Agencies must award within 90 days of receiving the proposal. The Air Force already lists it on its Get Funded page, alongside STRATFI and TACFI. As of November 14, 2026, we found no public announcement of a Strategic Breakthrough award.
3. Proposal limits from FY2027
Section 4 requires every agency's SBIR or STTR director to cap the number of Phase I and Phase II proposals a company can submit, using one of three methods: per fiscal year, per solicitation or per topic. Waivers are allowed only for time-sensitive topics, need approval within 15 days, and cannot cover more than 5% of an agency's topics in a year. Fox Rothschild estimated the caps would affect about 20 companies, mostly DoD applicants. For the Air Force, the method is set: "starting in FY 27," it will allow one proposal per topic, instead of per solicitation, according to the AFWERX Q&A of April 22, 2026.
4. Phase III: training and simpler contracts
Sections 5 and 6 order SBA, with DoD and the General Services Administration, to train contracting officers on Phase III agreements, Phase III data rights and sole source awards. SBA procurement center representatives must advocate for "the maximum practicable use" of Phase III awards, and agencies must develop simplified model contracts for Phases I, II and III. Phase III, which uses non-SBIR money, never lapsed: AFWERX notes the authority continued through the gap.
5. More help money, chosen by the company
Section 7 makes technical and business assistance (TABA) the company's choice: agencies "shall authorize" awardees to use up to $6,500 per Phase I project and $50,000 per Phase II project, now including cybersecurity help and screening for foreign involvement, and the money can pay for new or existing staff. Agencies with an I-Corps program must offer awardees a place in it.
6. Extensions, carryover and data
Section 10 extends the pilots to September 30, 2031, including the Phase 0 pilot, the commercialization readiness pilot for civilian agencies and the Special Operations Command pilot. Phase flexibility, which allows Direct to Phase II, now also covers the Department of Energy and NASA. Section 9 lets agencies spend leftover FY2026 SBIR money in FY2027. Section 8 adds award labels (Direct to Phase II, Strategic Breakthrough, Phase III prime or subcontract) to federal procurement data.
What did the law not change?
The enacted text does not change the base Phase I and Phase II award guidelines, the 500-employee size limit or the ownership rules. Award ceilings still come from the SBA policy directive, adjusted for inflation each year; see our breakdown of SBIR Phase 1 and Phase 2 award amounts. Companies must still be more than 50% owned by US citizens or permanent residents, as AFWERX reminds applicants.
How DoD is implementing the reauthorization
DoD moved fastest. Its April 20, 2026 announcement framed the program around three "innovation outcomes" (differentiated technology, scalable products and operational capability innovation) and created ART to fund the gap between Phase II and production, with matched funding from the sponsoring military component, Covington reported. Under Secretary Emil Michael said DoD would "quickly align its innovation investments directly with our most urgent warfighting needs."
The Air Force gave the most detail. In its April 22 Q&A, AFWERX said there would be fewer releases in 2026, that new solicitations go into pre-release on the first Wednesday of every month, that it is pivoting to more Phase II awards, and that it no longer issues "Selectable, not Funded" notices. It warned that a proration under Section 8151 of the defense appropriations act would "likely impact the budget significantly for FY2026." SBA planned to write implementing regulations over three to six months, DefenseScoop reported; as of November 14, 2026, the policy directive posted on sbir.gov is still the May 2023 version.
Startups in our directory have already used the restarted pipeline. Deepnight began a two-year Army Direct to Phase II worth up to $1,999,605 on April 15, 2026. On August 21, 2026, SpaceWERX named 11 companies for STRATFI awards worth $562.5 million in total, including Muon Space and Agile Space Industries, according to Payload.
What should founders do now?
- Pick your topics. With a cap of one proposal per topic at the Air Force from FY2027, and limits at every agency, spreading many near-identical proposals no longer works.
- Clean up your cap table and disclosures. Map every investor, affiliate and foreign tie against the eight lists in Section 2 before you submit; the foreign disclosure volume in DSIP is where this is checked.
- Line up matching money early. TACFI, STRATFI and Strategic Breakthrough awards all need it, and at DoD a Strategic Breakthrough needs at least 20% from new DoD program funds.
- Find a program office. The DoD Strategic Breakthrough test, a commitment for inclusion in a program objective memorandum, means a customer must plan to budget for you.
- Budget TABA. Up to $6,500 in Phase I and $50,000 in Phase II can now pay for cybersecurity or compliance work.
- Watch the calendars. Air Force windows are on afwerx.com and all DoD topics on dodsbirsttr.mil; our AFWERX application guide lists the current dates. For non-SBIR prototype money, see the Defense Innovation Unit CSO guide.
More SBIR-backed companies are listed in the America Defense Tech directory.
