NAF code, APE code: what it is for and how to find yours

Where can you find your APE code in one minute?#

Three official sources give your APE code. All you need is the company's name or its SIREN number.

1. The Annuaire des entreprises (annuaire-entreprises.data.gouv.fr), the government's public website: type the name or the SIREN number, and the APE code appears on the company page.
2. The Sirene status notice (the "avis de situation Sirene", at avis-situation-sirene.insee.fr): a free Insee document, online or as a PDF, available with the SIREN or SIRET number.
3. The Kbis extract, the document that proves a company is registered in the commercial register, and your account on the Guichet des formalités des entreprises (the official website for business formalities), once your registration is accepted.

Note that a company is not a location. The SIREN number identifies the company; the SIRET number identifies one of its locations, meaning a place of business: store, workshop, office. Each location can have its own APE code. To find a location's code, enter its SIRET number. Does a form leave you unsure whether to use the company's code or the location's because the two differ? Ask the organization that requests it.

Does your company show 00.00Z and its location 70.10Z? According to Insee, this pair means the company has not yet declared a start of activity. On its own, 70.10Z is a normal code: the one for "activities of head offices".

Don't know which code fits your activity, or are you starting a company? The Urssaf simulator, run by the agency that collects social contributions, finds it from one or two keywords: for example, type "réparation de vélos" (bicycle repair).

Is the code shown on a website the right one?#

Of the 617 companies compared (those whose websites show both their code and their SIREN or SIRET number), mostly in the automotive industry, 59 have websites showing a code that differs from the official register: about 1 in 10.

A website can show a different code because it is out of date, because the code has changed since, or because it describes another location of the company. Even when comparing exactly the same location, the gap is almost the same. We measure the mismatches, not their causes.

To check a code read on a website, look for "APE" or "NAF" and the SIREN or SIRET number in the legal notices. Check that this number is the company's, not the website host's. Then compare with the page for the same location on the Annuaire des entreprises.

According to Insee, the code recorded in Sirene, the official business register, is the authoritative code. If a website, a quote or an invoice shows another code, the register's code is the one that counts. First check that both codes concern the same location, with the same SIRET number: if the register's code does match your activity, it is your website that needs updating. The current codes shown on a website, a quote or an invoice will need updating after January 1, 2027.

What is the APE code for, and what is it not for?#

The APE code is used first for statistics: Insee uses it to classify companies by sector of activity. On its own, it is not enough to create rights or obligations. Some organizations may nevertheless use it in their files: Insee states that this use is their own responsibility.

Decree 2007-1888, replaced on January 1, 2027 by decree 2025-736, states that this code "cannot be enough to create rights or obligations". Insee adds that it "is not proof" of the activity. Yet it appears on your employees' pay slips, according to service-public.

The collective agreement, meaning the work rules of your industry, depends on the employer's main activity (Code du travail, article L2261-2). The APE code can help find it, but service-public describes it as a pointer, not an automatic match.

APE code, NAF code, NACE code: what is the difference?#

The NAF is the official list of activities. Insee picks your company's APE code from this list. In everyday speech, this code is also called the NAF code. The NACE is the European list of activities: French codes take its four digits and add a letter. Since 2025, Europe has used a new version of the NACE. The new French list, which follows that version, is called "NAF 2025". It will be used to assign APE codes from January 1, 2027.

Let's read 43.22A, a plumber's code. The first two digits, "43", form the division, the broad sector. The first four, "43.22", form the class, the same as in the European NACE code. The letter "A" is a French refinement. Above the divisions, the classification groups them into sections, marked by a letter.

The full list, with the notes that explain each code, is on Insee's website. Our NAF and APE code list walks through its sections one by one and shows how to read a code.

Your APE code is wrong: how do you get it corrected?#

The procedure depends on which of two situations applies. If you change activity, first declare it to the Guichet des formalités des entreprises. If your declared activity has not changed but Insee gave you a code that does not match it, ask Insee to revise it.

For this revision, fill in the online form on service-public and attach an activity table, which describes very precisely what the company does. The main activity must have been declared when the company was formed or when a change was reported. Insee revises a code if it was assigned by mistake (an "erreur de codification") or if the activity has undergone a significant, lasting change.

The request to Insee is free, and it answers within 20 business days at most: weekends and public holidays do not count. No request is processed without supporting information and documents: the SIREN number, the département (French county-level area) and your Kbis or the summary document for your business filing. The Guichet des formalités, for its part, may charge modification fees.

Have you just created your company? Insee allows one month after registration to request a revision of the code received at creation.

Your code changes on January 1, 2027: what should you do?#

Enter your SIREN number on sirene.gouv.fr: your future code is visible there from 2026. Compare the activity described by that future code with what you really do, even if only the letter changes. If your company has several locations, each has its own code and may receive a different future code: check them one by one. If it does not fit, ask for a correction.

Taxis and VTC (chauffeured private-hire cars, "voitures de transport avec chauffeur") currently share code 49.32Z. In 2027, two separate codes are planned: 49.33G for taxis and 49.33H for VTC. Hairdressing (96.02A) splits between 96.21G and 96.21H. Auto repair shops, 45.20A, become 95.31G, in another sector.

Of the 40 codes in the table, 20 change only by letter (the plumber goes from 43.22A to 43.22G) and 9 split clearly among several codes. For each old code, the table gives the most frequent future code, which is not necessarily yours: your location's code is on its page, on sirene.gouv.fr.

Details for each trade are in our article APE code, NAF code: what changes in 2027.

The 40 most searched APE codes: find your activity and its 2027 code#

Look up your activity or code in the collapsed table below: click its title to expand it. It gives the number of active locations for each code and the most frequent code in 2027. These 40 codes cover 45% of the active locations in the Sirene register. The table gives examples by activity: to fill in a form, take your company's or location's code from the Annuaire des entreprises, and its future code from sirene.gouv.fr. Is your activity not there? The full list is on Insee's website.

Frequently asked questions#

Can a company have several APE codes?#

No: a company has only one APE code, even with several activities. Insee picks the main activity, based on revenue or number of employees. However, each of its locations can have its own code: the company and a location can therefore show two different codes. With a single location, revising its code also applies to the company. A sole proprietor can declare several activities under the same SIREN number, but the status notice shows only the main activity.

Does an auto-entrepreneur have an APE code?#

Yes. The micro-entrepreneur, often called an auto-entrepreneur, receives their APE code automatically from Insee at registration, without asking for anything. You then find it on the Annuaire des entreprises. To change it, there are two routes: if your activity has changed, declare the change to the Guichet des formalités des entreprises; if Insee gave you a code that does not match your activity, ask it for a free revision (see how to have it corrected).

Does a nonprofit or a holding company have an APE code?#

Yes, like any unit registered in the Sirene register: according to Insee, the APE code is assigned "to each company, association or location". You find it the same way, on the Annuaire des entreprises, with the SIREN number.

How many NAF codes are there?#

The current list has 732 activity codes. The one that will apply in 2027, NAF 2025, has 747. Insee calls these codes subclasses and groups them into 88 divisions and 21 sections.

Where can you find the full list of NAF codes?#

On Insee's website, look up your activity or your code, then read the associated explanations. Further up, our table of the 40 most searched codes gives the most frequently searched codes. To list the locations of a code, the Annuaire des entreprises exports lists filtered by NAF code. Our other guides are on the Scalon blog.

What the other sources say#

Method#

We counted, code by code, the active locations in Insee's Sirene register as of September 1, 2026. The 40 codes are the ones people type most on Google in France (Google Ads volumes of October 12, 2026). The 2027 code is the one Insee already shows for each location. We also read website pages, to compare the code shown with the register's.

Cite this study#

Sources#