PSC AB22

Overview

The Product Service Code (PSC) is a governmentwide classification system that identifies the specific products, services, and research and development activities bought by U.S. federal agencies, supporting consistent reporting and analysis in procurement systems and the PSC Manual maintained on Acquisition.gov. These codes are recorded for each contract action, enabling standardized tracking of “what” was purchased across the federal enterprise. ¹

AB22 denotes Community and Regional Development R&D Services; Area and regional development; Applied Research. Within the AB family, “AB2x” covers area and regional development topics, and the “2” in the fourth position indicates the applied research stage as defined in Section A of the PSC Manual. ²

See also on G2X:

• G2X — PSC AB22 overview: https://app.g2xchange.com/psc/AB22
• G2X — PSC AB21 (Community and Regional Development R&D; Area and regional development; Basic Research): https://app.g2xchange.com/psc/AB21
• G2X — PSC AB23 (Community and Regional Development R&D; Area and regional development; Experimental Development): https://app.g2xchange.com/psc/AB23

What this PSC covers

• Applied research efforts in the area and regional development domain (e.g., studies directed toward practical regional development objectives). ²
• Work characterized as original investigation aimed at a specific practical aim or objective (applied research stage definition). ²
• R&D services where the predominant effort is applied research rather than basic research or experimental development, aligned to area/regional development subject matter. ²
• Tasks coded to the correct R&D stage in the fourth position (“2” = Applied Research) under the AB major area. ²
• Activities reported under an R&D code (Axxx) when the requirement is for research and experimental development services, not products. ²
• Excludes experimental development, which belongs under AB23, and excludes administrative or facilities/equipment costs recorded under AB24 and AB25, respectively. ²
• Coding should follow the “predominant product or service” principle when determining the appropriate PSC for a contract action. ²

Related NAICS and PSC codes

All descriptors are sourced from the PSC Manual, Section A. ²

Coding boundaries and stage selection

• Applied research vs. basic research: Basic research (stage “1”) acquires new knowledge without a specific application; applied research (stage “2”) targets a practical aim; experimental development (stage “3”) produces or improves products/processes. ²
• Choose the AB sub-area that matches subject matter (community development = AB1x; area and regional development = AB2x), then select the stage (1–5) that reflects the work’s nature and cost category. ²
• Do not use R&D PSCs for products purchased in support of R&D; code those items with the appropriate product PSC. ²

FPDS reporting context

• In FPDS, the PSC is captured as data element 8A, “Product or Service Code,” and must be a valid PSC from the manual; the element identifies what was procured for that action. ³
• FPDS instructs reporters to select the PSC that best identifies the procurement and, when multiple codes could apply, to report the one representing most of the ultimate contract value. ³

Frequently asked questions

• What does PSC AB22 mean?

  • AB22 is the code for Community and Regional Development R&D Services; Area and regional development; Applied Research. It belongs to the AB major area and indicates the applied research stage in the fourth position. ²

• How is AB22 different from AB21 and AB23?

  • AB21 is basic research in area/regional development; AB22 is applied research aimed at practical objectives; AB23 is experimental development to produce or improve products/processes. ²

• When should AB22 be selected instead of other AB codes?

  • Choose AB22 when the predominant effort is applied research in area/regional development. If the work is basic research, use AB21; if it is experimental development, use AB23. ²

• Does the PSC Manual provide an official NAICS mapping for AB22?

  • Not specified by official sources. ¹

• Where is PSC AB22 recorded in federal reporting?

  • In FPDS, the PSC is recorded as element 8A (Product or Service Code) and must be a valid manual code. Report the code representing the predominant value of the requirement. ³

Useful resources

• Product and Service Code (PSC) Manual landing page (current and archived manuals). ¹
• PSC Manual April 2025 (Section A: Research and Development Codes, including AB22 and stage definitions). ²
• FPDS-NG Data Dictionary — Element 8A Product or Service Code (definition and reporting instructions). ³

References

1. Acquisition.gov — Product and Service Code Manual page: https://www.acquisition.gov/psc-manual
2. Acquisition.gov — PSC Manual April 2025 (PDF): https://login.acquisition.gov/sites/default/files/manual/PSC%20Manual%20April%202025.pdf
3. FPDS-NG Data Dictionary — Product or Service Code (Element 8A): https://www.fpds.gov/wiki/index.php/V1.4_FPDS-NG_Data_Dictionary