NAF / APE code explained

What is the NAF, or APE, code?

NAF stands for nomenclature d'activités française: the official list that sorts all economic activities into categories. APE stands for activité principale exercée: it is the name the NAF code takes when it is assigned to a company to describe its main activity. In practice the two expressions mean the same code, and people say NAF code or APE code interchangeably.

Each code has a label. For example, 62.01Z corresponds to computer programming, 70.10Z to the activities of head offices and 96.02A to hairdressing. The company does not choose from this list: the code is deduced from the activity it declared when it registered.

The format: 4 digits and a letter

A NAF code is written with two digits, a dot, two digits and a letter: 62.01Z. This notation follows a hierarchy:

• the first two digits (62) designate the division, a broad sector of activity: here, programming, consulting and other computer activities;
• the first four digits (62.01) correspond to the class of the European nomenclature, used throughout the Union;
• the final letter (Z) is specific to France: it specifies the subclass. When a class is not subdivided, the letter is Z.

This structure lets you group companies at several levels: all IT services with division 62, or only programming with the full code.

A new version of the nomenclature, NAF 2025, is due to apply from 1 January 2027, as the Service-Public page “What does the APE code (NAF code) correspond to?” (in French) indicates. The codes of some companies will then change: a file that stores them will need updating.

Who assigns it, and can it be changed?

The code is assigned when the company is registered: the business owner has nothing to do to obtain it. It is deduced from the declared main activity, that is, the one that represents the largest share of the business. The code then appears in the company's space on the formalities portal and on its payslips.

If the real activity changes or if the code does not match the activity, the company can ask for it to be changed. A company's NAF code is therefore a declared indication: it may be out of step with what the company really does, especially when it has evolved since its creation or carries on several trades.

Each establishment also carries an activity code, which may differ from the company's: an administrative head office and a factory of the same group do not have the same one.

What is the NAF code used for?

• Segmenting a customer or prospect file: grouping companies by sector to tailor an offer, a message or a price;
• Building a prospecting list: targeting, for example, the restaurants of a département or the accounting firms of a region;
• Analysing a portfolio: measuring the share of each sector among your customers or suppliers;
• Assessing sector risk, alongside other information;
• Filling in forms and declarations that ask for the company's activity.

The NAF code is not, however, proof of what the company does today, nor of its existence: a closed company keeps its code. To know whether it is still trading, check its status (Struck-off, closed or dormant company).

NAF code and collective agreement: an indication, not a rule

People often believe the NAF code determines a company's collective agreement. It does not: according to Service-Public, it can help determine it, but there is no automatic correspondence. The applicable agreement depends first on the main activity actually carried out and on the agreement the employer is bound by, and it is stated in the employment contract and on the payslip. The NAF code also has no legal value as proof of a right.

If you are unsure about the collective agreement, the answer is found in the company's documents or from the competent bodies, not in a correspondence table.

With Companies: the activity in the company record

Each record returned by GET /v2/companies/{id} contains an activity field with the code, its label and the nomenclature used:

curl "https://companies.jsonpage.com/v2/companies/FR-552100554" \
  -H "X-API-Key: $COMPANIES_API_KEY"

For a French company, the code is the one of NAF rev. 2 (for example 70.10Z), and the European part (70.10) is returned separately. In Belgium, the activity code is expressed in the Belgian nomenclature, and in the United Kingdom in the British classification; for Switzerland, the record has no activity code.

With a paid plan (Standard or Pro), the account area lets you list French companies by NAF code, full (62.01Z) or by division (62), combined with a département, a legal category and a creation period. The preview gives the number of companies and ten examples; the CSV file includes the NAF code and its label. Only active companies whose data is public are included, never sole traders. You remain responsible for complying with the rules on commercial prospecting.

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