APE Code, NAF Code: What Changes in 2027

How does your APE code change in 2027?#

An APE code has three parts. Take an auto repair shop's code, 45.20A: "45" is the sector, "45.20" the precise activity, and "A" a letter specific to France that refines the classification.

We compared each active location's old and future codes in Sirene, the official business register maintained by Insee. Here is how the changes break down (every code changes):

• Only the letter changes (65% of locations): bakers (10.71C), electricians (43.21A), plumbers (43.22A), dentists (86.23Z), accountants (69.20Z), bars and cafés (56.30Z). Example: 43.21A becomes 43.21G.
• The digits change, not the sector (30%): restaurants (56.10A), fast food (56.10C), hair salons (96.02A), beauty salons (96.02B), physical therapists and allied health (86.90E), management consulting (70.22Z), distance selling (47.91B).
• The digits and even the sector change (5%, nearly 1 location in 20): auto repair shops (45.20A becomes 95.31G), car sales (45.11Z becomes 47.81Y).

Your trade is not there? See the 9 other codes in "Further reading", and your own future code on sirene.gouv.fr. For accounting firms, our page on the NAF code of an accounting firm details this letter change.

Have you read that only 3% of businesses are affected? See the question below. Do you target companies by APE code? What it changes for your files is further down.

What should you do before January 1, 2027?#

You do not have to take any action: Insee changes the codes automatically. Everyone should check the code for each of their company's locations. A correction is only useful if the label of the future code does not match your activity. All you need is your company's 9-digit SIREN number (the French company ID), which appears on your invoices and your Kbis extract, the document that proves a company exists.

The correction is free. According to Insee, "the request to change an APE code is free of charge", and requests for payment for a private directory do not come from it. Be wary of any letter asking you to pay for your APE code.

The trades to watch closely#

Auto repair shops: repair changes sector#

Auto repair shops that service cars (45.20A) almost all move to 95.31G, "repair and maintenance of light motor vehicles". They leave sector 45, "trade and repair of motor vehicles", for sector 95, the one for repairs. For car sales, more than 9 locations in 10 in 45.11Z move to 47.81Y, "retail trade of motor vehicles". A repair shop stays a repair shop: only its place in the list changes.

Restaurants: check that you are not classed as a bar#

Of the 138,206 traditional restaurants (56.10A), 1,528 move to "débit de boissons" (drinking place) (56.30Y), the code for bars. Do you mostly serve meals? Check your future code and ask for the correction if it says "débit de boissons". Mobile food service has its own code: 5,513 of the 164,998 fast-food locations (56.10C) move to 56.12Y, created for food trucks and other mobile restaurants.

Hair salons: in a salon or outside one#

The hair salon code (96.02A) splits in two: 96.21G for hairdressing in a salon, 96.21H for hairdressing outside a salon, at home for example. Out of 100 hair salon locations, 64 receive the code for salon services and 35 the code for services outside a salon; fewer than 1 receives another code. Check which one you were given.

Physical therapists and allied health: a code that is split#

Code 86.90E, the one for physical therapists and allied health, is split among three future codes. Out of 100 locations, 70 move to physiotherapy (86.95Y), 18 to "other human health activities" (86.99Y) and 11 to "traditional, complementary and alternative medicine" (86.96Y). Fewer than 1 in 100 receives another code. According to Insee's notes, 86.95Y covers physical therapists and occupational therapists; speech therapists, orthoptists and podiatrists fall under 86.99Y, and osteopaths and chiropractors under 86.96Y. Are you a physical therapist and your future code is not 86.95Y? Ask for the correction.

Frequently asked questions#

Which APE code should you use in 2026?#

The current one. Insee writes: "In 2026, only the APE code currently in force remains official." The new code takes effect on January 1, 2027; until then, it is visible on sirene.gouv.fr.

Are only 3% of businesses affected?#

No, according to Insee: every business and all its locations will have a changed code. The government's website (info.gouv.fr) writes "Around 3% of businesses are affected by a code change", without saying what it counts. None of our counts produces a figure of 3%: the four digits change for 35% of locations, and the sector changes for nearly 1 in 20.

Do my Kbis and my craftsperson code change too?#

Do not mix them up: the APE code (Insee, for all businesses) and the craftsperson code NAFA (chambers of trades, for craftspeople) are two different codes. For the Kbis, according to Infogreffe, the codes are replaced automatically, with no step required. For craftspeople, NAFA 2025, the list of activities specific to the craft trades and used by the chambers of trades, is approved by an order of August 24, 2026. It applies on January 1, 2027, and according to the Direction générale des entreprises (DGE, the French government's business directorate), the craftsperson code changes automatically.

Where can you find the new codes and see how they correspond to the old ones?#

The list of NAF 2025 codes and the correspondence table (Excel spreadsheet of January 2026) are on Insee's "NAF 2025" page. For a specific location, use its future code on sirene.gouv.fr: one old code can map to several future codes. Our NAF code list by section explains how to read a code, from section to subclass.

Why is the APE code changing?#

NAF 2025, approved by decree No. 2025-736 of July 31, 2025, replaces NAF rev. 2 and splits some activities more finely, like hairdressing in a salon or outside one, and mobile food service. Active locations use 731 codes today; they will use 745.

Targeting companies by APE code: what changes?#

It all depends on how your filter is written:

• a filter on the full code (45.20A) finds no one anymore, since every code changes;
• a filter on the four digits (45.20) loses more than 1 location in 3 overall: almost none among bakers, almost all among auto repair shops. It also brings in other activities: a filter on bars (56.30) will find restaurants that moved to "débit de boissons" (see above);
• a filter on the first two digits (45) continues to work for trades that stay in the same sector. It loses those that change it, like auto repair shops, and brings in others: a filter on 95 will now find auto repair shops, a filter on 47 car sales and auto parts.

The hardest cases are codes that split into several new codes, including the code for taxis and VTC (chauffeured private-hire cars). For specialized distance selling (47.91B), barely more than 1 location in 3 receives the most common future code, 47.71Y, "retail trade of clothing" (Insee). These locations receive 324 different future codes, while Insee's correspondence table only provides for 36. For these sellers, only each location's future code identifies its new category.

Further reading#

Details of our count, for accountants, journalists and sales teams.

Method#

We took every active location in Insee's Sirene register, updated on September 1, 2026. For each one, we compared the current APE code with the future code that Insee shows during 2026. Then we counted those whose letter, four digits or first two digits change. The details are in the block below.

Cite this study#

Sources#