North American Industry Classification System (NAICS)

Published every five years, the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) is an indispensable volume of official industry codes used by businesses, libraries, and other establishments and individuals to complete tax returns, grant requests, and fill out other forms and to improve analyses and comparisons of different industries.

NAICS officially replaced the U.S. Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system in 1997. It provides a consistent system of economic analysis across the three NAFTA nations—Canada, Mexico, and the United States. NAICS also facilitates the collection, analysis, and dissemination of industrial statistics; these statistics are used by all kinds of businesses, government policy analysts, academics and researchers, and the general public. The 2007 edition of NAICS, published in late May 2007, supersedes the 2002 edition.