NAICS code for a nonprofit organization: why there isn't one, and which to use

This page is for nonprofit staff filling in a form that asks for a NAICS or SIC code (a bank, insurer, grant portal, vendor registration, SAM.gov or Form 990), and for sellers who want a list of nonprofits by type. It covers the codes, how to choose, where the IRS asks for them, Census counts and how to find organizations.

Why there is no nonprofit code

NAICS assigns a code to each establishment by its primary activity. Tax status doesn't enter into it, and the Census Bureau's own data shows the result: nonprofits sit in hundreds of codes alongside for-profit and government peers. County Business Patterns (CBP) tags each establishment's legal form, and in 2023 it counted 607,696 nonprofit establishments with paid employees, 16,983,356 employees and $1.05 trillion in annual payroll. That's 7.3% of all establishments and 12.1% of employees.

The nonprofit share varies widely by code:

So a nonprofit hospital uses 622110 and a nonprofit child care center uses 624410, exactly as a for-profit one would.

The 813 codes: organizations that exist for a cause or their members

If your organization's main activity is worship, giving, advocacy or serving members, the code is in subsector 813:

Size standards are average annual receipts, from 13 CFR 121.201 (effective March 17, 2023, unchanged in the eCFR as of 28 October 2026). They apply to for-profit firms in these codes. SBA defines a small business concern as one "organized for profit" (13 CFR 121.105), so a nonprofit can't qualify for a small business set-aside however small it is. Two of these codes have their own pages: churches and homeowners associations.

Nonprofits that deliver a service

Most large nonprofits run a program, and the program sets the code:

The Census cross-references drive several rows. Schools, broadcasters, publishers, social services and thrift stores run by religious organizations are classified by their own activity, not 813110. Fundraising done on contract for a fee is 561499, while a federated charity raising money for many causes is 813219. Advocacy that also delivers community action services belongs in 624190, not 813319.

The SIC codes for nonprofits

There's no "not for profit" SIC code either. These are the 1987 SIC codes nonprofits usually fall under, with their NAICS 2022 equivalents from the Census concordances:

The mapping runs both ways: 8399 splits five ways, and 813312 draws on both 8399 and 8699. If a form insists on one SIC code for a general charity, 8399 is the usual fit; for a membership association, 8699. The SEC's own SIC list groups these as 8300 (Social Services) and 8600 (Membership Organizations).

How many organizations use the 813 codes

CBP counted 309,008 establishments in subsector 813 in 2023, with 2,676,522 employees; 280,279 of them were nonprofits. Most are small:

The top states for nonprofit establishments of all kinds are California (55,080), New York (40,072), Texas (36,285), Pennsylvania (33,038) and Florida (26,992). CBP counts locations with paid employees, on a NAICS 2017 basis (no 813 code changed in 2022). Organizations without paid staff aren't counted, one reason the IRS master file lists far more: 1,975,975 records in its 13 October 2026 posting.

Where a nonprofit actually enters a code

• Form 990, Part VIII. Each line of program service revenue (2a to 2e) and other revenue (11a to 11c) needs a six-digit business activity code. The IRS says to describe the income-producing activity, not the organization: museum gift shop sales take 459420, and income that fits no code takes 900099.
• Form 990-T. Each unrelated trade or business gets its own Schedule A, coded with the first two digits of its NAICS code plus four zeros, such as 450000 for retail.
• IRS records. The IRS classifies exempt organizations with NTEE codes, not NAICS: X20 for Christianity, K31 for food banks and pantries, T20 for private grantmaking foundations, S41 for chambers of commerce. Grant portals and foundation databases often ask for NTEE.
• Banks, insurers and vendor forms. Give the six-digit code for your main program. An insurer pricing a food bank's liability wants 624210, not 813219.

Finding nonprofits by code

Nonprofits don't issue stock, so EDGAR's company search isn't useful here. The free source is the IRS Exempt Organizations Business Master File: CSV files by state, with each organization's EIN, address, subsection, NTEE code, assets and income. Form 990s are open to public inspection, and Part VII lists officers, directors, trustees and key employees, so the decision makers at larger nonprofits are on record. The list of nonprofit organizations shows how to filter the file by type, size and state. Bebop can search by description, such as food banks in Ohio with 20 to 99 employees, and explain why each one fits.

Worked example

Illustrative example. The organization and figures are invented.

Harvest Table (harvesttable.example) is a 501(c)(3) food bank with 45 staff. Last year it took in $3.1 million in donations, $420,000 in shared maintenance fees from partner pantries, $610,000 from a thrift store and $90,000 from a public cafe.

Its primary NAICS code is 624210, Community Food Services, and that's what it gives its bank and insurer. On Form 990, Part VIII, donations go on line 1 with no code, the pantry fees go on line 2 with code 624210, and thrift store sales take 459510. If its accountant treats the cafe as an unrelated business, it goes on Form 990-T, Schedule A, coded 720000 (sector 72, Accommodation and Food Services). Its IRS master file entry carries an NTEE code starting with K, Food, Agriculture and Nutrition, not a NAICS code at all.

Next step: see how many nonprofits there are by type, size and state, and how to download the IRS file, in the list of nonprofit organizations.