SBIR TABA vendor for commercialization
Technical and Business Assistance (TABA) lets SBIR and STTR awardees pay an outside vendor for commercialization help, often on top of the research budget. I'm a TABA vendor for physical-science companies: market research, technology marketing material and a market-entry plan, written by a physicist from your papers and data.
- Phase I
- Up to $6,500 per project
- Phase II
- Up to $50,000 per project
- Vendor
- Chosen by your company at most agencies; NOAA assigns one in Phase I
- When
- In the proposal; NIH also allows a post-award supplement
- Not offered
- Air Force, DARPA, DHA and SCO topics (2026)
- Spend by
- The end of the award's period of performance
- Authorized
- Through September 30, 2031
01The basics
What is SBIR Technical and Business Assistance?
TABA is a provision of the SBIR and STTR programs, in 15 U.S.C. § 638(q), that lets an awardee spend a set amount on outside help with commercialization: turning the research into something people buy.
The Small Business Innovation and Economic Security Act, signed April 13, 2026, reauthorized SBIR, STTR and TABA through September 30, 2031. NIH, DOE, NASA and the Army each allow up to $6,500 per Phase I project and up to $50,000 per Phase II project, and each lets the company choose its own vendors.
Not every agency adds it on top of the award, and not every agency offers it. NSF and the Department of Education count TABA inside their award amounts, the Navy counts Phase II TABA inside the award, EPA and DOT set lower Phase II limits ($10,000 and $13,000), and in 2026 the Air Force, DARPA, the Defense Health Agency and the Strategic Capabilities Office don't offer it at all.
The money is for assistance the company can't do itself. Across the agencies' lists, allowable help includes market research and validation, product sales assistance, technology marketing material, market-entry strategy, intellectual property protection, regulatory and manufacturing plans, and cybersecurity. Bookkeeping, audits and the research itself are not.
02By agency
TABA rules by agency
Checked against each agency's own documents. Where an agency hasn't published 2026 terms, the row says which year its source is from. Every agency can change TABA between rounds, so the solicitation you apply under always wins.
| Agency | Amounts | How to request it | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| NIH | Up to $6,500 per Phase I project and $50,000 per Phase II project, across all years | Mark it on the SBIR/STTR Information Form, budget it as “Technical Assistance” in other direct costs, and describe the help, the vendor and the expected results in the budget justification. Post-award requests go through an administrative supplement, which an institute can decline. | NOT-OD-26-075, Apr 20, 2026 |
| DOE | Up to $6,500 in the Phase I budget and up to $50,000 in the Phase II budget | Include it in the budget. Services must be performed during the project's period of performance. | DOE SBIR/STTR TABA page |
| NASA | Up to $6,500 in Phase I and up to $50,000 in Phase II; none post-Phase II | Include it in the proposal with an itemized vendor quote. Requests after submission aren't considered. Services must be received and invoiced during the original period of performance. | NASA SBIR/STTR TABA page, updated Apr 16, 2026 |
| DoDArmy | Up to $6,500 per Phase I project and $50,000 per Direct to Phase II project, on top of the award | Use the Army's preferred vendor, arranged after award, or name your own: the cost goes in the Cost Volume (Volume 3) and a vendor statement of up to two pages in Supporting Documents (Volume 5) with contact details, qualifications, tasks, hours and rates. Costs left out of the initial proposal are denied. | Army 2026 SBIR instructions, Release 4 |
| DoDNavy | Up to $6,500 in Phase I, on top of the award; up to $25,000 per Phase II award, inside the award, and $50,000 per Phase II project | Value in the Cost Volume and a detailed request in Volume 5 naming the provider, contact, why they're uniquely qualified, tasks, hours and rates. A request missing any of these is denied. A report on the results is due with the final report. | DoD 2026 SBIR BAA, Navy instructions |
| DoDAir Force, DARPA, DHA, SCO | Not offered | Each states it doesn't participate in TABA. Proposals to their topics shouldn't include it. | DoD 2026 SBIR BAA, component instructions |
| NSF | Counted inside the award: the Phase I amount (up to $305,000) and Phase II amount (up to $1,250,000) both include optional TABA | The solicitation doesn't set a separate TABA amount or vendor rules. Confirm with your NSF program director before budgeting. | NSF 26-510, May 21, 2026 |
| USDA | Up to $6,500 in Phase I and $50,000 in Phase II, in addition to the R&D funds | Name your own provider. Budget it under other direct costs and include a TABA plan and a signed vendor qualification statement. It can't be added after the application is submitted. From fiscal 2027, USDA won't offer its own Phase I provider. | USDA NIFA TABA page, Aug 4, 2026 |
| EPA | Up to $6,500 in Phase I, separate from the $100,000 award; up to $10,000 in Phase II | EPA doesn't provide a vendor. The proposal lists the activities, the vendor's details (a letter of support is encouraged), the needs and the expected benefits. Awardees invoice TABA separately and report on its use. | EPA 2026 SBIR webinar, Sep 16, 2026; Phase II budget form |
| DOT | Up to $6,500 in Phase I; Phase II currently $13,000 | Requested at proposal submission. DOT has no contracted Phase I vendor, so companies secure their own. Audit, bookkeeping, payroll, patent filing and SBIR fee costs aren't covered. | DOT FY2026 SBIR solicitation; DOT TABA FAQ |
| EDEducation (IES) | Up to $6,500 in Phase I and $50,000 in Phase II, inside the base award ($250,000 and $1,000,000) | Include it in the fixed budget and the solicitation's TABA plan section. No additional funds are added for TABA. | ED/IES SBIR FAQ, Feb 2026 |
| NIST | FY2025: up to $6,500 extra in Phase I, subject to available funds; up to $50,000 inside the Phase II award, no more than half the award | No FY2026 funding notice had been published when this was checked. Use the next notice's terms. | FY2025 notices: Phase I, Phase II |
| NOAA | Phase I TABA is provided through a NOAA-selected vendor | In Phase I you don't pick the vendor. Check the current funding notice for Phase II terms. | NOAA FY2025 SBIR notice |
| DHS | Older DHS materials: up to $6,500 extra in Phase I and up to $50,000 inside Phase II | No current DHS solicitation was available to check. Confirm in the next one. | DHS S&T SBIR briefing, 2021 |
03TABA services
What I provide as your TABA vendor
Each service is described in the agencies' own terms, so it drops into the TABA section of a proposal without translation.
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Market research and validation
Who's looking, and who they find
Search demand for your technology and its applications, the competitors and substitutes buyers compare you with, and a dated audit of what ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity and Gemini say about your category (the method behind my AI search visibility work).
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Technology marketing material
Your research, in buyers' words
A plain-language technology summary, application one-pagers, and a capability statement for program offices and primes, written from your papers and checked by your team, the same way I handle scientific content writing.
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Market-entry strategy
Who to approach first
Priority segments, messaging for each, and a list of potential customers, partners and prime contractors with outreach material ready to send.
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Product sales assistance
Pages that bring inquiries
Landing pages for your technology and applications, with inquiry tracking, built to my website design standards. EPA's 2026 guidance lists “marketing and online presence”; most agencies don't name websites, so elsewhere this part is justified as sales assistance and confirmed against your solicitation first.
04Packages
Sized to the TABA limits
Every quote is itemized for your proposal and trimmed to what your agency allows. These are the usual starting points.
Commercialization starter
- Market research and validation brief: search demand, competitors and substitutes, AI-assistant audit
- Plain-language technology summary and up to three application one-pagers
- Capability statement
- Priority segments and a first outreach list
Delivered within the Phase I period of performance.
Commercialization program
- Everything in the Phase I package, updated for Phase II results
- Application pages added through the year, with inquiry tracking where your agency allows it
- Monthly search and AI-visibility tracking, and a quarterly market brief
- Phase III prospect list of primes and program offices, with outreach material
- Conference and demo-day materials
Within the $50,000 Phase II limit at NIH, DOE, NASA and the Army, leaving room for other TABA needs such as IP or regulatory help. Where the limit is lower (Navy: $25,000 per award, DOT: $13,000, EPA: $10,000), the program is scoped down to fit.
05In your proposal
How to name me as your TABA vendor
Send the basics
Agency, phase, topic or solicitation number, your proposal deadline, and a link to anything public about the technology. The form below asks for exactly that.
Get an itemized quote
Within one business day: my contact details and qualifications, the tasks, hours, rates and cost of each service, the deliverables and the timeline, in the form NASA, the Army and the Navy ask for, including a short vendor statement for Volume 5 at DoD. The quote is free.
Add it to the proposal
Put the amount in the TABA line of your budget, following your agency's instructions, and include the quote and the justification text I send with it.
If you win
We confirm the scope, and the work is delivered and invoiced inside the award's period of performance, as the agencies require.
One rule worth knowing: a TABA vendor can't be your own company, an employee, an affiliate or an investor, and at the Navy it can't be a subcontractor or consultant already paid for the research. I'm an independent vendor, and I don't take TABA work from any company I'm affiliated with.
06Free quote
Request a TABA vendor quote
You'll have an itemized quote within one business day, ready to drop into your proposal. If your deadline is closer than that, call (813) 504-2645.
Why a physicist: the people reviewing your commercialization plan read the technology closely, and so do I. I have a PhD in physics and published research in Nuclear Engineering and Technology, and at BlankSlate Innovation, pages written from published papers built search demand for technologies priced from $10K to $200K before they were licensed (the BSI case study has the numbers). More about me.
07FAQ
Questions about SBIR TABA
What is SBIR TABA?
TABA, or Technical and Business Assistance, is a provision of the SBIR and STTR programs (15 U.S.C. § 638(q)) that lets awardees pay one or more outside vendors for help commercializing their research, such as market research and validation, product sales assistance, intellectual property protection and regulatory planning. It was reauthorized through September 30, 2031.
How much TABA funding can an SBIR company get?
At NIH, DOE, NASA and the Army, up to $6,500 per Phase I project and up to $50,000 per Phase II project, as of 2026. The Navy allows $6,500 in Phase I and $25,000 per Phase II award, up to $50,000 per Phase II project. NSF counts TABA inside its award amounts, and the Air Force, DARPA, the Defense Health Agency and the Strategic Capabilities Office don't offer it. USDA matches the $6,500 and $50,000 limits, EPA allows $6,500 and $10,000, DOT $6,500 and $13,000, and the Department of Education allows $6,500 and $50,000 inside its base award. Check the solicitation you're applying to.
Can TABA funds pay for marketing or a website?
Marketing-related work often qualifies: NASA lists preparing technology marketing material, market research and market-entry strategy, NIH lists product sales assistance and market research and validation, the Army lists communications and marketing, and EPA's 2026 SBIR guidance lists marketing and online presence. Other agencies don't name websites, so there a website or landing pages must be justified as sales assistance and checked against your solicitation.
Do I have to name my TABA vendor in the proposal?
Usually, yes. NASA requires TABA in the proposal with an itemized vendor quote, the Army and Navy deny requests that don't name the provider with contact details, qualifications, tasks, hours and rates, and NIH asks for the vendor's name in the budget justification. The Army also offers its own preferred vendor, arranged after award. Ask your vendor for a quote well before the deadline.
Can I add TABA after my SBIR award?
It depends on the agency. NIH allows post-award TABA requests through an administrative supplement, which an institute can decline. NASA does not consider TABA requests after proposal submission, and the Army denies own-vendor TABA costs left out of the initial proposal, though its preferred-vendor option is arranged after award. Check your agency's current rules.
Who can be a TABA vendor?
There is no federal approved vendor list. NASA, for example, requires a vendor to be a legal US business that is not the small business itself, its employee, an affiliate or an investor, and that can show it's qualified for the services. The Navy also excludes subcontractors and consultants already paid for the research effort.
Does the Air Force offer SBIR TABA?
Not in 2026. In the 2026 DoD SBIR Broad Agency Announcement, the Department of the Air Force states that it does not participate in the TABA program and that proposals to its topics shouldn't include TABA. DARPA, the Defense Health Agency and the Strategic Capabilities Office say the same. The Army and the Navy do offer it.
Sources
Checked November 14, 2026. TABA rules change with each solicitation, so the solicitation you apply under always wins.
- NIH NOT-OD-26-075: policy changes to SBIR and STTR discretionary Technical and Business Assistance, April 20, 2026.
- DOE SBIR/STTR Technical and Business Assistance.
- NASA SBIR/STTR Technical and Business Assistance, last updated April 16, 2026.
- DoD 2026 SBIR Broad Agency Announcement, section 1.9 and component instructions (Navy, Air Force, DARPA, DHA, SCO).
- Department of the Army 2026 SBIR component-specific instructions, Release 4, section 1.9.
- NSF 26-510: SBIR/STTR Phase I, Phase II and Fast-Track solicitation, May 21, 2026.
- USDA NIFA SBIR/STTR Technical and Business Assistance, August 4, 2026.
- EPA: 2026 SBIR informational webinar slides and questions and answers, September 16, 2026; Phase II summary budget form.
- DOT: FY2026 SBIR Phase I solicitation and TABA FAQ. DOT's site blocks automated access, so these were read through search-indexed copies of the pages.
- ED/IES SBIR frequently asked questions, revised February 2026.
- NIST FY2025 SBIR funding notices: Phase I and Phase II.
- NOAA FY2025 SBIR notice of funding opportunity.
- DHS S&T SBIR outreach briefing, July 2021.
- SBIR.gov policy directives.
Put commercialization in the budget
Send the agency, phase and deadline. You'll have an itemized TABA quote within one business day.