NAF Code List (APE): 732 Codes in 21 Sections and the Code for Your Activity

Where can you find the official list of NAF and APE codes?#

To find a specific code, download Insee's "subclass" Excel file: download the official list of 732 NAF codes (Insee Excel). It contains the codes and the name of each activity. Search it for the name of the activity, then note its full code, with four digits and a letter: 43.21A, for example, stands for electrical installation work.

The official list is France's activity classification, the NAF Rev. 2, maintained by Insee. Insee publishes an Excel file for each level; the "subclass" file contains the full codes.

Three facts to keep in mind:

• Insee assigns the code at registration, without any request from you.
• It describes the main activity carried out, not all of the company's activities.
• NAF Rev. 2 has applied since January 1, 2008.

The 21 sections of the NAF code list#

The code describes only the company's main activity, not all its services. To build a prospect list, use it as a first filter, then check what each company actually does.

To locate an activity, start from its section, then its division: retail trade, division 47; motor vehicle trade and repair, division 45; accommodation and food service, section I, divisions 55 and 56. Then look up your activity in the Excel subclass file to get its full code.

Two examples:

• Restaurants: start from section I, "Accommodation and food service," then look up the precise activity in the subclass file. Then check on each company's website that it actually carries out the activity you are looking for.
• Hair salons: salon hairdressing has the code 96.02A through December 31, 2026, then 96.21G from January 1, 2027 (an example given by Service-Public, the French government's official information site). Then check the services each salon offers.

Trade is spread over three divisions of section G. Division 45 covers motor vehicle trade and repair, 46 wholesale trade, and 47 retail trade.

See the 21 official sections

Here are the 21 sections of NAF Rev. 2, their letters, and the divisions each contains. The labels are translated from the official French file.

• A Agriculture, forestry and fishing: divisions 01 through 03 (including forestry and logging)
• B Mining and quarrying: 05 through 09
• C Manufacturing: 10 through 33
• D Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning production and distribution: 35
• E Water production and distribution; sanitation, waste management and remediation: 36 through 39
• F Construction: 41 through 43
• G Trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles: 45 through 47
• H Transportation and storage: 49 through 53
• I Accommodation and food service: 55 and 56
• J Information and communication: 58 through 63
• K Financial and insurance activities: 64 through 66
• L Real estate activities: 68
• M Professional, scientific and technical activities: 69 through 75
• N Administrative and support service activities: 77 through 82
• O Public administration: 84
• P Education: 85
• Q Human health and social work: 86 through 88
• R Arts, entertainment and recreation: 90 through 93
• S Other service activities: 94 through 96 (including the activities of membership organizations)
• T Activities of households as employers; undifferentiated activities of households as producers of goods and services for their own use: 97 and 98
• U Extraterritorial activities: 99

Manufacturing and a few full codes

Manufacturing falls under section C, which has 24 divisions, more than any other section in the classification. The section begins with food: division 10 covers food manufacturing, and division 11 covers beverage manufacturing.

Here are a few subclasses to illustrate the most detailed level:

• 10.11Z Processing and preserving meat from livestock
• 10.13A Industrial preparation of meat-based products
• 10.71C Bakeries, including those that also make pastries
• 22.21Z Manufacture of plastic plates, sheets, tubes and profiles
• 26.20Z Manufacture of computers and peripheral equipment
• 46.69B Wholesale (business-to-business trade) of miscellaneous industrial supplies and equipment
• 77.33Z Rental and leasing of office machinery and computer equipment

What is the difference between a NAF code and an APE code?#

There is no difference between the NAF code and the APE code: it is the same code under two names. NAF refers to the classification, or the full list of business activities. APE stands for "activité principale exercée" (main activity carried out): it is the code from that classification assigned to your company.

Service-Public sums it up this way: the APE code is based on the NAF, "which is why it is sometimes also called the NAF code". Whether you write NAF code or APE code, you are talking about the same code. A company that carries out several activities has only one.

How to read a NAF/APE code: from section to subclass#

NAF Rev. 2 arranges activities on five levels, from the broad category (the section) to the full code (the subclass). The code assigned to a company is always the full code, with four digits and a letter, such as 43.21A.

Take the code for electricians, 43.21A, and work back up the hierarchy:

• F: Construction (the section, one letter)
• 43: Specialized construction work (the division, two digits)
• 43.2: Electrical, plumbing and other installation work (the group)
• 43.21: Electrical installation (the class)
• 43.21A: Electrical installation work in all types of premises (the subclass)

How many codes at each level

There are 21 sections, 88 divisions, 272 groups, 615 classes and 732 subclasses, respectively.

Understanding the letters and levels of a code

43.21A is a construction code, so it belongs to section F. Its last letter, A, is part of the full code: it does not mean "agriculture." It identifies the subclass, a level specific to France: the European NACE classification has the same structure, but it stops at the class.

When a class has only one subclass, its letter is Z. This is the case for 12.00Z, manufacture of tobacco products. An A, a B or a C signals the opposite: a single class was split into several activities.

Where can you find a company's NAF code?#

For another company, enter its SIREN number (the French company ID), the nine-digit number that identifies it, on Sirene.gouv.fr: you will see its new code, which applies on January 1, 2027 (the "APE 2025 code"). For your own company, the APE (NAF) code appears on the company's pay stubs, Service-Public points out, and in your account on the Guichet des formalités des entreprises (the French government's online portal for business formalities). The other documents that carry it, and the step-by-step method, are in our guide to finding your NAF code.

NAF 2025: your APE code changes on January 1, 2027#

This article follows NAF Rev. 2. It is in its final year: NAF 2025 takes effect on January 1, 2027. On that date, every company and every business location will have its APE code changed. So check the future code of the companies you are interested in before reusing your list in 2027.

According to our comparison of the codes in the Sirene register (Insee's official business register) as of September 1, 2026 (APE code: what changes in 2027), 65% of the locations compared keep their four digits and change only the letter. We compared only the active locations whose future code was already filled in, out of 16.7 million active locations. Even one changed letter is enough to throw off a filter.

The change also affects the most common trades. Service-Public gives a few examples:

• electrician: 43.21A becomes 43.21G;
• plumber: 43.22A becomes 43.22G;
• salon hairdressing: 96.02A becomes 96.21G.

Your future code can already be looked up. On Sirene.gouv.fr, enter your SIREN number: it appears under the label "Code APE 2025", and you can ask for it to be corrected. Insee also publishes a crosswalk between the current codes and the new ones.

The revision is not specific to France. Insee says revisions to NAF, NACE, and ISIC (the United Nations classification) are coordinated. The details of the changeover are in our article on what changes in 2027.

What is the NAF or APE code used for?#

Its role: to identify the main activity actually carried out by the company. On its own, it does not determine your collective bargaining agreement and it has no legal value.

Collective bargaining agreement and legal value of the code

The NAF code does not determine your collective bargaining agreement (convention collective); the activity does. Article L2261-2 of the Code du travail (the French Labor Code) specifies the agreement "that covers the main activity carried out by the employer." The code can help find it, Service-Public specifies, but as an indicator, not as an automatic match.

The APE code also has no legal value. It cannot be used as grounds for granting or denying certain rights.

Its role is simpler: to identify the company's main line of business. It must be the activity actually carried out, which is why a wrong code is worth correcting.

How do you change or correct your APE code?#

A company has only one APE code, the one for its main activity; if that activity has changed, the change request goes through the Guichet des formalités des entreprises. If your activity has not changed and Insee assigned the wrong code, report the error online using the APE code modification request form. Our guide to the NAF code covers companies with multiple activities and explains the procedure in detail.

Page updated in October 2026.

Method#

The 65% figure comes from the article Scalon published on October 14, 2026: among the 16.7 million active locations in the Sirene register (updated September 1, 2026), we compared the current APE code with the future code for the locations where the latter was filled in. The details are in the article APE code, NAF code: what changes in 2027.

Sources#

• Nomenclature d'activités française – NAF rév. 2, Insee
• À quoi correspond le code APE (code NAF) ?, Service Public Entreprendre
• Article L2261-2 du Code du travail, Légifrance
• Vers une nouvelle nomenclature : la NAF 2025, Insee
• APE Code, NAF Code: What Changes in 2027, Scalon (October 14, 2026)