North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes and Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes are numerical classification systems created by the United States government. These systems are used to group/classify similar companies into industries for the purposes of collecting, analyzing, and publishing statistical data related to the U.S. business economy.
The SIC system was originally developed in the 1930s and was last updated in 1987. The NAICS system was first released in 2002 and last updated in 2017. While NAICS has "officially" replaced SIC, many business directories and databases still use one or both of the systems. Therefore, it is important to know about both SIC and NAICS.
You can use these codes to find information about industries in business databases and directories. Use the codes to:
Option 1. Search the official government SIC and NAICS manuals online to locate codes and industry descriptions.
Option 2. Locate a company profile for a company that operates within the industry you are researching. Company profiles typically include the company's SIC and NAICS codes. Many companies operate across a variety of industries (e.g. have multiple lines of business) and may have more than one code. A company's primary SIC/NAICS code is usually the first in the listing. These library databases provide company profiles: