Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Program
Status not published
Set individually by the six STTR agencies (USDA, Department of War, DOE, HHS, NASA, NSF). Open solicitations listed at https://www.sbir.gov/solicitations.
Same SBA guideline ceilings as SBIR and set per agency: as of April 2026, Phase I up to $323,090 and Phase II up to $2,153,927 without SBA approval; above that requires a waiver. Actual STTR award sizes differ by agency (e.g. Army STTR Phase I up to $204K, Phase II up to $1.36M; NASA STTR Phase II up to $1,275,000).
U.S. Small Business Administration (coordinating) and 6 participating federal agencies
public · national
Deadline: annual_call — Set individually by the six STTR agencies (USDA, Department of War, DOE, HHS, NASA, NSF). Open solicitations listed at https://www.sbir.gov/solicitations.
Derived from official counts, FY2022. This rate is measured unstated, so the odds from a standing start are lower.
Moderate — a form and supporting documents.
Who can apply
- Up to 500 employees
- Sectors: deeptech, health, climate, ai, agri, manufacturing, any
- Stage: idea, pre_seed, seed
- R&D activity required
- Locally registered entity required
The small business is always the applicant and must be teamed with a single non-profit research institution. sbir.gov FAQ: 'The STTR program requires that the small business performs at least 40% of the R&D and the single partnering research institution to perform at least 30% of the R&D.' Same for-profit / US-owned / under-500-employee tests as SBIR. SAM.gov registration and a UEI are mandatory before any federal award.
How to apply
- Identify an eligible non-profit research institution partner (typically a university or federal lab).
- Register in SAM.gov to obtain a UEI and CAGE code, then register in the SBA Company Registry. — link
- Execute an allocation-of-rights agreement with the research institution and submit the proposal to the agency portal. — link
What you will need
- Technical proposal
- Formal cooperative R&D agreement / allocation of intellectual property rights with the research institution
- SAM.gov registration with UEI
Source. https://www.sbir.gov/faq — checked 2026-08-14
"The STTR program requires that the small business performs at least 40% of the R&D and the single partnering research institution to perform at least 30% of the R&D."