Help for Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) in company info.

SIC codes, created in 1937, was the first and somewhat entrenched industrial classification system used in the U.S. While NAICS is the official industrial classification system used by Federal agencies, SIC still has a strong hold across the general business world and even within certain government entities. For example, large national providers of business information on companies will most often have both a SIC and a NAICS code for a given business but many may still only display an SIC code.

In short, there are two industry classification systems being used in the U.S. and there is no indication that SIC is going away anytime soon.

SIC is a hierarchical structure composed of:

• Division with single digit alpha code
• Major group with a 2 digit numeric code
• Industry groups with a 3 digit numeric code
• Industries with a 4 digit numeric code (most commonly quoted and used)
• Industries with a 6 or 8 digit numeric code (more specific but used less often)

Example:

The single digit alpha code and descriptions for Divisions are:

Related sites and resources:

• U.S. Dept of Labour - SIC Keyword search
• U.S. Dept. Of Labour - SIC Hierarchy and drill down
• U.S. Census Bureau - SIC page
• U.S. Census Bureau - Bridge between NAICS and SIC