What changes for new and existing units in France?

Under NAF 2025, the APE code for every company and establishment listed in Sirene is modified from 1 January 2027 (FIXED), according to Service Public. The statement covers all companies and establishments, not a subset. It covers existing units, whose codes change to the new nomenclature, and it sets the reference for units that appear in the directory under the new nomenclature. The SIREN number, which identifies the legal unit, is not stated to change. The change concerns the APE code, the statistical description of the main activity. It does not concern the identity of the unit.

A reader should therefore expect a new APE code in Sirene, and should not expect a new SIREN number or a new registration as a consequence of the nomenclature change alone.

What changes for an existing unit?

For an existing unit, the APE code shown in Sirene changes to the code prepared under NAF 2025. Service Public states that all companies and establishments will have their APE codes modified according to the new NAF 2025 from 1 January 2027 (FIXED). The prepared code can be checked in Sirene during the period before the date, using the SIREN number, and a rectification can be requested where the prepared code does not match the main activity exercised. The check and rectification guides in this cluster describe those steps. No new registration step is stated on the Service Public page fetched for this guide, and this guide does not assert one. The unit’s record continues in Sirene, with a new APE code. Other records that copy the APE code, such as datasets, listings and internal files, will show the old code until they are updated from Sirene, and a reader who compares records across the date should state the version beside every code.

Unit position	APE code from 1 January 2027 (FIXED)	Action stated by Service Public
Existing company in Sirene	Modified to the NAF 2025 code	Check the prepared code in Sirene, request rectification if needed
Existing establishment in Sirene	Modified to the NAF 2025 code	Check the prepared code in Sirene, request rectification if needed
Unit appearing under the new nomenclature	Code assigned under NAF 2025	Check the entry in Sirene

The table above follows the Service Public statement that all companies and establishments will have their codes modified. It does not state a procedure for first registration, because no such procedure was stated on the page fetched for this guide.

What stays the same?

The character of the code stays the same. The APE code remains a statistical description of the main activity, assigned by INSEE, based on the NAF. The format, four digits plus one letter, is stated by Service Public for the code in general, and this guide does not assert a format change under NAF 2025, because no format change was stated on the pages fetched for this guide. The institute stays the same: INSEE publishes the nomenclature and assigns the code. The register stays the same: Sirene holds the record. What changes is the nomenclature version that supplies the headings, and therefore the code that describes the main activity. A reader who understands that only the version changes will avoid treating the new code as a new legal status.

What should a reader not assume?

A reader should not assume that a changed APE code changes a licence, a tax treatment, a funding decision or a collective agreement. The EUR-Lex summary states that the European legislation only applies to statistical purposes. The INSEE nomenclature pages state that the purpose of the nomenclatures is essentially statistical. Other bodies may use the APE code, but their rules are their own, and a change in the statistical code does not by itself change their decisions. A reader should also not assume that an old APE code found in a dataset or listing is current after 1 January 2027 (FIXED). After that date, the current code is the one shown in Sirene. A dataset that does not state its version, or its date, cannot be relied on for the current code.

Where is the position for a specific unit confirmed?

The position for a specific unit is confirmed in Sirene, using the SIREN number, and the nomenclature is confirmed on the INSEE website. This site holds no register and decides no entry. A reader who needs the code for a unit should check Sirene. A reader who needs the meaning of a heading should check the INSEE nomenclature page. A reader who needs to know what another authority will do with the code should ask that authority, under its own rules.

Every Sirene entry carries a new APE code from 1 January 2027 (FIXED), the SIREN identity and the statistical character of the code stay as they were, and Sirene is where each new code is checked. ”