05 / 20 Explanatory notes and how they are used
How does the NACE index fit the notes?
Published Updated
Statistical classification only
Statistical classification only. This guide does not determine any reader's code. Confirm a code with the national statistical institute or the business register that holds the record. This is general information, not advice on any reader's registration.
The NACE index is an integral part of the explanatory notes, listing detailed activities and pointing to the classes where they are classified. The Eurostat manual states that the entries in the NACE index are an integral part of the notes, in the passage on the criteria for classes and on the content and scope of positions. The index therefore does not stand apart from the notes. It is the second part of the notes, and it must be read with the first part, the descriptions and annotations, to be used correctly.
How is the index published, and why online?
The index is published online through ShowVoc, because it is designed to evolve and be regularly revised. The manual states that the descriptions and annotations are presented in the manual publication, whereas the index is designed to evolve and be regularly revised, and is therefore online disseminated via ShowVoc. The manual also states, in the passage on online dissemination, that NACE Rev. 2.1 is available in a dynamic electronic format, which is the only format wherein the online index is available, and that the index assists stakeholders and producers of statistics to use and implement NACE Rev. 2.1. ShowVoc is described in the manual as a web based semantic platform that enables visualisation of structures, notes including index entries whenever defined, correspondence tables, links to legal acts, and methodological documents.
The online form has a consequence for citation. A description in the manual belongs to the 2025 edition (FIXED) of the manual, and it is fixed for that edition. An index entry on ShowVoc belongs to the version of the index consulted, and it may have been revised since the manual was published. A reader who cites an index entry must therefore note the date or version of the index consulted, in the same way that a reader who cites a correspondence table must note the table version. A reader who cites a manual description and an index entry together must state both sources, with their different dates, and must check that the entry and the description agree. A disagreement must be resolved by checking the current index and the current note, and by noting the revision, rather than by treating one source as overriding the other without explanation.
| Part of the notes | Publication form stated in the manual | Revision character |
|---|---|---|
| Descriptions and annotations | Manual publication, Part 3 | Fixed for the edition |
| Index entries | Online through ShowVoc, dynamic electronic format | Designed to evolve, regularly revised |
| Index status | Newly added feature, not in previous versions | Integral part of the notes |
What does an index entry contain?
The index is particularly useful where an activity is known by a detailed or local name that does not match the heading words for the class. A reader who searches the structure by heading words alone may miss the class, because the heading uses a general term while the activity uses a specific term. The index bridges that gap, by listing the specific term and pointing to the class. The bridge must then be verified in the note: the activity must fall inside the general statement in the note, and must not be excluded by the excludes list. An index entry that points to a class, where the note for the class excludes the activity, must be rechecked, because either the entry has been revised, or the reading of the note has missed a condition. The note is the definition, and the entry is the pointer to it.
How is the index used with the notes and the tables?
The index must not be used as a finder tool that assigns a code to a business. The index points to a class for a detailed activity, for statistical description. The assignment of a unit to a class, for its principal activity, requires considering all the activities of the unit, applying the value added and top down rules, and using the information held about the unit. The institute or register that holds the record makes that assignment. A reader who follows an index entry to a class, and presents that class as the code for a unit, has used a pointer as if it were an assignment, and has skipped the assignment step. The index is a tool for reading the notes. The entry is confirmed elsewhere.
What does the index not contain?
The index does not contain the definitions of categories, the boundary examples, or the classification rules. Those are in the descriptions and annotations, and in the introductory guidelines. The index does not contain the correspondence relationships between versions. Those are in the correspondence tables. The index does not contain the entries held for specific businesses. Those are in national registers. A reader who relies only on the index will have pointers without definitions, relationships, rules, or entries, and will not be able to verify a reading. The index must be used with the notes, the tables, and the register, in that order, and each source must be cited for the question it answers.
Find the activity in the index, read the note for the class it points to, and confirm any entry with the national statistical institute or the business register that holds the record.