The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS, pronounced Nakes) was developed under the direction and guidance of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) as the standard for use by Federal statistical agencies in classifying business establishments for the collection, tabulation, presentation, and analysis of statistical data describing the U.S. economy. Use of the standard provides uniformity and comparability in the presentation of these statistical data. NAICS is based on a production-oriented concept, meaning that it groups establishments into industries according to similarity in the processes used to produce goods or services. NAICS replaced the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system in 1997.

NAICS was initially developed and subsequently revised by Mexico's INEGI, Statistics Canada, and the U.S. Economic Classification Policy Committee (the latter acting on behalf of OMB). The goal of this collaboration was to produce common industry definitions for Canada, Mexico, and the United States. These common definitions facilitate economic analyses of the economies of the three North American countries. The statistical agencies in the three countries produce information on inputs and outputs, industrial performance, productivity, unit labor costs, and employment. NAICS, which is based on a production-oriented concept, ensures maximum usefulness of industrial statistics for these and similar purposes.

NAICS in the United States was designed for statistical purposes. However, NAICS is frequently used for various administrative, regulatory, contracting, taxation, and other non-statistical purposes. For example, some state governments offer tax incentives to businesses classified in specified NAICS industries. Some contracting authorities require businesses to register their NAICS codes, which are used to determine eligibility to bid on certain contracts. The requirements for these non-statistical purposes played no role in the initial development of NAICS or its later revisions.

Various agencies and organizations have also begun using NAICS as a basis for their procurement programs, requiring that a NAICS code be provided for each good or service to be procured. NAICS is an industry classification system, not a product classification system, and therefore neither intended nor well suited for this purpose. The North American Product Classification System (NAPCS) is currently under development under the direction and guidance of OMB and also in collaboration with Canada and Mexico. This system is intended to incorporate all of the outputs/ products of the industries defined in NAICS, with "product" referring to goods produced and services provided. For statistical purposes, a business establishment is assigned one NAICS code, based on its primary business activity. Once NAPCS is complete, multiple NAPCS codes could be linked to any one establishment to indicate its various products.

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An establishment is generally a single physical location where business is conducted or where services or industrial operations are performed (e.g., factory, mill, store, hotel, movie theater, mine, farm, airline terminal, sales office, warehouse, or central administrative office). An enterprise, on the other hand, may consist of more than one location performing the same or different types of economic activities. Each establishment of that enterprise is assigned a NAICS code based on its own primary business activity.

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Ideally, the primary business activity of an establishment is determined by relative share of production costs and/or capital investment. In practice, other variables, such as revenue, value of shipments, or employment, are used as proxies. The Census Bureau generally uses revenue or value of shipments to determine an establishment's primary business activity.

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NAICS is a two- through six-digit hierarchical classification system, offering five levels of detail. Each digit in the code is part of a series of progressively narrower categories, and the more digits in the code signify greater classification detail. The first two digits designate the economic sector, the third digit designates the subsector, the fourth digit designates the industry group, the fifth digit designates the NAICS industry, and the sixth digit designates the national industry. The five-digit NAICS code is the level at which there is comparability in code and definitions for most of the NAICS sectors across the three countries participating in NAICS (the United States, Canada, and Mexico). The six-digit level allows for the United States, Canada, and Mexico each to have country-specific detail. A complete and valid NAICS code contains six digits.

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Within the official NAICS classification system, U.S. industries are defined at the 6-digit level. Any codes greater than 6 digits that are labeled as "NAICS codes" are not truly NAICS codes, but perhaps should be labeled "NAICS-based codes". Any such codes would probably be proprietary to the agency or organization that created them for their own programmatic purposes, and should not be assumed to be consistent or comparable across agencies.

For use in its economic census and survey programs, the U.S. Census Bureau has developed several NAICS-based coding systems. One is the Numerical List of Manufactured and Mineral Products, which is a 10-digit product classification system containing products produced by the manufacturing and mining industries. The first 6 digits of the 10-digit product code is the 6-digit NAICS code of the manufacturing or mining industry that is designated as the primary producer of the product. To view the 2002 Numerical List, visit the Census website: www.census.gov/prod/ec02/02numlist/02numlist.html.

Another example of NAICS-based codes used in the Economic Census, which appear on the reporting forms and in publications, are the 7- and 8-digit "kind of business codes". These codes are used for certain industries to provide finer details of the principle business activities below the 6-digit NAICS industry level.

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To view a complete list of 2007 NAICS Sector codes and titles, visit the "Downloads/Reference Files/Tools" section of this website. Under "2007 NAICS," you can view download an Excel file either the complete NAICS code hierarchy, ranging from broad 2-digit Sector codes to specific 6-digit U.S. industry codes, or a list of just the 6-digit U.S. Industry codes.

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NAICS replaced the SIC in 1997. Now the Federal statistical agencies use NAICS for the collection, tabulation, presentation, and analysis of economic statistics. There will be no further revisions of the SIC, which was last updated in 1987. It is possible that other organizations and state and local agencies are continuing to use the SIC for their own purposes, but these non-statistical uses are outside the scope of the Federal economic statistical programs.

To find the SIC codes and their descriptions, visit the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) website, which maintains a SIC Manual.

To learn more about the differences between the original 1997 NAICS and the SIC, visit the "History" link on this website.

A detailed conversion (concordance) between the SIC and 2002 NAICS is available in Excel format for download at the "Concordances" link on this website. There are no plans to develop a concordance between the SIC and 2007 NAICS.

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1. You can use the search feature at www.census.gov/naics. In the "2007 NAICS Search" box on the left side of that page, enter a keyword that describes your kind of business. A list of primary business activities containing that keyword and the corresponding NAICS codes will appear. Choose the one that most closely corresponds to your primary business activity, or refine your search to obtain other choices.
2. Rather than searching through a list of primary business activities you may also view the complete 2007 NAICS structure with codes and titles by clicking on "For 2007 NAICS" on the left-hand column from the NAICS main webpage. Then click on the two-digit Sector code to see all the NAICS codes under that Sector. Then choose the six-digit code of your interest to see the corresponding definition, as well as cross-references and index items, when available.
3. If you know your old SIC code, you can also find the appropriate 2002 NAICS code by using the detailed conversion (concordance) between the 1987 SIC and 2002 NAICS available in Excel format for download at the "Concordances" link on this website.

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There is no central government agency with the role of assigning, monitoring, or approving NAICS codes for establishments. Individual establishments are assigned NAICS codes by various agencies for various purposes using a variety of methods. The U.S. Census Bureau has no formal role as an arbitrator of NAICS classification.

The U.S. Census Bureau assigns one NAICS code to each establishment based on its primary activity (generally the activity that generates the most revenue for the establishment) to collect, tabulate, analyze, and disseminate statistical data describing the economy of the United States. Generally, the U.S. Census Bureau's NAICS classification codes are derived from information that the business establishment provided on surveys, census forms, or administrative records.

Various other government agencies, trade associations, and regulation boards adopted the NAICS classification system to assign codes to their own lists of establishments for their own programmatic needs. If you question the NAICS code contained on a form received from an agency other than the U.S. Census Bureau, you should contact that agency directly.

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NAICS is scheduled to be reviewed every 5 years for potential revisions, so that the classification system can keep pace with the changing economy. This is the only time that new NAICS codes can be considered. See the NAICS Update Process Fact Sheet [PDF 37K] for more information.

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• Dun & Bradstreet - www.dnb.com
• HarrisInfoSource - www.HarrisInfo.com
• Hoovers - www.hoovers.com
• InfoUSA Business Information - www.infousa.com
• Manta.com - www.manta.com
• Moody's Investors Service - www.moodys.com
• Standard & Poor's - www.standardandpoors.com
• IBISWorld - www.ibisworld.com

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Only six of the twenty NAICS sectors had changes during the 2007 revision of NAICS. The sectors with changes in 2007 are listed below:

1. Sector 51, Information- Major changes were made in the Information sector. Telecommunications Resellers and Cable and Other Program Distribution were moved, Internet Service Providers and Web Search Portals industries were restructured, and a new six-digit industry was created in Other Information Services subsector.
2. Sector 31-33, Manufacturing- Laboratory Apparatus and Furniture was moved to the industries with similar production function. Inflatable rubber and plastic boats were moved to Boat Building and embroidery contractors were moved to All Other Miscellaneous Textile Products Mills.
3. Sector 53, Real Estate and Rental and Leasing- 2002 NAICS code 525390- Real Estate Investment Trusts, was deleted and portions of it was reclassified as follows: (1) Equity REITs is classified in the Real Estate subsector in NAICS Industry Group 5311- Lessors of Real Estate, under individual national industries based on the content of the portfolio of real estate operated by a particular REIT; and (2) Mortgage REITs is moved to NAICS 525990, Other Financial Vehicles.
4. Sector 11 Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting - Sweet potato and yam farming was moved to Potato Farming. Algae, seaweed, and other plant aquaculture were moved to Other Aquaculture.
5. Sector 54, Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services - Research and Development in Biotechnology was added as a 6-digit industry.
6. Sector 56, Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services - Establishments that primarily provides executive search consulting services was moved to a new 6-digit industry, Executive Search Services.

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NAICS is scheduled to be reviewed every 5 years for potential revisions, so that the classification system can keep pace with the changing economy. See the NAICS Update Process Fact Sheet [PDF 37K] for more information.

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In the process of collecting, tabulating, presentating, and analyzing statistical data, the U.S. Census Bureau assigns and maintains only one NAICS code for each establishment based on its primary activity (generally the activity that generates the most revenue for the establishment). Since other agencies and organizations have adopted NAICS for use in programs that are not statistical (e.g. regulatory activities and procurement), it is possible that they allow for more than one NAICS code per establishment. For instance, the Central Contractors Registration (CCR), where businesses register to become federal contractors, will accept up to 5 or 10 classification codes per establishment. You will need to contact these other agencies to find out what their policies are, and what NAICS codes are appropriate for your business relative to their programs. For access to a list of Federal government agencies, visit: www.usa.gov/Agencies/Federal/All_Agencies/index.shtml .

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NAICS was developed for use in the collection, tabulation, presentation, and analysis of statistical data that show the economic status of the United States. The NAICS categories and definitions were not developed to meet the needs of procurement or regulatory applications. However, other Federal agencies, trade associations, and regulation boards have adopted NAICS to use for procurement and regulatory purposes even though it is not well suited to meet their specific needs. The U.S. Census Bureau has no formal role as an arbitrator of classification decisions outside of Census Bureau programs. For questions regarding other agencies' uses of the NAICS system, contact the specific agency. For access to a list of Federal government agencies, visit www.usa.gov/Agencies/Federal/All_Agencies/index.shtml .

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NAICS categories do not distinguish between small and large business, or between for-profit and non-profit. The Small Business Administration (SBA) developed size standards for each NAICS category. To find more information about the SBA size standards, visit the SBA website; http://www.sba.gov/idc/groups/public/documents/sba_homepage/serv_sstd_tablepdf.pdf . You may also contact SBA's Office of Size Standards on 202-205-6618 or via email to sizestandards@sba.gov. To learn more about the size statistics the Census Bureau collects, visit the Census Bureau's Statistics about Business Size.

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The NAICS system is used to classify establishments according to their primary industrial activity. It is not a system for classifying occupations. The Bureau of Labor Statistics maintains the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system. For information on that system, go to www.bls.gov/soc/home.htm.

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There are numerous economic statistical programs at the Census Bureau that publish data on a NAICS basis, at varying levels of detail. Links to these data sets are at: www.census.gov/econ/www/index.html.

You may also obtain data from the American Fact Finder website factfinder.census.gov. In this site, look under the Economic Census tab at the bottom of the page. You can obtain a quick report by either industry or geography by clicking on the links listed. Beginning with the 1998 data year, the annual County Business Patterns reports provide employment, payroll, number of establishments (but not sales/receipts). The CBP data can be found at www.census.gov/econ/cbp/index.html.

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Data on international trade in goods are collected on a commodity basis, whereas NAICS data are on an establishment basis. Commodity groups approximating the NAICS categories were developed, however, and published for the years 1997 through 1999. (These overlap with series for groups using SIC commodity group classifications in the year 1997.) It should be noted that some of the kinds of distinctions made in NAICS and other industry classifications cannot be made in commodity trade data. A notable example is printing and publishing. NAICS places publishing in the Information sector and retains only printing in manufacturing. In commodity trade data, however, the entire value of imported and exported publications is included in the goods classification "Printing, publishing and similar products." For additional information, please visit the Foreign Trade Statistics website at www.census.gov/foreign-trade/www/.

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A new North American Product Classification System (NAPCS) is under development, as a complementary system to NAICS. Whereas NAICS focuses on the input and production processes of industries, NAPCS will classify all the outputs of the industries defined in NAICS.

The long-term objective of NAPCS is to develop a market-oriented, or demand-based, classification system for products that (a) is not industry-of-origin based but can be linked to the NAICS industry structure, (b) is consistent across the three NAICS countries, and (c) promotes improvements in the identification and classification of service products across international classification systems, such as the Central Product Classification System of the United Nations. For more information visit the NAPCS website.

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Title 13, U.S. Code, Section 9 (a) prohibits the U.S. Census Bureau from disclosing individual company activities including NAICS and SIC codes. More information on Title 13 can be found at www.census.gov/main/www/policies.html#confidential.

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The 2007 NAICS manual is available through National Technical Information Service (NTIS). You may purchase a hardcover or softcover printed version or a CD-ROM version. To obtain more information about purchasing the NAICS manuals or CD-ROM, visit the NTIS website: www.ntis.gov/products/naics.aspx .

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NAICS has been correlated to the International Standard Industrial Classification (ISIC) from the United Nations and to the General Industrial Classification of Economic Activities with the European Communities (NACE). To see or download these correlations, visit the "Concordances" link on this website.

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NAICS was developed to classify business establishments within the United States, Canada, and Mexico for statistical purposes. If a company has both domestic and foreign locations, only the domestic locations would be assigned NAICS codes for statistical purposes.

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If your question isn't listed here, send an email to naics@census.gov. Please include your telephone number in your email message in case we need to call you for more information.

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