How Do I Select A SIC Code For My Business?

Selecting a SIC Code is a straight-forward process. The first step is to identify the primary industry your company operates in.

Basic Guide for Selecting a Correct SIC Code

Within each general industry category, a SIC Code breaks down into more specific industries. For common and popular industries (ie: Doctor offices, plumbers, car dealerships), there is an exact SIC Code match for the industry. For other industries (ie: Computer technology, miscellaneous manufacturing, new industries, etc) there might not be an exact match. Therefore, it is important that you select a code that closely relates to your main line of business. There is usually an NEC (not elsewhere classified) option for a SIC Code within each industry.

Identify Your Industry

Identify your industry (the first two digits identify the main industry) using the Directory on the provided link:

SIC Code Lookup/Directory

Once you choose a 2-digit code from the directory, the following page will display the hierarchy breakdown of each sub-category down to the final 4-digit level (Final Level). You can click on any hierarchy link to read further details for each code.

Key Points for Selecting a SIC Code:

Example 1: If you are a Manufacturing company, do not select a Retail SIC Code even though there is a closer keyword match to the products you manufacture. A manufacturer is a manufacturer and is not allowed to select a retailing SIC Code. This applies for all industries.

Example 2: If you are a Consulting company for the mining industry, make sure you select a consulting company SIC Code for your business and not a mining company SIC Code.

What is a Primary SIC code?

Each and every company will have a primary SIC Code. This number indicates a company’s primary line of business. What determines a company’s primary SIC Code is the code definition that generates the highest revenue for that company at a specific location in the past year.