15 / 20 Other national variants
Netherlands: what does CBS publish for SBI 2025?
Published Updated
Statistical classification only
Statistical classification only. This guide does not determine any reader's code. Confirm a code with Statistics Netherlands (CBS) or the Chamber of Commerce (KVK) register that holds the record. This is general information, not advice on any reader's registration.
Statistics Netherlands, CBS, publishes a Standard Industrial Classifications page that describes SBI 2025, its structure, its major changes, and its implementation. CBS states that work on SBI 2025 is almost complete, and that from 2026 (EXPECTED) onwards SBI 2025 will be gradually implemented into CBS statistics, with SBI 2008 and SBI 2025 both in use during the implementation period.
CBS states that SBI is a standard for classifying economic activities in the Netherlands, that each business is assigned a code by the Dutch Chamber of Commerce, KVK, indicating how its main economic activities are classified, and that CBS uses SBI to classify businesses by main activity and to describe the economy. SBI has five levels, with a maximum of five digits. The first four digits are, with a few exceptions, identical to NACE, and the fifth level is specific to the Netherlands.
What are the five levels of SBI?
SBI has five levels. CBS gives an excerpt from SBI 2025 that shows the nesting: Section A for agriculture, forestry and fishing, Division 1 for crop and animal production, hunting and related service activities, Group 01.1 for growing of non perennial crops, Class 01.11 for growing of cereals other than rice, leguminous crops and oil seeds, and a fifth level entry 01.11.0 with the same title. The excerpt shows that the fifth level can repeat a class title where no finer Dutch breakdown is made, and can divide a class where a finer breakdown is needed. CBS states that for codes consisting of four levels, a fifth level has been added in SBI 2025 using a zero, consistent with Eurostat recommendations for national versions, so that differences in summations in StatLine tables are avoided. The fifth level is therefore a Dutch breakdown inside the European class. It must be read inside its class, never alone, and it must never be presented as a European heading.
| Level | Example from the CBS excerpt | Identifier form |
|---|---|---|
| Section | A, agriculture, forestry and fishing | One letter |
| Division | 1, crop and animal production | One or two digits as published |
| Group | 01.1, growing of non perennial crops | Three digits |
| Class | 01.11, growing of cereals | Four digits |
| Fifth level | 01.11.0, same title in the excerpt | Five digits, Netherlands specific |
The table above reproduces the CBS excerpt. The division row shows the identifier as CBS prints it in the excerpt. A reader should check the full SBI 2025 structure on the CBS site for the complete identifier forms, because the excerpt is an illustration, not the whole structure.
What are the major changes in SBI 2025?
CBS lists four major changes that follow from NACE Rev. 2.1. First, Section J was subdivided into Section J for information, comprising SBI 58 to 60, and Section K for communication, comprising SBI 61 to 63, with all subsequent sections moving up a letter, and with no effect on the more detailed categories. Second, SBI 45, for trade in and repair of cars, motorcycles and trailers, was removed and reclassified under SBI 46, SBI 47 and SBI 95. Third, the distinction between internet trading and trade via retail outlets ended, because many physical shops also sell online, and other sales channels are also no longer recorded separately. Fourth, a considerable number of codes for intermediaries were added, including retail intermediation under SBI 47.9, for companies that link customers to sellers, such as online marketplaces and comparison sites. Those four changes are stated by CBS as the major changes in the European system that will be implemented in SBI 2025. They are the verified changes for this guide. No other SBI code is asserted in this guide.
Who assigns an SBI code, and where is it checked?
An SBI code is assigned by KVK, the Chamber of Commerce, when a business is registered, and CBS uses the code for statistics. CBS states that each business is assigned a code by KVK, and that CBS uses SBI to classify businesses according to their main business activity. A reader who needs the code for a specific business should therefore check the KVK Business Register, which holds the entry, and should check the meaning of the heading in the SBI 2025 structure published by CBS. CBS also publishes a link schema between SBI 2008 and SBI 2025, in Dutch, and a structural document for SBI 2025, version 2026 (FIXED, as published), as listed on the CBS page. The link schema shows the movement between versions. The structure shows the headings. Neither document determines the entry for a specific business. The entry is in the KVK register, and KVK confirms it.
What does an SBI code not decide?
An SBI code does not decide any question about a specific business beyond its statistical description. It does not decide tax, social security, licensing, funding or collective agreement questions. CBS states that the code indicates how the main economic activities of a business are classified. The EUR-Lex summary states that the European legislation only applies to statistical purposes. Other bodies apply their own rules to the questions they decide. The entry for a specific business is confirmed with CBS or the KVK register that holds the record. This site holds no register and decides no entry. A reader who uses an SBI code in a dataset should state the version, SBI 2008 or SBI 2025, beside every code, because both versions are in use during the implementation period, and a bare code is ambiguous.
SBI 2025 has five levels with a Dutch fifth level, it moves into CBS statistics gradually from 2026 (EXPECTED) with both versions in use, and KVK assigns the code that CBS uses for statistics.