How is a Dutch code confirmed with the KVK and Statistics Netherlands?

In the Netherlands, a code is confirmed in two places that work together. The Dutch Chamber of Commerce, the KVK, assigns the code in the Business Register, and Statistics Netherlands, CBS, uses the code in statistics. Statistics Netherlands states that each business is assigned a code by the KVK that indicates how the main economic activities of the business are classified, and that CBS uses the SBI to classify businesses according to their main business activity and to describe the economy.

The standard is the SBI, the Standaard Bedrijfsindeling, and SBI 2025 is gradually implemented into CBS statistics from 2026 onwards (FIXED, as stated by Statistics Netherlands), with SBI 2008 and SBI 2025 both in use during the implementation period.

What is the SBI, and how is it structured?

The SBI is a standard for classifying economic activities in the Netherlands. Statistics Netherlands states that SBI has five levels, and that each economic activity is indicated by a maximum of five digits. The first two levels of SBI are aligned with ISIC, and, with a few exceptions, the first four digits of SBI are identical to NACE. The fifth level is specific to the Netherlands. An SBI excerpt published by Statistics Netherlands shows the shape clearly: section A for agriculture, forestry and fishing, division 1, a group shown as 01.1, a class shown as 01.11, and a fifth level shown as 01.11.0, each with its title. The dots in the excerpt are part of the presentation of the levels, and the code should be copied as the register shows it, including any fifth digit. A four digit SBI code is the NACE class. A five digit SBI code is the Dutch detail below it. The two should not be confused, and a confirmation should state how many digits the code as held contains.

What changed in SBI 2025?

Statistics Netherlands lists the major changes that come from NACE Rev. 2.1 and are therefore implemented in SBI 2025. Section J, information and communication, in SBI 2008 is subdivided into Section J, information, and Section K, communication, in SBI 2025, and all subsequent sections move up a letter as a result, while the more detailed categories are unaffected. The category for trade in and repair of cars, motorcycles and trailers is removed and reclassified under wholesale trade, retail trade, and repairs. The distinction between internet trading and trade via retail outlets is no longer recorded separately, because the activity is the same in both cases, and other sales channels are also no longer recorded separately. A considerable number of codes for intermediaries and mediation have been added, for companies that provide a link between customers and a service, product or seller, such as online marketplaces and comparison sites. For codes with four levels, a fifth level has been added using a zero, consistent with Eurostat recommendations for national versions of NACE, so that summations in tables do not differ. Those are structural changes, stated by Statistics Netherlands, and they explain why a Dutch code can change its letter or its fifth digit without the underlying activity changing its place in the NACE hierarchy.

How is a Dutch entry checked?

A Dutch entry is checked in the KVK Business Register, which holds the record, and the statistical use is checked in CBS statistics, which state the SBI version used. Statistics Netherlands states that SBI 2008 and SBI 2025 will both be in use during the implementation period, so a check must state the version shown in the record consulted. A record made during the implementation period that does not state the version is incomplete, because the same business can appear with a 2008 code in one table and a 2025 code in another, and the difference is the version, not a change in the business. The check record should name the register or dataset, the code as shown, the version, the unit identifier, and the date of the check. Where the code shown is a five digit code, the record should state that the fifth digit is the Netherlands specific level.

Item	Record for a Dutch check
Assigning body	KVK, in the Business Register
Statistical user	Statistics Netherlands (CBS)
Versions in use	SBI 2008 and SBI 2025, both in use during implementation
Implementation	From 2026 onwards (FIXED, as stated by Statistics Netherlands), gradual
Levels	Five levels, maximum five digits, fifth level specific to the Netherlands

The table keeps the assigning body and the statistical user distinct. The KVK assigns the entry. Statistics Netherlands uses it. A question about the entry goes to the KVK. A question about a statistic goes to Statistics Netherlands.

What does a Dutch code not decide?

An SBI code in the Business Register does not, by itself, decide tax, licensing, funding, collective agreement or social security questions, and this guide does not present it as doing so. The EUR-Lex summary states that the NACE legislation only applies to the use of the classification for statistical purposes. The SBI is the Dutch version of that classification, and its limits are the same. A question about an obligation for a specific business belongs to the authority that administers the obligation. The register entry is the record of the classification entry, and it should never be quoted as if it answered an obligation question.

Where is a Dutch code confirmed?

The meaning of a category is confirmed in the Eurostat explanatory notes and in the SBI documentation published by Statistics Netherlands, and the move between versions is confirmed in the correspondence table between SBI 2008 and SBI 2025 published by Statistics Netherlands. The entry for a specific business is confirmed in the KVK Business Register. Confirm the entry there, record the version and the number of digits shown, and check the SBI version in any CBS table before comparing it with another table.