19 / 20 Reading NACE codes in registers, datasets and listings
What fields appear with a code in a register entry?
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.
A register entry shows a code together with the fields that identify the unit and the record: the identifier, the code, the activity label, and, in a well formed record, the classification version and the date. A code copied without those fields cannot be checked, because the reader cannot tell which unit it belongs to, which version it belongs to, or when the record was made. The fields are part of the entry, and a quotation of the entry should include them, or state plainly that a field was not shown in the record consulted.
What fields does the Sirene record show?
Service Public states the fields for the French record clearly. The Sirene tool requires the SIREN number of the company, and the new APE code appears with the name 2025 APE Code and the 2025 Activity Label. The record therefore shows an identifier, the SIREN number, a code, the 2025 APE Code, and a label, the 2025 Activity Label. The effective date is also part of the record: from 1 January 2027 (FIXED), all companies and establishments will see their amended APE code according to NAF 2025. A French check record should therefore contain the SIREN number, the code as shown, the label as shown, the effective date, and the date of the check. A record that gives only the code, without the SIREN number and the label, does not identify the unit or the activity description behind the code, and it should not be treated as a confirmation.
What fields does a Dutch record show?
Statistics Netherlands states the fields for the Dutch record in general terms: each business is assigned a code by the KVK that indicates how the main economic activities of the business are classified, and CBS uses the SBI to classify businesses according to their main business activity. The SBI excerpt published by Statistics Netherlands shows the code at each level with its title: a section letter with its title, a division with its title, a group with its title, a class with its title, and a fifth level with its title, where the fifth level exists. A Dutch record should therefore be quoted with the code at the level shown, the title at that level, the version, SBI 2008 or SBI 2025, and the date of the check. Statistics Netherlands states that SBI 2008 and SBI 2025 will both be in use during the implementation period, from 2026 onwards (FIXED, as stated by Statistics Netherlands), so the version field is essential in a Dutch record made during that period, and a record without it is ambiguous between two versions.
What fields does an Irish record show?
The Central Statistics Office states that its Business Register completed work during 2025 (FIXED, as stated by the Central Statistics Office) on updating the coding of enterprises to NACE Rev. 2.1, and that NACE coding is based on the principal activity of a unit, where most of the gross value is added. An Irish record should therefore be quoted with the enterprise identifier used by the register, the code as held, the version, NACE Rev. 2.1 for the updated coding, and the date of the check. The CSO page does not, in the text consulted, list the display fields of a public register entry for a named enterprise, and this guide does not assert a display format for such an entry. A reader who consults a CSO output should record the output name, the reference period, and the version stated in the output, and a reader who consults a register entry should record the fields as shown in that entry, without adding fields from another country’s record.
| Field | French record, as stated by Service Public | Dutch record, as stated by Statistics Netherlands |
|---|---|---|
| Identifier | SIREN number | Business identifier, as shown in the KVK record |
| Code | 2025 APE Code | SBI code, at the level shown, maximum five digits |
| Label | 2025 Activity Label | Title at the level shown |
| Version | NAF 2025, effective from 1 January 2027 (FIXED) | SBI 2008 or SBI 2025, both in use in implementation |
| Check date | Date the tool was consulted | Date the record was consulted |
The table compares two verified record shapes, and it does not claim that every register shows the same fields. A register that shows fewer fields should be quoted with the fields it shows, and the missing fields should be recorded as not shown, rather than filled from another register.
What is not a field in a register entry?
A tax position, a licence, a funding decision, and a collective agreement are not fields in a register entry, and they should never be added to a quotation of an entry as if they were. According to the EUR-Lex summary, the legislation only applies to statistical use of the classification. A register entry is a statistical and administrative record, and its fields are identifiers, codes, labels, versions and dates. A fact about an obligation belongs in the record of the authority that administers the obligation, and it should be quoted from that record, with its own fields, not appended to a code entry. Adding an obligation to a code quotation makes the code appear to decide the obligation, which it does not, and the addition should be removed wherever it appears.
Where is a register entry confirmed?
A register entry is confirmed in the register that holds it, using the identifier for the unit, and the fields are recorded as shown. The meaning of the category is confirmed in the Eurostat explanatory notes, and the move between versions in the correspondence tables. A single entry is never confirmed from a listing, a dataset aggregate, or a code string without its fields. Confirm the entry in the register, record the fields as shown, and name the version and the check date with every quotation.