What is a SIC code?
A SIC code is a Standard Industrial Classification code, the older U.S. industry classification system used before NAICS replaced it for federal statistical work in 1997. SIC codes still appear in legacy enforcement, safety, financial, and business datasets, so data systems often keep SIC alongside newer NAICS industry codes.
- Source file
- Not reported
- Published
- Not reported
- Retrieved
- Not reported
- Snapshot
- Not retained for this reference page
- Re-check
- OSHA: SIC manual
- Data as of
- Not reported
Full name: Standard Industrial Classification Code
Short explanation
The Standard Industrial Classification system grouped establishments by primary business activity before NAICS became the federal statistical standard. SIC remains useful because many legacy datasets, older filings, and industry tools still carry SIC values. In source-provenance work, a SIC code should be stored as the source reported it, then crosswalked to NAICS only when the crosswalk and its limitations are explicit.
Related use case: Federal spend by NAICS industry code
How it’s used
- Legacy source records: older enforcement, safety, and business datasets may still publish SIC where newer records publish NAICS.
- Industry crosswalks: SIC-to-NAICS matching is useful for broad analysis, but not every code maps one-to-one.
- Fonteum keeps industry codes source-specific so an older SIC fact is not silently rewritten as a newer NAICS fact.
Frequently asked questions
- Did NAICS replace SIC?
- Yes. NAICS was adopted in 1997 for federal statistical classification, replacing SIC for that purpose.
- Why do SIC codes still appear?
- SIC codes remain in legacy records, older systems, and some business-reference datasets that have not fully moved to NAICS.
- Can SIC and NAICS be mapped one-to-one?
- Not always. Crosswalks can be many-to-one or one-to-many, so the original source code should remain visible.
Explore in Fonteum
How Fonteum sources, resolves, and publishes data tied to this term.