What does ATECO 2025 publish?

Istat publishes four kinds of material for ATECO 2025, all in the dedicated section of its website. Istat states that all official documentation for ATECO 2025 is available exclusively on the Istat website, in the dedicated section, and lists the structure with codes and titles, the explanatory notes, the bidirectional correspondence table, and the interactive search systems. The structure gives the headings. The notes give the content of each heading. The correspondence table gives the link between the old and new versions. The search systems let a reader find a heading by code or by description.

Together, the four parts form the complete published record. A reader who uses only one part will have an incomplete picture: a structure without notes gives labels without scope, notes without a table give scope without movement, and a table without notes gives movement without scope.

What does the structure contain?

The structure contains the codes and titles of ATECO 2025, in Italian, English and German, according to Istat. The titles are the official denomination of each economic activity, as Istat states for codes and titles. A title is a short label. It is not a definition. The structure shows the hierarchy: which headings sit inside which, and which identifiers belong to which level. A reader who needs the list of headings, or the title for a code, should use the structure. A reader who needs the meaning of a heading should use the notes. The structure is published in three languages, which helps readers who work across languages, but a translation does not change the heading. The Italian title is the title in the Italian structure. The English and German titles are the published equivalents for the same heading, and a reader should cite the language version used.

Published part	Content	Languages stated by Istat
Structure	Codes and titles	Italian, English and German
Explanatory notes	Descriptive content for each code	Italian and English
Correspondence table	Bidirectional link, ATECO 2025 and ATECO 2022	Italian and English
Search systems	Interactive search by code or description	As published on the Istat site

The table above follows the Istat list of published tools. The correspondence table is described by Istat as bidirectional between ATECO 2025 and ATECO 2022, the 2022 update of the previous version. The wording in this guide follows Istat’s wording for that table.

What do the explanatory notes contain?

The explanatory notes contain the descriptive content associated with each code. Istat states that the notes of NACE Rev. 2.1, from which ATECO 2025 derives, were all adopted at national level, because they are defined and harmonised at European level for statistical consistency and comparability. The notes list what a heading includes and excludes, and they cross refer to neighbouring headings where an activity sits close to a boundary. Istat adds a caution: the notes are a descriptive list of possible activities that fall under a code, which may not be carried out in all member states, because they may not be relevant to a specific country’s economy or may not be permitted by national legislation. A note therefore describes what a heading can cover in the European classification. It does not state that every activity listed is carried out in Italy, and it does not state that an activity listed is permitted in Italy. Permission is a matter for the authorities that apply their own rules.

What does the correspondence table show?

The correspondence table shows the link between ATECO 2025 and ATECO 2022 in both directions. A bidirectional table can be read forward, from the old version to the new, and backward, from the new version to the old. The forward reading shows where old activities go. The backward reading shows where new activities came from. Both readings are needed, because a new heading can draw on several old headings, and an old heading can divide among several new headings. Istat also states that an operational reclassification table was made available to support mass reclassification, for use where no detailed information describes the activity carried out. That operational table is a tool for register holders in the initial implementation phase. It is not the theoretical correspondence table, and the two must not be confused. The theoretical table shows the category link. The operational table supports an automated assignment where information is missing. Neither table determines the entry for a specific business.

Where are the published parts confirmed?

The published parts are confirmed on the Istat website, in the dedicated ATECO section, as Istat states. For a specific business, Istat or the business register that holds the record is where the entry is confirmed. This site holds no register and decides no entry. A reader who finds ATECO material on another site should check it against the Istat section, because Istat states that official documentation is available exclusively on its own site. A copy on another site may be out of date, incomplete, or altered, and a citation should give the Istat section as the source, with the version and the date checked.

Structure, notes, correspondence table and search systems together form the ATECO 2025 record on the Istat site, and each part answers a different question about the classification. ”