By Outrider Editorial Team · Updated August 20, 2026
PSC AZ11 was the basic research slot in the legacy catch-all R&D category, for research that did not fit any named budget area. It is gone from the current manual, which lists thirteen R&D major areas from AA agriculture through AS transportation with no AZ among them. The October 2020 restructure end-dated 721 R&D PSCs and activated 155 replacements. AZ11 still recorded $3.7 billion in FY2025, making it one of the largest legacy codes anywhere in federal contracting.
Retired on both sides
$3.6 billion, roughly 98 percent, sits under NAICS 541710, Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences. That code was split and retired in the 2012 NAICS revision. A PSC retired in 2020 paired with a NAICS code retired in 2012, carrying nearly $3.7B, is the strongest possible signal of very long-lived research relationships whose classification has simply never been refreshed. The rest is negligible: 541711 at $35 million, 541712 at $18 million, 541715 at $12 million, and 336414 at $10 million.
The two systems in a sentence
A PSC describes the purchase and a NAICS code describes the vendor, and both are frozen on an award at the moment it is signed.
For market research, exclude AZ11 from opportunity searches and include it in incumbent analysis.
NAICS crosswalk
Where FY2025 AZ11 dollars landed, by the winning vendor's registered NAICS code.
- 541710Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences$3.6B
- 541711Research and Development in Biotechnology$34.8M
- 541712Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Biotechnology)$18.0M
- 336414Guided Missile and Space Vehicle Manufacturing$10.0M
FY2025 federal contract obligations, USAspending.gov
Frequently Asked
PSC AZ11 questions, answered.
What does PSC AZ11 cover?
Basic research that did not fit a named budget area under the pre-2020 R&D code structure. The current manual has no AZ category, listing thirteen major R&D areas from AA through AS.
What NAICS codes win AZ11 work?
NAICS 541710 accounts for $3.6 billion of $3.7 billion in FY2025, about 98 percent, even though that NAICS code was itself retired in the 2012 revision.
Why does a retired PSC still carry $3.7B in obligations?
Fiscal-year totals include modifications booked against awards signed years earlier. Long-running research agreements keep their original PSC and NAICS code for the life of the award.
What is the modern equivalent?
There is no direct replacement. Under the current structure, research is coded to a budget function area such as AC national defense, AJ general science and technology, or AN health, then to one of five R&D stages.
Watch AZ11 opportunities
Solicitations are filed by PSC as well as NAICS. Outrider matches your company profile against both so nothing filed under a code you do not watch slips past.
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