What is asked of INSEE or Sirene when checking a code?

When checking a code with INSEE or Sirene, a reader asks three questions: what entry does Sirene hold for the unit, what heading does the nomenclature give for the activity as described, and what correspondence row links the old heading to the new heading. Those three questions match the three sources: Sirene for the entry, the INSEE nomenclature for the heading, and the correspondence material for the link. A question that mixes them, for example asking Sirene to explain a heading, or asking the nomenclature to show an entry, will get an incomplete answer.

Framing the question for the right source is the first part of the check. The second part is having the identifying information ready: the SIREN number for the entry question, the activity description in the terms of the nomenclature for the heading question, and the old code with its version for the correspondence question.

What information is needed for each question?

For the entry question, the SIREN number is needed, because Sirene holds entries by unit. Service Public states that the SIREN number is entered in the Sirene tool to consult the new APE code. For the heading question, a description of the main activity exercised is needed, in plain terms that can be matched to nomenclature titles and notes. For the correspondence question, the old code with its version is needed, because the row depends on the starting version. A question that gives only an activity name, without a SIREN number, cannot show an entry. A question that gives only a code, without a version, cannot show a correspondence row with confidence. A question that gives only a SIREN number cannot show the meaning of a heading. Each question needs its own input, and a complete check asks all three.

Question	Asked of	Input needed
What entry is held for the unit?	Sirene	SIREN number
What heading describes the activity?	INSEE nomenclature	Description of the main activity exercised
How does the old heading link to the new heading?	Correspondence material published by INSEE	Old code with its version stated

The table above separates the questions by source and input. It states no outcome, because the outcome depends on the unit, the activity and the heading concerned.

How should the activity be described?

The activity should be described as exercised, in concrete terms, naming what is produced or what service is provided, and naming the main activity where several activities are carried out. General terms, such as a sector name or a job title, are less useful than a description of the production process or the service. The nomenclature groups activities by production process and by the nature of the goods or services, so a description that states the process and the output matches the headings more directly. This guide does not state which heading describes any specific activity. It states how to frame the description so that INSEE, or the nomenclature search, can match it. A description that states only an intention, a market, or a customer type will match headings poorly, because the classification groups by activity, not by intention or market.

What should not be asked?

A reader should not ask INSEE or Sirene to decide tax, licensing, funding or collective agreement questions, because those questions belong to other bodies. INSEE assigns a statistical code. Sirene holds the statistical entry. Neither body decides the other questions, and a request framed as if the code would decide them will be answered, correctly, as a statistical matter. A reader should also not ask this site, or any guide, to determine a code. Guides describe the classification, the tables and the routes. They hold no register and decide no entry. A request for a determination should go to INSEE, through Sirene, with the SIREN number and the activity description ready.

Where does the check end?

The check ends with the Sirene entry for the unit, read with its version, and with the heading note that describes the activity in general terms. Where the entry and the note agree, the check is complete for statistical purposes. Where they disagree, the rectification route through Sirene is the next step, as described in the rectification guide in this cluster. Where the entry cannot be found, or the heading cannot be matched, the check ends with a clear statement of what could not be confirmed, and a request to INSEE through the channels stated on its site. An unconfirmed check is a useful result. It prevents a wrong code from being copied forward as if it were settled, and it keeps the statistical limit visible: the classification describes, the institute confirms, and other bodies decide their own questions.

Ask Sirene for the entry with the SIREN number ready, ask the nomenclature for the heading with the activity described in concrete terms, and ask the correspondence material for the link with the old code and its version stated. ”