SIC code

The UK Standard Industrial Classification of Economic Activities (SIC 2007) is a coding system that groups businesses by what they do. When a company is incorporated, and again at each confirmation statement, it declares one or more SIC codes describing its activities. A software consultancy might use 62020; a residential builder 41202; a hairdresser 96020.

SIC codes are self-declared, so they are a guide rather than a guarantee. A company can list a code that no longer reflects what it actually does, or choose the catch-all 82990 (“other business support service activities not elsewhere classified”). Used carefully, though, they are the single most powerful filter for finding companies of a particular type across the whole register.

Because the classification is hierarchical — a two-digit division, a three-digit group, a four-digit class and the five-digit UK subclass — you can search broadly (all construction) or narrowly (electrical installation specifically), depending on how precise your target list needs to be.

Example

To build a prospect list of IT consultancies, you would filter on SIC 62020 (“information technology consultancy activities”) rather than searching the word “IT”, which would miss most relevant companies and return many irrelevant ones.

On Company Shark

Company Shark lets you filter the register by SIC code and combine it with location and incorporation date, then export the matching companies. Every SIC code also has its own page with a live company count and examples.

Related

• Company status
• Incorporation date
• Guide: What is an SIC code?