In brief
- NAF rev. 2 classifies activities on five levels: 21 sections, 88 divisions, 272 groups, 615 classes and 732 subclasses.
- Down to class level (4 digits) it follows the European NACE; the final letter denotes a French subclass.
- The APE code is the NAF code of the main activity, assigned by INSEE; it describes only one activity.
- On 1 January 2027, NAF 2025 replaces NAF rev. 2 for APE codes.
NAF, APE, NACE: three acronyms, one logic
The NAF (nomenclature d’activités française) is the classification of economic activities maintained by INSEE, the French statistics office. According to its general presentation of the NAF (in French), “the structure of the NAF is strictly nested within that of the NACE, the European classification of activities”, which itself derives from the United Nations’ ISIC. The version in force until the end of 2026 is NAF rev. 2, which corresponds to NACE Rev. 2.
The APE code (activité principale exercée, main activity) is the NAF code that INSEE assigns to a legal unit or an establishment. According to the INSEE definition (in French), the main activity is the one that generates the most value added; in practice, the breakdown of turnover by branch is used as the criterion. INSEE points out that assigning the APE code is a statistical operation which “cannot by itself create rights or obligations” for the units concerned (Decree No. 2007-1888 of 26 December 2007, Article 5).
Five nested levels
You can scroll the table sideways.
| Level | Number | Code | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Section | 21 | one letter | F – Construction |
| Division | 88 | 2 digits | 43 – Specialised construction activities |
| Group | 272 | 3 digits | 43.2 – Electrical, plumbing and other construction installation activities |
| Class | 615 | 4 digits | 43.21 – Electrical installation |
| Subclass | 732 | 4 digits and a letter | 43.21A – electrical installation in all kinds of buildings; 43.21B – on public thoroughfares |
The first two levels are common to NAF, NACE and ISIC; the next two to NAF and NACE. The fifth, the subclass, is specific to France. To compare European countries, work at four digits; within France, the letter refines the target group.
Defining a target group: examples
A commercial sector almost never matches a single code. The labels below are INSEE’s official English labels:
- Pharmacies: 47.73Z Dispensing chemist in specialised stores.
- Hearing aid specialists: 47.74Z Retail sale of medical and orthopaedic goods in specialised stores; according to the explanatory notes, the subclass also includes “the retail sale of hearing aids”.
- Opticians: 47.78A Retail sale of optics.
- Restaurants: 56.10A Traditional catering (with table service), to be distinguished from 56.10B Cafeterias and other self-service catering and 56.10C Fast food restaurants.
- Architects and engineering consultancies: 71.11Z Architectural activities and 71.12B Engineering, technical studies.
- Accountants: 69.20Z Accounting, bookkeeping and auditing activities; tax consultancy.
- Estate agents: 68.31Z Real estate agencies.
- Landscapers: 81.30Z Landscape service activities.
- Temporary staffing: 78.20Z Temporary employment agency activities.
- Garages: 45.20A Maintenance and repair of light motor vehicles.
Before you confirm a list of codes, read the explanatory notes for each subclass on the INSEE website (in French): they state what the heading includes and what it excludes. Our industry pages, for example pharmacies, opticians and hearing aid specialists or construction and public works, show the codes we use.
The limits of the APE code
- A single activity. A business that sells and installs windows appears under only one of the two activities. Strict targeting by code therefore misses some of the relevant businesses.
- Legal unit or establishment. Each establishment has its own activity code, which may differ from that of the legal unit: the head office of a chain may be classified as a holding activity and its shops as retail.
- Mixed divisions. Division 68 (real estate activities) groups buying and selling of own real estate (68.1), renting and operating of own or leased real estate (68.2) and real estate activities on a fee or contract basis (68.3), which includes 68.31Z Real estate agencies. It is the most frequent division among active legal units in the Sirene database: 3,687,383 according to our count of the file of 1 November 2026. A “real estate” target built on the division alone therefore mixes agencies and companies that hold property.
- A presumption, not proof. According to INSEE (in French), the APE code “provides only a presumption of activity and is not formal proof”; a business can ask for it to be revised if its activities have changed or if a wrong code was assigned. A file built on codes therefore reflects the recorded activity, not necessarily the current one.
NAF 2025 from 1 January 2027
According to the INSEE page on NAF 2025 (in French), NAF 2025 becomes the new reference classification for assigning APE codes on 1 January 2027; on that date, every active legal unit in the Sirene register and its establishments will have a modified APE code. It is nested within NACE Rev. 2.1. Throughout 2026, the sirene.gouv.fr website shows businesses their future code and lets them ask for it to be corrected.
In the Sirene database, the future code has been published for information since 16 December 2025 (variables activitePrincipaleNAF25UniteLegale and activitePrincipaleNAF25Etablissement). For lasting targeting, store the classification version with every list of codes and use INSEE’s correspondence table from NAF rev. 2 to NAF 2025.
NAF codes at basedecontacts.fr
Our records come from Overture Maps and the businesses’ websites, which do not provide a NAF code. The code comes with the ongoing matching against the Sirene database: a selection by NAF code therefore only covers matched records, and the quotation states how many records have a NAF code and how many do not. Prices per industry are on the prices page; a custom selection is quoted via the contact page.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a NAF code and an APE code?
The NAF is the classification, in other words the list of activities. The APE code is the code from this classification that INSEE assigns to a business or an establishment for its main activity. An APE code is therefore always a NAF code.
Is the French NAF code the same as the European NACE code?
Up to the fourth digit, yes: sections, divisions, groups and classes are common to NAF and NACE. The fifth character, a letter, denotes a subclass specific to France.
Can a business have several APE codes?
A legal unit has a single APE code, the one for its main activity. Its establishments each have their own activity code, which may differ from that of the legal unit.
What changes with NAF 2025?
From 1 January 2027, NAF 2025 becomes the reference for assigning APE codes, and every active legal unit in the Sirene register gets a modified APE code. Target definitions saved in NAF rev. 2 will need to be converted.
As of 4 November 2026. Sources: INSEE (general presentation of the NAF, NAF 2025 page, definition of APE, labels and explanatory notes of NAF rev. 2), data.gouv.fr (Sirene database), retrieved on 4 November 2026; quotations are our translation. The number of active legal units in division 68 is from our count of the StockUniteLegale file of 1 November 2026 (source: INSEE, Sirene database, www.insee.fr).
