Standard Classification Systems (NAICS & SIC)

Standard classifications systems such as the Standard Industrial Classification system (SIC) and the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) are developed by government statistical agencies as a means to group company and industry data. Commercial publishers may develop their own classification system, usually based on the government system, and will often indicate an SIC code or an NAICS code as part of a company description in a directory or database.

Important:

Companies are not "legally" assigned a consistent SIC/NAICS code by any government agency. One directory will assign one code to a company, while another might chose a different code. Companies can have more than one SIC or NAICS code, depending on their activities.

Statistics Canada and other Canadian agencies used to use the Canadian SIC schemes; many other publishers, e.g., Dun & Bradstreet, used the American SIC's for their Canadian products, including Canadian databases and directories. Canada, the United States, and Mexico have now mostly converted to NAICS codes as a continental standard system. NAICS codes are now being used in several of our main directories and on most government sites, but you may still find some sources that use only SIC codes.

Bottom line: Check carefully which scheme is being used by each source of information. It is important to compare "apples" to "apples" when analyzing company or industry data. Also, don't expect the same code to be used in all sources: look up a few sample companies in each source (directory, database, etc.) to see if the codes assigned to those companies have varied at all.

Here are links and sources for the various classifications:

1980 Standard Industrial Classification Manual (Canadian SIC-E). Also in print: HF 1041 C2831 1980
Canadian standard industrial classification for companies and enterprises, 1980 (Canadian SIC-C). Also in print: HF 1044 C2 S79
Standard Industrial Classification Code Manual (US SIC - 1987). Also in print: HF 1041 U613 1987
NAICS & SIC Directory via LexisNexis
This directory contains lists of industry classifications that cover both the SIC and the NAICS systems. These lists allow you to search the category, or the code and compare the SIC codes to NAICS codes.
NAICS Manual (North American). Also in print: HF 1042 N677
This Statistics Canada site features concordances as well.
NAICS Code searching from the NAICS association
NAICS (2002 version) searching and concordances from the US Census Bureau

To convert between systems, consult the Statistics Canada and US Census sites listed above. Also check the following books:

Concordance between the standard industrial classifications of Canada and the United States: 1980 Canadian SIC - 1987 United States SIC. Available in print: HF 1042 C66 1991

International Concordance between the Industrial Classifications of the United Nations, Canada, the European Union, and the United States. Available in print: HD 2328 I58 1994

Owned by: Mark Bodnar

Revised by: Mark Bodnar

Last Modified: 2010-02-15

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