What is an APE code?

An APE code is the code assigned by INSEE to identify the main activity exercised by a company or establishment. APE stands for the main activity exercised. Service Public states that the APE code is composed of 4 digits plus 1 letter, and that it is based on the French National Activity Nomenclature, the NAF, which is why it is sometimes called the NAF code. The code is assigned by INSEE to identify the main branch of activity. It is a statistical identifier. It describes the main activity as recorded in the Sirene directory.

It does not, on its own, decide any legal, tax, licensing or funding question for the unit concerned.

How is the APE format built?

The format has two parts: four digits that place the activity in the classification hierarchy, and one letter that completes the most detailed heading. Service Public gives the format as 4 digits plus 1 letter, and gives examples from the version in force before NAF 2025. Hairdressing activity carries the APE code 96.02A. Activity as a driver of a vehicle with driver, known as VTC, carries 49.32Z, the same as for taxis in the version then in force. Plumber activity carries 43.22A. Electrician activity carries 43.21A. Those examples show the format and the level of detail. They are examples from the earlier nomenclature, as published by Service Public. They are not statements about the codes that will apply under NAF 2025, and they must not be copied forward as new codes.

Example activity	APE code as published by Service Public	What the example shows
Hairdressing	96.02A	Four digits plus one letter
Driver of a vehicle with driver, and taxis	49.32Z	One code shared by related activities in the old version
Plumber	43.22A	Detailed heading inside construction
Electrician	43.21A	Neighbouring detailed heading inside construction

The table above reproduces only the examples that Service Public publishes on the page fetched for this guide. No other APE codes are asserted in this guide, and no NAF 2025 code is asserted anywhere in this cluster, because no NAF 2025 code was verified on an INSEE or Service Public page fetched for this work.

What does the APE code show about a unit?

The APE code shows the main activity exercised, as recorded by INSEE in Sirene. It shows one activity, the main one, even where a unit carries out several activities. It does not list every activity of the unit. It does not describe the products sold, the customers served, or the size of the unit. It is a single statistical description, chosen to place the unit in the classification for statistical purposes. The introductory guidelines for NACE describe the method for choosing a principal activity in general terms, and the French assignment follows the same statistical logic: one main activity is recorded so that statistics can be grouped. This guide describes that logic only in general terms. It does not apply the method to any specific business, and it never determines a reader’s correct or principal code.

What does the APE code not show?

The APE code does not show that an activity is licensed, taxed in a particular way, covered by a particular collective agreement, or eligible for funding. The INSEE nomenclature pages state that the purpose of the nomenclatures is essentially statistical, and that legal or institutional criteria are set aside in their construction. Other bodies may use the APE code in their own processes, and that use can make the code feel decisive. The code itself remains a statistical description. A mismatch between the code and the activity actually exercised is a matter to raise with INSEE through Sirene, as described in the rectification guides in this cluster. It is not a matter that this guide can resolve, and it is not a matter that a correspondence table can resolve on its own.

Where is an APE code confirmed?

An APE code is confirmed in Sirene, the directory that holds the record, using the SIREN number of the unit. The nomenclature itself is consulted on the INSEE website. The meaning of a heading is in the NAF structure published by INSEE. The entry for a specific unit is in Sirene. This site holds no register and decides no entry. A reader who needs the code for a specific unit should check Sirene, and a reader who needs the meaning of a heading should check the INSEE nomenclature page for that heading, with the version stated beside the code.

An APE code is four digits plus one letter for the main activity as recorded by INSEE, it is statistical in character, and Sirene is where the entry for a specific unit is confirmed. ”