17 / 20 Registers and institutes where a code is confirmed

Registers and institutes where a code is confirmed

Business registers and statistical institutes by country, what each register holds, and what to ask when confirming a code.

The four levels

1. Level 1 Section One letter
2. Level 2 Division Two digits
3. Level 3 Group Three digits
4. Level 4 Class Four digits

Guides in this cluster

• What is the difference between a business register and a statistical business register?

  A business register holds legal and administrative records, while a statistical business register frames business statistics, and the two can hold different views of the same unit.

• How is a code checked in a dataset?

  A dataset code is checked through its metadata: version, reference period, unit, and any break or backcast note.

• How is a register entry corrected?

  A correction is requested from the holder of the record, through that holder's route, and the holder decides it; no correction is made by self determination.

• What is ShowVoc and how is it used to check a classification?

  ShowVoc is Eurostat's online platform for classifications, presenting NACE Rev 2.1 in human readable and machine readable formats.

• How is a French code confirmed in Sirene and with INSEE?

  In France the APE code is viewed in the Sirene directory, the SIREN number is the key, and a rectification can be requested before 1 January 2027.

• Is a code confirmed by the institute or by the register?

  The institute holds the classification and the register holds the entry, so meaning and entry are confirmed in different places.

• How is an Irish code confirmed with the Central Statistics Office?

  Ireland's CSO Business Register completed updating enterprise coding to NACE Rev 2.1 during 2025, and CSO outputs move gradually from January 2026.

• How is a record of a code check kept?

  A check record keeps the register, identifier, code, version and check date together, so the check can be repeated and the entry can be rechecked after a recoding.

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

  In the Netherlands the KVK assigns the SBI code in the Business Register and Statistics Netherlands uses the SBI in statistics, with SBI 2025 phased in from 2026.

• How is a United Kingdom code confirmed with the ONS and Companies House?

  The ONS holds UK SIC 2007, identical to NACE to four digits, and the company record is the place to confirm the entry shown for a company.

• What does a register entry not prove?

  A register entry proves what the register holds at the check date. It does not prove activity, licence, tax position, or status.

• What should be asked when confirming a code?

  Confirming a code means asking for the code, the version, the unit, and the date, and recording all four together.

All guides or home.