PSC AS42

Overview

The Product Service Code (PSC) is a government-wide taxonomy the U.S. federal government uses to classify products, services, and research and development in procurement systems. PSCs support consistent entry and reporting of contract data (for example in FPDS and SAM.gov) and are maintained on Acquisition.gov in the PSC Manual. ¹

Within the R&D family for Transportation, PSC AS42 denotes “Transportation R&D Services; Pipelines; Hazardous Materials; Cross-Functional Transportation; Applied Research.” It is used to tag contract actions whose predominant effort is applied research focused on pipeline transport, hazardous materials transport, and cross‑functional transportation topics. ²

See also on G2X:

• G2X — PSC AS42 overview
• G2X — PSC AS41
• G2X — PSC AS43

What this PSC covers

• Applied research on pipeline transportation systems, including safety, integrity, and performance questions. ²
• Applied research addressing hazardous materials (hazmat) transportation across modes. ²
• Cross‑functional transportation applied research that spans multiple modes or integrates policy, technology, and operations. ²
• Studies and investigations that translate transportation theories into practical methods, prototypes, or validated approaches (applied stage). ²
• Work scoped specifically to the applied research phase, distinct from basic research or experimental development. ²
• Transportation R&D efforts whose predominant objective is solutions-oriented inquiry rather than facility construction or administrative support. ²

Related NAICS and PSC codes

The following PSCs are closely related within the Transportation R&D family in the PSC Manual. ²

Coding guidance and selection notes

• Select the PSC that best identifies what was procured; when multiple activities exist, code to the predominant portion of the ultimate contract value. This guidance applies to all PSCs, including AS42. ²
• PSCs are recorded in FPDS as data element 8A “Product or Service Code.” Values must be valid PSCs from the PSC Manual. ³
• SAM.gov search and reports expose PSC filtering (e.g., resources on searching by NAICS or PSC), which can aid market research for AS42 opportunities and awards. ⁴

Frequently asked questions

• What does PSC AS42 represent?

  • PSC AS42 designates applied research within Transportation R&D for pipelines, hazardous materials, and cross‑functional transportation. It covers efforts that translate theory into practical approaches, distinct from basic research (AS41) and experimental development (AS43). ²

• How is AS42 different from AS41 and AS43?

  • AS41 is Basic Research, AS42 is Applied Research, and AS43 is Experimental Development for the same pipelines/hazmat/cross‑functional transportation scope. The stage distinctions are defined in the PSC Manual. ²

• Where is AS42 recorded in federal contract data systems?

  • The PSC is entered in FPDS as element 8A “Product or Service Code.” Agencies use it for contract reporting, analytics, and public transparency, and the value must match a valid PSC from the PSC Manual. ³

• Does the government publish an official NAICS crosswalk for AS42?

  • Not specified by official sources ¹.

• Can PSC filters be used to find opportunities or reports related to AS42 in SAM.gov?

  • Yes. SAM.gov help materials include guidance on searching opportunities and data by PSC or NAICS, supporting market research and tracking for AS42 awards and notices. ⁴

Useful resources

• G2X — PSC AS42 overview
• Product and Service Code Manual landing page (current downloads and archives). ¹
• PSC Manual (April 2025 edition, official PDF). ²
• FPDS data dictionary: element 8A “Product or Service Code.” ³
• SAM.gov Help: Finding Contract Opportunities (resources on searching by PSC). ⁴

References

1. Acquisition.gov — Product and Service Code Manual page: https://www.acquisition.gov/psc-manual
2. PSC Manual April 2025 (PDF), Transportation R&D codes AS41–AS45: https://www.acquisition.gov/sites/default/files/manual/PSC%20Manual%20April%202025.pdf
3. FPDS.gov wiki — V1.4 Data Dictionary, element 8A Product or Service Code: https://www.fpds.gov/wiki/index.php/V1.4_FPDS-NG_Data_Dictionary
4. SAM.gov Help — Finding Contract Opportunities: https://sam.gov/help