Short answer
To look up a SIC code, search the box by keyword or four-digit code; each result shows the NAICS 2022 codes it maps to. The Standard Industrial Classification has 1,004 four-digit industries in 10 divisions and was last updated in 1987. NAICS replaced it for federal statistics in 1997, but the SEC still uses SIC codes for public companies, and OSHA hosts the full 1987 manual online.
- The 1987 SIC has 1,004 four-digit industries in 10 divisions, and it will not be revised again.
- The SEC files companies under its own list of 430 SIC-based codes, a few of which aren't in the 1987 manual.
- 453 of the 1,004 SIC codes map to more than one NAICS 2022 code, so read the titles before you convert.
- 134 SIC codes are "not elsewhere classified" catch-alls; use a specific code when one fits.
- SIC codes longer than four digits come from data vendors, not the official manual.
On this page
SIC code lookup
Search all 1,004 SIC codes from the 1987 manual by keyword or by code. Each result shows the NAICS 2022 codes it maps to.
Results appear as you type.
Source: US Census Bureau NAICS 2022 files and concordances, and County Business Patterns 2023 (establishments with paid employees). SIC matches come from the 1987 SIC to 2002 NAICS concordance, carried forward through each NAICS revision, so a match can cover only part of a code.
This page is for anyone asked for a SIC code on a form (a bank, an insurer, a supplier registration, an older state or local system), for people reading SEC filings, and for sellers working from lists coded in SIC. Search the box above by keyword or code. The sections below explain how SIC codes are built, who still uses them and how to avoid the common mix-ups.
How a SIC code is built
SIC, the Standard Industrial Classification, sorts establishments by their primary activity in four levels. The 1987 edition, the last one, has 10 divisions (lettered A to J), 82 two-digit major groups, 415 three-digit industry groups and 1,004 four-digit industries, plus a code 99 for establishments that can't be classified. A complete SIC code has four digits.
| Level | Digits | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Letter | Division I: Services |
| Major group | 2 | 73 Business Services |
| Industry group | 3 | 738 Miscellaneous Business Services |
| Industry | 4 | 7389 Business Services, Not Elsewhere Classified |
The 1987 wording is older than you may expect. Restaurants are "Eating Places" (5812), software companies are "Prepackaged Software" (7372) or "Computer Programming Services" (7371), and newspapers sit in manufacturing as 2711, "Newspapers: Publishing, or Publishing and Printing." If a modern term finds nothing in the search box, try the older word for it.
The 10 SIC divisions
Each division covers a range of major groups. The last column shows where most of each division's industries went when NAICS replaced SIC, from the Census Bureau's concordances.
| Division | Title | Major groups | Four-digit industries | Main NAICS 2022 sectors |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing | 01 to 09 | 58 | 11 |
| B | Mining | 10 to 14 | 31 | 21 |
| C | Construction | 15 to 17 | 26 | 23 |
| D | Manufacturing | 20 to 39 | 459 | 31-33, plus publishing in 51 |
| E | Transportation, Communications, Electric, Gas, and Sanitary Services | 40 to 49 | 67 | 48-49, 22 and 51 |
| F | Wholesale Trade | 50 to 51 | 69 | 42 |
| G | Retail Trade | 52 to 59 | 64 | 44-45, plus restaurants in 72 |
| H | Finance, Insurance, and Real Estate | 60 to 67 | 53 | 52 and 53 |
| I | Services | 70 to 89 | 150 | 54, 56, 62, 81 and others |
| J | Public Administration | 91 to 97 | 27 | 92 |
Two moves explain most of the confusion between the systems. NAICS created an Information sector, so publishers, broadcasters and telecoms left manufacturing and transportation. And it moved eating and drinking places out of retail into Accommodation and Food Services. Manufacturing carried over most directly: 286 of its 459 SIC industries map to a single NAICS 2022 code. Services were split far more finely, and the Office of Management and Budget's 1997 notice counted 420 service-producing industries in the 1987 SIC against 569 in the first NAICS.
Why SIC is still around
The SIC was first developed in the 1930s and revised periodically until OMB's last update in 1987. NAICS replaced it for federal statistics in 1997, and the Census Bureau says there will be no further revisions. OMB left each agency to decide when to move its own nonstatistical uses (regulation, administration, taxation) to NAICS, which is why SIC survives in places:
- The SEC. EDGAR shows a SIC code on every company's filings. The SEC says the code indicates the company's type of business and decides which office in its Division of Corporation Finance reviews its filings. The SEC's list, dated 3 June 2021, has 430 codes. Most of the extra ones end in zero and stand for a whole industry group, such as 7370 for computer services, and a few have no counterpart in the 1987 manual, such as 6770 Blank Checks and 6189 Asset-Backed Securities.
- OSHA. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration hosts the 1987 SIC manual online: the full division structure, a description and list of activities for each four-digit code, and a search by keyword or by two-, three- or four-digit code. This is the "OSHA SIC code manual" people refer to, and the Census Bureau points to it as the place to read SIC definitions.
- Lenders, insurers, list vendors and older systems. The Census Bureau notes that other organizations and state and local agencies may still use SIC for their own purposes. Many company databases carry both codes.
What you can't get any more is fresh government data by SIC. County Business Patterns published SIC-based counts through 1997; from 1998 it uses NAICS. To size a market you know by SIC, convert to NAICS first and use the NAICS counts.
How to find the right SIC code
- Start from what you do. Search by your main activity, using plain or older terms ("eating places," "trucking," "plumbing").
- Read the description and its activity list. Each four-digit code in OSHA's manual lists the activities it includes; the list for 7389 runs to more than 130. The search box results here show the matching NAICS codes too.
- Prefer a specific code to a catch-all. 134 of the 1,004 SIC industries are "not elsewhere classified" (NEC) codes, such as 7389 and 8999. They're right only when no specific code fits, and a buyer or underwriter learns little from them.
- Use the activity that earns the most. Like NAICS, SIC classifies by primary activity, so a business doing several things takes the code for the largest share of revenue.
- Write down the NAICS code as well. Forms that once asked for SIC increasingly ask for NAICS, and federal contracting uses NAICS only.
Common mistakes
- Mixing up the US SIC and the UK SIC. UK companies file a nature-of-business code with Companies House from a condensed list of five-digit codes published by the Office for National Statistics. It's a different system, and a four-digit US code won't work there.
- Using a vendor's extended code where a form expects four digits. Codes such as 7389-99 or eight-digit versions are proprietary subdivisions. The official SIC stops at four digits.
- Trusting an SEC code as a description. The SEC uses the code to route filing reviews, and one code covers very different businesses. Visa, Uber and Accenture all file under 7389, Business Services, NEC, as the SIC code 7389 page shows.
- Giving a SIC code where NAICS is required. SAM.gov, SBA size standards and IRS business activity codes all run on NAICS.
- Converting one to one. 453 SIC codes map to two or more NAICS 2022 codes, and some map to dozens. Check which piece of the SIC code your business was in.
SIC and NAICS side by side
| SIC 1987 | NAICS 2022 | |
|---|---|---|
| Digits | 4 | 6 |
| Top level | 10 divisions | 20 sectors |
| Most detailed industries | 1,004 | 1,012 |
| Last revised | 1987, final | 2022, with a 2027 revision proposed |
| Countries | United States | United States, Canada and Mexico |
| Main users today | SEC EDGAR, some lenders, insurers and list vendors | Federal statistics, SAM.gov, the SBA, the IRS |
Using SIC codes to find companies
For public companies, SIC is the quickest filter: EDGAR's company search lists every registrant under a code, for example all filers under SIC 8742, management consulting. For private companies, SIC-coded lists from data vendors inherit the same problem as the codes: broad catch-alls and labels nobody updates. Use the code to make the first cut, then check what each company does. Bebop Insights delivers firmographic data by API or in bulk if you need the records in your own systems.
Next step: convert a SIC code to its NAICS 2022 equivalents, or the reverse, with the NAICS to SIC converter.
Sources
- Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) Manual, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, accessed 30 October 2026
- Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) System Search, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, accessed 30 October 2026
- Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) Code List, US Securities and Exchange Commission, 3 June 2021, accessed 30 October 2026
- 1997 North American Industry Classification System: 1987 Standard Industrial Classification Replacement (62 FR 17288), Office of Management and Budget, Federal Register, 9 April 1997
- North American Industry Classification System (NAICS): FAQs and concordances, US Census Bureau, accessed 30 October 2026
- County Business Patterns methodology, US Census Bureau, accessed 30 October 2026
- Standard industrial classification of economic activities (SIC): condensed list, Companies House, GOV.UK, updated 17 November 2025, accessed 30 October 2026
- EDGAR company search by SIC code, US Securities and Exchange Commission, accessed 30 October 2026
Written by the Bebop team at Blackpearl Group. Published .
Questions people ask
What is a SIC code?
A SIC code is a four-digit Standard Industrial Classification code that identifies a business's primary activity, such as 5812 for eating places or 8742 for management consulting. The US government developed the system in the 1930s and last updated it in 1987. It has 1,004 four-digit industries grouped into 10 divisions. NAICS replaced it for federal statistics in 1997.
Are SIC codes still used?
Yes, though not for federal statistics. The SEC still shows a SIC code on every public company's EDGAR filings and uses it to route filing reviews. Some lenders, insurers, data vendors and state or local agencies also still ask for SIC. The Census Bureau says the system will not be revised again, and federal contracting, SBA size standards and IRS activity codes use NAICS instead.
Where can I find the OSHA SIC code manual?
OSHA publishes the 1987 SIC manual on its website at osha.gov/data/sic-manual. It shows the full structure from divisions to four-digit industries, with a description and a list of included activities for each code, and a search page where you can enter a keyword or a two-, three- or four-digit code. The Census Bureau points to it as the reference for SIC definitions.
How do I find a company's SIC code?
For a public company, look it up on SEC EDGAR: the company's filing page shows its SIC code and title. For private companies there's no official register, so the code you'll find comes from a data vendor, a bank or insurance record, or the company itself. Treat vendor codes as estimates, and check what the company actually does before relying on one.
What is the difference between SIC and NAICS codes?
SIC codes have four digits and date from 1987; NAICS codes have six digits and are revised every five years, with 2022 the current edition. NAICS has 20 sectors against SIC's 10 divisions, adds an Information sector, splits services much more finely and is shared with Canada and Mexico. About 45% of SIC codes map to more than one NAICS code.
Are UK SIC codes the same as US SIC codes?
No. UK companies use SIC codes from the Office for National Statistics, and Companies House accepts five-digit codes from a condensed version of that list. The US SIC is a separate four-digit system from 1987. If a UK form asks for your nature of business, use the Companies House list; if a US form asks for a SIC code, use the four-digit US code.