Does my code decide my licence or funding?

No. A NACE code does not grant a licence, and it does not decide funding eligibility. A code is a statistical classification of an economic activity, and the EUR-Lex summary states that the legislation only applies to the use of the classification for statistical purposes. A licence is a permission granted by an authority, under the law that governs the activity, on conditions set by that authority. Funding is a decision made by a funding body, under funding rules, on the facts those rules require.

Neither is decided by a statistical code, and a reader who treats a code as a licence, or as a funding decision, confuses a category with a permission and a decision.

What is a licence, and why is it different from a code?

A licence is an administrative act with legal effect. It is granted by a named authority, for a named activity, to a named person, for a named period, on conditions, and it is proved by the licence document and the licensing register. A code is a category in a statistical classification, assigned to a unit for statistical purposes, on the basis of an activity description. The two records are different in kind: one creates a permission, the other describes an activity for statistics. A business can hold a code for an activity that requires a licence and hold no licence, and it must not carry on the licensed activity until the licence is granted. A business can hold a licence and hold a code that does not describe the licensed activity, where the principal activity differs from the licensed activity, and the licence remains valid, because the licence, not the code, is the permission. A reader who checks a licence should open the licensing register, not the statistical register, and should record the licence number, the authority, the activity, and the period, rather than quoting a code as if it were the licence.

What decides funding eligibility?

Funding eligibility is decided by the funding body, under the funding rules, on the facts those rules require. Funding rules can refer to an activity, a sector, a size, a place, or other criteria, and they can use a statistical code as one way of describing an activity, where the rules state that they do so. Where the rules refer to a code, the code is a reference in the rules, and the decision is still made by the funding body, on the application and the evidence, not by the code itself. Where the rules do not refer to a code, the code is irrelevant to the decision, and a reader who quotes a code in a funding application, without checking the rules, adds a fact the rules do not ask for. A code can be used as a grouping in funding statistics, to show how funding was distributed by activity, without deciding any individual application. The statistical use and the decision use are different, and they should not be confused. A reader who needs to know whether funding is available should read the funding rules, and should ask the funding body, with the facts the rules require.

Why do codes appear in licence and funding contexts?

Codes appear in licence and funding contexts because administrators need a short, structured way to describe activities, and a statistical code is a convenient descriptor. A licence application form can ask for the activity code, a funding application can ask for the sector code, and a statistical return can ask for both, without the code acquiring legal effect by being asked for. The form asks for the code as a description, and the authority decides on the underlying facts, the licence conditions, or the funding criteria. The appearance of a code on a form is therefore not evidence that the code decides the outcome. It is evidence that the form uses a statistical descriptor for convenience. A reader should answer the form question with the code as held, where the form asks for it, and should answer the substantive questions with the facts the authority requires, without treating the code answer as a substitute for them.

Question	Decided by	Record
What activity category?	Eurostat, explanatory note	Note, version stated
What code is held?	Institute or business register	Register entry, identifier, version, date
Is the activity licensed?	Licensing authority	Licence document and licensing register
Is funding available?	Funding body, under funding rules	Funding rules and the funding decision

The table keeps the licence and funding questions with their holders, and it keeps the code questions with theirs. A code is never the record for a licence or a funding decision, and a licence or funding decision is never the record for a code.

What should a reader do where a licence or funding is in question?

A reader where a licence or funding is in question should take the question to the authority that administers it, with the facts that authority requires, and should not rely on a code, a correspondence table, or an explanatory note as the answer. The reader should record the code as held, separately, as a fact about the register entry, and should record the licence or funding question separately, with the rules and the facts. This site does not give advice on licensing or funding, and it does not determine any reader’s code. It gives general information about a statistical classification, and it directs readers to the institute or register for the entry, and to the licensing or funding authority for the permission or decision. That division should be followed even where a code appears on a licence or funding form.

Where is a code confirmed, and where is a licence or funding confirmed?

A code is confirmed with the national statistical institute or the business register that holds the record, and the category meaning is confirmed in the Eurostat explanatory notes. A licence is confirmed with the licensing authority, in the licensing register. Funding is confirmed with the funding body, under its rules. Confirm the code with the institute or register, confirm the licence or funding with the authority or body that decides it, and keep the confirmations in separate records.