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America’s seed fund

The three phases of SBIR and STTR

Phase I proves the idea, Phase II builds it and Phase III sells it. The programs publish the typical sizes, and the public award data shows how long the road between them has been.

Prepare for your first proposal

Checked

SBIR and STTR are authorized through September 30, 2031.

S. 3971 reauthorized both programs through September 30, 2031. U.S. Small Business Administration, news release 26-43. Always check sbir.gov and the agency’s own SBIR/STTR page for the latest: agencies are still updating policies and solicitations to match the new law.

  1. Optional, run by some states

    Phase 0

    Help preparing a proposal, offered by some states and regions rather than by the agencies.

    Typical length
    Varies by program
    Typical size
    Varies by program
    • Some states run matching programs that cover part of the cost of preparing a proposal.
    • The federal FAST Partnership Program funds state and regional organizations that run this kind of help.

    Sources: SBIR.gov, How to Apply , SBIR.gov, FAST Partnership Program

  2. Prove the idea can work

    Phase I

    A proof of concept: is the technical idea feasible, and is there a market that wants it?

    Typical length
    6 to 12 months
    Typical size
    $50,000 to $323,000
    Limit without a waiver
    $323,090 without an SBA waiver, as of April 2026
    • SBIR Phase I normally runs six months and STTR Phase I a year.
    • The company must do at least two thirds of the research in SBIR Phase I. In STTR, the company does at least 40 percent and the research institution at least 30 percent.
    • Agencies differ widely inside the range: in recent years the typical Phase I award ran from about $100,000 at EPA to about $300,000 at HHS.

    Sources: SBIR.gov, How to Apply , SBIR.gov, About , SBA SBIR/STTR Policy Directive

  3. Build it

    Phase II

    Continued research and development, usually only for Phase I awardees, ending in a prototype or product a customer can test.

    Typical length
    24 months
    Typical size
    $650,000 to $2.2 million
    Limit without a waiver
    $2,153,927 without an SBA waiver, as of April 2026
    • Typically only Phase I awardees qualify, though some agencies run a direct-to-Phase II route for companies that did Phase I-type work with other funds.
    • The company must do at least half of the research in an SBIR Phase II.

    Sources: SBIR.gov, How to Apply , SBIR.gov, About , SBA SBIR/STTR Policy Directive

  4. Sell it

    Phase III

    Commercialization in the private sector or the federal marketplace. No SBIR or STTR money is awarded in this phase.

    Typical length
    Open-ended
    Typical size
    No SBIR or STTR funding
    • A federal agency may buy the result directly, without a new competition, because the work came out of an SBIR or STTR award.

    Sources: SBIR.gov, How to Apply

Technical and Business Assistance (TABA)

Money in the budget for the help that turns research into a business.

Applicants may add a line to the budget for a vendor who helps with commercialization work such as intellectual property, market analysis and regulatory planning. NIH, DOE and USDA all state up to $6,500 for a Phase I and up to $50,000 for a Phase II. How the vendor is chosen differs by agency, so read the solicitation.

WE helps founders prepare alongside. The help programs a founder can use before a first proposal are on the preparation page.

The wait between Phase I and Phase II is part of the plan

Companies that first won in 2010 to 2019, counted by how long the second award took.

  • 52 in 100

    companies whose first Phase I award came in 2010 to 2019 later received a Phase II award

    SBIR.gov award data download . 2010 to 2019 first awards. 4,352 of 8,446 companies, matched by name in the award data.

  • 17.2 months

    the median wait from a first Phase I award to a first Phase II award, among those that got one

    SBIR.gov award data download . 2010 to 2019 first awards. Computed by WE from award dates.

Read the chart as a picture of patience, not a prediction. About half of these companies never appear in the data with a later Phase II. Some moved to other funding, some stopped, and some may be Phase II winners under a changed company name.

  • Within 1 year 846 (19%)
  • 1 to 2 years 2,130 (49%)
  • 2 to 3 years 651 (15%)
  • 3 to 5 years 458 (11%)
  • More than 5 years 267 (6%)

Among the 4,352 companies that got a Phase II after a first Phase I in 2010 to 2019, how long they waited. Amber is the most common wait.

Source: SBIR.gov award data download . Companies are matched by name, so a company that changed its name counts as two. The wait runs from the first Phase I award date to the first later Phase II award date.

Show the data
Wait from first Phase I to first Phase II
WaitCompanies
Within 1 year846 (19%)
1 to 2 years2,130 (49%)
2 to 3 years651 (15%)
3 to 5 years458 (11%)
More than 5 years267 (6%)

How often NIH funds the applications it reviews

NIH publishes its success rates by phase. Phase I ranged from 8.9% to 19.3% over fiscal years 2015 to 2025.

In fiscal year 2025 NIH funded 8.9% of the Phase I applications it reviewed, 524 of 5,858. The rate has moved a good deal from year to year, and in every year the table reports it, the Phase II rate has run higher than the Phase I rate.

NIH is the one agency whose success rates appear in a standard public table. Other agencies report them in different ways, or not at all, so this page does not compare agencies by success rate. Ask the agency’s program staff what its recent rates have been.

NIH SBIR and STTR success rates by fiscal year The Phase I rate runs between 8.9% in 2025 and 19.3% in 2019, ending at 8.9% in 2025. The Phase II rate runs higher, between 25.8% and 41.2%. 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 2015 2017 2019 2021 2023 2025 NIH SBIR and STTR success rates by fiscal year The Phase I rate runs between 8.9% in 2025 and 19.3% in 2019, ending at 8.9% in 2025. The Phase II rate runs higher, between 25.8% and 41.2%. 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 2015 2020 2025
  • Phase I
  • Phase II (regular)

Percent of reviewed applications that NIH funded, by fiscal year. Phase I combines SBIR and STTR and leaves out Fast Track. Phase II is the regular Phase II; fiscal year 2025 is not in the table yet.

Source: NIH RePORT, success rates, Table 215 . Read by WE from NIH Table 215, SBIR and STTR success rates. Percentages are as NIH reports them.

Show the data
NIH SBIR and STTR applications reviewed and awarded
Fiscal yearPhase I reviewedPhase I awardedPhase I ratePhase II reviewedPhase II awardedPhase II rate
20154,33666315.3%52919436.7%
20165,51971713%74823030.7%
20174,55771815.8%61322837.2%
20184,61887619%60925141.2%
20194,46386319.3%54122241%
20204,68663613.6%66520030.1%
20215,13464712.6%58517930.6%
20224,07664215.8%45816435.8%
20233,94964316.3%45715433.7%
20244,78853211.1%51213225.8%
20255,8585248.9%not in the tablenot in the tablenot in the table

What a typical Phase I award looks like, agency by agency

The middle award in the data, not the top of the range.

Agencies state a range, and what they award sits inside it. At the National Institutes of Health a typical Phase I award is about $300,000; at the Environmental Protection Agency it is about $100,000. Size your plan to the agency, not to the ceiling.

  • HHS $300,000
  • NSF $256,000
  • ED $250,000
  • DOE $200,000
  • DOC $149,987
  • DOT $149,980
  • DHS $149,962
  • NASA $149,126
  • DoD $139,984
  • USDA $125,000
  • EPA $100,000

The median Phase I award by agency, fiscal years 2020 to 2024. Agencies with fewer than 50 Phase I awards in the window are left out.

Source: SBIR.gov award data download . Median award amount among Phase I awards in the window, computed by WE.

Show the data
Median Phase I award by agency
AgencyMedian Phase I award
HHS$300,000
NSF$256,000
ED$250,000
DOE$200,000
DOC$149,987
DOT$149,980
DHS$149,962
NASA$149,126
DoD$139,984
USDA$125,000
EPA$100,000

Prepare alongside people who plan for the long run

WE helps founders get ready for SBIR and STTR: choosing an agency and a topic, checking eligibility, lining up the registrations and writing a plan that holds up over years. WE is not an agency, does not make or review awards, and cannot promise that any proposal is funded. WE makes no promise of funding.

Start a readiness review Talk to WE

Sources

  1. Administrator Loeffler Applauds SBIR-STTR Reauthorization (SBA news release 26-43, April 13, 2026), U.S. Small Business Administration . Accessed October 15, 2026.
  2. How to Apply, U.S. Small Business Administration, SBIR.gov . Accessed October 15, 2026.
  3. About SBIR and STTR, U.S. Small Business Administration, SBIR.gov . Accessed October 15, 2026.
  4. SBIR and STTR Policy Directive (May 2023) and the Policy Directives page, U.S. Small Business Administration, SBIR.gov . Accessed October 15, 2026.
  5. Federal and State Technology (FAST) Partnership Program, U.S. Small Business Administration, SBIR.gov . Accessed October 15, 2026.
  6. Technical and Business Assistance (TABA) Program, National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse
  7. SBIR.gov award data download (no-abstract CSV), all agencies, 1983 to 2026, U.S. Small Business Administration, SBIR.gov . Accessed October 15, 2026.
  8. Table 215: NIH SBIR and STTR competing applications, awards, success rates and total funding by phase, fiscal years 2015 to 2025, National Institutes of Health, NIH RePORT . Accessed October 15, 2026.
  9. Small Business Program Basics, National Institutes of Health, NIH SEED . Accessed October 15, 2026.

A source listed without a retrieval date was cited from a reputable index and could not be opened by this build. Dates are when the page was read. Programs change: always check sbir.gov for the latest.

Always check sbir.gov for the latest. Award sizes and limits are indexed to inflation and differ by solicitation.