SIC Code List

In 1937, the United States government came up with a classification system for industries by assigning four digit codes to them. This code appears in a company is published EDGAR filings and helps indicate the type of business.

The SIC codes also form a basis in assigning reviews to the relevant staffers in the Division of Corporation Finance. A unique code was assigned to each type of industry, thereby facilitating its identification. For example, the code 1040 was assigned to Gold and Silver Ore industry, 2000 was for Food and Kindred Products and so on. In the code, the first two digits represent the principal industry group, the next digit represents the industry group and the last digit represents the industry.

This system has now been replaced by the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) which is a six digit code system, released in the year 1997. The NAICS came in to being because of the fact that many new industries were coming up which needed to be classified accordingly and the SIC code list was not updated as often, the last being in 1987.

However, some of the government departments still prefer to use the SIC code list. One of these is the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission or SEC. The complete SIC code list can be accessed on the SEC’s website and is also available on various websites online. Some websites also offer a keyword search for the SIC codes whereas some help convert the SIC code to the new NAICS code.

The Standard Industrial Classification search from OSHA is one such place which allows keyword or number search. The SIC code list for industries can be found in the Standard Industrial Classification Manual published by the Office of Management and Budget. The Dun and Bradstreet’s Million Dollar Directory lists company SIC codes in numerical order for various firms.