What do the published APE examples show?

The APE examples published by Service Public show the format of an APE code and the level of detail at which the main activity is described. Service Public gives four examples: hairdressing activity at 96.02A, activity as a driver of a vehicle with driver at 49.32Z, the same as for taxis, plumber activity at 43.22A, and electrician activity at 43.21A. Each example has four digits plus one letter. Each example names one activity in plain terms and gives the code that described it in the version then in force. The examples are teaching examples. They show how a code reads.

They are not a list of codes that apply under NAF 2025, and they must not be copied into a dataset, a form or a listing as if they were current.

What does each example teach?

The hairdressing example teaches that a single detailed heading can describe a familiar trade, and that the code sits deep in the hierarchy, inside a section, division and group that the digits imply. The driver example teaches that related activities can share a code in the old version: the driver of a vehicle with driver and taxis carried the same code, 49.32Z, as published. That sharing is a property of the old version. It does not prove that the activities share a code under NAF 2025. The plumber and electrician examples teach that neighbouring trades sit in neighbouring headings, 43.22A and 43.21A, inside the same broad area. Neighbouring codes do not mean neighbouring activities in every case, and the note for each heading, not the nearness of the digits, states the scope. Together, the examples teach format and depth. They do not teach the new codes.

Example	Code published	Lesson
Hairdressing	96.02A	One trade, one detailed heading
Driver of a vehicle with driver, and taxis	49.32Z	Related activities shared a code in the old version
Plumber	43.22A	Neighbouring heading inside the same area
Electrician	43.21A	Neighbouring heading inside the same area

The table above reproduces only the examples on the Service Public page fetched for this guide. No example from any other source is added, and no NAF 2025 code is stated, because none was verified on an INSEE or Service Public page fetched for this work.

Why must the examples not be carried forward?

The examples must not be carried forward because the nomenclature changed. From 1 January 2027 (FIXED), APE codes are modified according to NAF 2025. An old code that is copied forward as if it were current will misdescribe the unit, misplace it in statistics, and mislead any reader who relies on the copy. The risk is highest for the driver example, where two related activities shared a code in the old version and may not share one in the new version. A reader who assumes the sharing continues will group activities together that the new nomenclature separates. The safe course is to check the prepared code in Sirene, using the SIREN number, and to read the INSEE nomenclature for the heading concerned, rather than to reuse an example from a teaching page.

How should examples be cited?

Examples should be cited with their source and their version. A citation that gives the code without stating that it comes from the Service Public page, and without stating that it belongs to the earlier nomenclature, is incomplete. A complete citation states the source, the activity as named by the source, and the fact that the code belongs to the version in force when the page was published. A reader who finds the same digits in a current dataset should still check Sirene, because the same digits can mean different things under different versions, and different digits can describe the same activity after renumbering. The version stated beside the code is part of the code for citation purposes.

What do the examples not decide?

The examples do not decide the code for any reader, and they do not decide tax, licensing, funding or collective agreement questions. They illustrate format. The entry for a specific unit is in Sirene, and INSEE confirms it. A reader who recognises an activity in an example has found a starting point for a nomenclature search, not a code to adopt. The search should continue in the INSEE nomenclature, in the version current for the period concerned, and should end with the Sirene entry for the unit.

The four published examples show format and depth, they belong to the earlier nomenclature, and the current code for any unit is the one Sirene shows under NAF 2025. ”