1. Product and Service Codes
Product and Service Codes are a necessary part of government contracting. If you've been
researching the federal marketplace, you've likely run into the "PSC" acronym before. I know I
was very frustrated trying to find the one place to find out what my PSC code is or what it even
meant. If you've had the same struggles, then you're gonna love this. On October 1, 2011, a new
Product and Service Codes (PSC) Manual was introduced. The updates were made to reflect
changes in three areas:
Environmental attributes Updates in technology and
terminology The addition of codes and end dating, i.e.
eliminating duplicates.
The manual also does an excellent job of explaining the more complex codes, detailing why the
changes were made and, most importantly, helping you identify your codes.
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So let's cover the basics. PSC codes descried products, services and R&D purchased by the
Federal Government. These codes indicate "what" was bought for each contract reported in the
Federal Procurement Data System (FPDS). PSC's have a standard code structure of 4 characters.
Product codes have a digit in the 1st position and Services and R&D have a letter in the 1st
position. All R&D codes begin with the letter A. Service codes begin with letters B - Z, depending
on your industry. And Product codes all begin with a 2 digit number from 10 - 99, based on
industry.
The manual does a surprisingly easy job of sorting the codes. I was able to find my PSC code from
the services section in a matter of minutes; and it's a 327 page manual. The product codes are
managed by Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Logistics Information Service. They've been
incorporated into this manual based on the Federal Supply Class (FSC) list from DLA Logistics
Information Service. Service and R&D codes are managed by General Services Administration

2. (GSA).
Knowing your code is important for several reasons, but here are a few key reasons. When you
are researching which government agencies are buying what you are selling, narrowing the
search by code will make your search much faster and easier. Also, when you are having bids
sent to you, specifying the PSC code can yield you highly targeted opportunities on which you can
bid. Finally, when you are ready to bid on a government contract, it's important to be able to
identify the PSC's in the contract to ensure you have the resources to perform.
So now you have the tool to use to identify every PSC code you have in your business. If you are
a service company like mine, then you will probably only have a few. However, if you buy, sell or
make tangible goods, the process will be a little more arduous for you. Once you identify these
codes, do yourself a favor and record and file them somewhere (like an excel spreadsheet).
Believe me, you'll thank me later when you reference that list when you're bidding on your next
contract or applying for a GSA schedule.
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