PSC AN33

Overview

The Product Service Code (PSC) is the governmentwide taxonomy used to classify what the U.S. government buys, supporting consistent reporting, analysis, and spend management in federal procurement systems. PSCs are governed through the PSC Manual and are the “what was bought” data element in the Federal Procurement Data System (FPDS). ¹

AN33 denotes Health Research and Development (R&D) Services in the “Consumer and occupational health and safety” sub-area at the Experimental Development stage. In the PSC R&D structure, the fourth character “3” identifies Experimental Development, distinct from Basic Research (1) and Applied Research (2). Use AN33 when the predominant purpose is experimental development work within consumer and occupational health and safety. ¹

What this PSC covers

• Experimental development activities (stage “3”) focused on consumer and occupational health and safety. ¹
• Design, construction, and testing of experimental prototypes, materials, devices, systems, or methods within this health and safety domain. ¹
• First-of-a-kind technology demonstrations at scale where further design refinements are expected (feedback R&D). ¹
• R&D contract actions coded to the predominant experimental development effort; do not code supporting product purchases as R&D. ¹
• Excludes user demonstrations validating costs/benefits or low-rate initial production activities. ¹
• Excludes pre-production development (e.g., tooling, production facilities); such work is not R&D. ¹
• Use adjacent stage codes when appropriate: AN31 for Basic Research and AN32 for Applied Research; exclude administrative or facilities spend (see AN34 and AN35). ¹

Related NAICS and PSC codes

Coding guidance highlights

• Report an R&D PSC when the contract action is for research and experimental development services; select the PSC based on the predominant service acquired. ¹
• The PSC is recorded in FPDS data element 8A (“Product or Service Code”). ¹
• In the R&D schema, the fourth character denotes the stage: 1 Basic Research, 2 Applied Research, 3 Experimental Development, 4 R&D Administrative Expenses, 5 R&D Facilities & Major Equipment; AN33 uses stage “3.” ¹

Frequently asked questions

• What does AN33 cover?
  It covers Health R&D services in the “Consumer and occupational health and safety” sub-area at the Experimental Development stage, including designing, constructing, and testing experimental prototypes, materials, devices, systems, or methods, and first-of-a-kind demonstrations where further refinements are expected. ¹

• When should AN33 be used instead of AN32?
  Use AN33 when work is experimental development aimed at producing, improving, or validating products or processes through iterative prototype testing. Use AN32 when work is applied research targeting practical objectives without creating experimental prototypes. ¹

• Are purchases of safety equipment or lab supplies coded under AN33?
  No. The PSC Manual instructs agencies not to assign an R&D PSC to products purchased in support of R&D. Instead, select the appropriate product PSC for the items being acquired, reserving AN33 for the experimental development services themselves. ¹

• Does AN33 include user demonstrations or pre-production activities?
  No. User demonstrations that validate costs or benefits, low-rate initial production, and pre‑production development (e.g., tooling or production facility setup) are excluded from R&D and should not be coded as AN33. ¹

Useful resources

• G2X — PSC AN33 overview: https://app.g2xchange.com/psc/AN33
• Product and Service Code Manual (landing page), Acquisition.gov. ²
• PSC Manual, April 2025 edition (PDF) — current authoritative definitions and code list. ¹

References

1. PSC Manual April 2025 (PDF), Acquisition.gov. https://www.acquisition.gov/sites/default/files/manual/PSC%20Manual%20April%202025.pdf
2. Product and Service Code Manual (landing page), Acquisition.gov. https://www.acquisition.gov/psc-manual