Rules
SIC Code Lookup by Company: Reading Industry Codes in a Registry File
A SIC code lookup by company: use SEC EDGAR when available, verify the industry in OSHA's SIC Manual, and distinguish state registry fields from NAICS records.
What to take away
- A SIC code lookup by company may start with a registry file, where the SIC or NAICS code is a self-reported field, usually captured once when the entity files or renews, and rarely audited.
- The same company can carry different codes in different state registries and in federal datasets because the code systems, the form questions, and the update triggers differ.
- Treat an industry code as a filter for grouping records, not as proof of what a business does today.
- Read the code next to the entity name, file number, status, and formation date, because the code alone does not identify the entity.
Where the industry code sits in a registry file
A state business entity record is built around identifiers. You get the entity name, the file number, the formation date, the current status, the registered agent, and the principal address. The industry code, when a state publishes one, is a secondary field.
Where the Code Appears
State registry
- Code system
- NAICS, SIC, or none
- Who assigns
- Filer
- Where it sits
- Detail page
- Can disagree
- Yes
Census Bureau
- Code system
- NAICS
- Who assigns
- Census
- Where it sits
- Admin records
- Can disagree
- Yes
SEC EDGAR
- Code system
- SIC
- Who assigns
- Company
- Where it sits
- Filing
- Can disagree
- Yes
States vary. Some registries print an NAICS code on the detail page. Some print a SIC code. Some print nothing and leave any industry label to the annual report.
Federal datasets use their own logic. The Census Bureau assigns NAICS codes to employer businesses from administrative records and surveys. The SEC uses SIC codes in EDGAR filings. The two can disagree for the same firm.
A state registration is a name and status filing, not a permit to trade, and the SBA guide on registering a business walks through what that filing does and does not do.
How to run a SIC code lookup by company
- Search the company in SEC EDGAR's Company Search if it files with the SEC. Open a filing and read the SIC code and industry description in the filing header.
- To confirm the entity record, search the state where it was formed. The Delaware Division of Corporations Entity Search and the California Secretary of State's bizfile Online are examples of state portals. Check the detail page and recent filings, but do not assume the state record includes a SIC code; some states publish no industry code or use NAICS instead. For a Canadian entity, use the Corporations Canada federal search.
- If you cannot find a SIC code in a filing, use SICCODE.com's SIC lookup as a lead based on the company's business activity, then verify the code and description in OSHA's Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) Manual. A code selected by activity is not necessarily a company-specific registry entry.
- The Census Bureau's NAICS Search is for NAICS, not a company SIC lookup. Use the Census Bureau's SIC-NAICS concordance tables to crosswalk industry categories, not to establish which code a particular company carries.
- Record the code system and the source that produced the code so you can distinguish a state entry, a federal filing, and an industry classification lookup.
The code is only one field on a longer page, so read one state registry result field by field before you trust the number.
SIC Code Lookup Steps
- Open state entity search or Corporations Canada
- Read detail fieldsname, file number, status
- Check annual report or amendment for code
- Search Census or SEC EDGAR for federal code
- Compare codes and note each source
Why the same company carries different codes
A state filing form may ask the filer to pick a code from a dropdown. The filer picks the closest match, sometimes years ago. If the company later adds a line of business, the code often stays.
Why Codes Diverge
Cause
- Dropdown choice
- Closest match, often stale
- Code vintage
- 1987 SIC vs 2022 NAICS
- Establishment split
- One per site or enterprise
- Registration vs license
- Code follows registration
Effect
- Dropdown choice
- Code vintage
- Establishment split
- Registration vs license
Code vintage matters too. SIC was replaced by NAICS in 1997 for most federal statistical uses, and NAICS has been revised several times since. A 1987 SIC code describes a different economy than a 2022 NAICS code.
Multi-establishment firms get one code per establishment in some datasets and one code for the whole enterprise in others. That split alone explains many mismatches.
Registration is also separate from licensing. California separates entity registration from licensing, and the code field follows the registration, not the license.
Comparing code sources
Code system
- State registry
- NAICS, SIC, or none
- Census Bureau
- NAICS
- SEC EDGAR
- SIC
- License file
- Often NAICS or a state list
Who assigns it
- State registry
- The filer, at registration or renewal
- Census Bureau
- Census, from records and surveys
- SEC EDGAR
- The company, on each filing
- License file
- The licensing agency
When it changes
- State registry
- On amendment, if at all
- Census Bureau
- On reassignment cycles
- SEC EDGAR
- With a new filing
- License file
- At renewal
A code can be current in one row and stale in another. That is why a company search by industry code returns different counts depending on the dataset you query.
A code is a label the file carries, not a fact the business proves.
When an industry code is safe to rely on
Use a short checklist before you act on a code.
- PurposeAre you grouping records or describing a business? Grouping is safe; describing is not.
- MatchDoes the code fit what the company says it does on its own site and in its filings?
- RecencyWas the record formed or amended in the last few years?
- CorroborationDoes a second source carry the same code?
- CollateralDistinguish lien filings from industry data. A UCC filing tells you about secured debt, not the debtor's trade, as the Cornell overview of the Uniform Commercial Code explains.
Example
Suppose a registry record shows status Active, formed in 2019, with NAICS 236118, residential remodelers. A federal dataset lists the same firm under NAICS 238350, finish carpentry.
Both can be true. The state code came from a dropdown the filer chose. The federal code came from a later assignment based on payroll records. They answer different questions: who filed, and who employs carpenters.
For a named company example, SEC EDGAR identifies Apple Inc. under SIC 3571, Electronic Computers. Treat that as the SIC shown in the federal filing record, not as a code every state registry must reproduce.
If you reached the record by name rather than by file number, the business name search covers four separate jobs, and the code serves only one of them.
Common questions
Which code should I use, SIC or NAICS?
Use the code the record carries, and note its vintage. NAICS is the current federal standard, while SIC still appears in older filings and some state forms.
Why does a company have no industry code on its registration?
Many states never collect one, or collect it only on the annual report. The absence says more about the state's form than about the business.
Can I rely on a code to judge a counterparty?
No. Use it to filter or group, then verify with the entity name, file number, status, and formation date. The code alone proves very little.
Do federal and state codes ever agree?
They often do for single-line businesses. They diverge most for firms with several establishments or several lines of work.
