Editorial policy

Guides on this site follow a fixed method, so that a reader can check every claim against the same kinds of source.

Sources

A guide cites primary sources only: EUR-Lex for the legal texts and summaries, Eurostat for the classification overview, introductory guidelines, explanatory notes and correspondence tables, and the national statistical institute of the country concerned for a national variant. The United Nations Statistics Division is cited only for the relationship between NACE and ISIC. No consultant page, vendor page or blog post is used as a source. If a fact cannot be traced to a primary source, it is not published.

Dates

Every date in a guide carries one of two labels. FIXED means a date in force, a date applying, or a date on a published timetable. EXPECTED means a proposal, a target, a consultation date, or an expectation that has not been fixed. A guide uses no date without one of these labels.

Structure

Each guide opens with a direct answer in the first paragraph, uses question style headings, and shows the structure of the classification in a table where a table helps. The first paragraph answers the question in the title in about 100 words. Later sections define the term, show the table or mapping, state the limit, and point to the institute or register that confirms the matter.

Limits

No guide determines a reader’s code, principal activity or secondary activity. No guide states that a code decides tax, licensing, funding or employment status. A correspondence table mapping is never presented as a one to one guarantee where the table shows a split. Every guide carries a notice stating these limits and directing the reader to confirm a code with the national statistical institute or the business register that holds the record.

Updates and corrections

Each guide shows a published date and an updated date. The updated date changes only when the content of the guide changes. A correction is checked against the primary source before it is published, and the updated date moves to the date of the correction.

No editorial contact channel is open yet, so no corrections channel is listed on this page. This page will be updated when a channel opens. No author names are published, and no individual is presented as an expert or practitioner.

Independence

This site carries no affiliate links and no advertising, so no commercial interest affects the choice of sources or the wording of a guide.