How is the section letter shift read in a listing?

The section letter shift must be read with the version stated, or a letter will be misread. NACE Rev. 2.1 split the former Section J, information and communication, into Section J, publishing, broadcasting and content production and distribution, and Section K, telecommunication, computer programming, consulting, computing infrastructure and other information service activities, as the Central Statistics Office states. The sections that followed shifted one letter as a result. A letter in a NACE Rev. 2.1 record therefore does not mean the same as the same letter in a NACE Rev.

2 record, where the lettering differs. A listing that shows section letters without stating the version is ambiguous, and it should be completed with the version before any letter is read.

What shifted, and what did not shift?

What shifted is the lettering of the sections from the former J onwards. What did not shift is the content of the sections before the split, or the division, group and class numbers inside the sections that moved, except where the revision also changed the content at those levels. Statistics Netherlands states the same shift for the Dutch SBI: Section J in SBI 2008 is subdivided into Section J and Section K in SBI 2025, and all subsequent sections move up a letter, while the more detailed categories are unaffected. The pattern is therefore a letter shift at section level, with the detailed categories below it largely unchanged in their numbers. A reader who sees a section letter in a new listing should check whether the listing uses the new lettering or the old, and should check the division and class numbers alongside the letter, because the numbers below the section are the more stable part of the code. A section letter read alone, without the version, is the least reliable part of a code in a listing during the transition.

How are the new sections J and K read?

Section J in NACE Rev. 2.1 covers publishing, broadcasting and content production and distribution activities. Telecommunication, computer programming, consulting, computing infrastructure and other information service activities are covered by Section K. Those titles are given in the EUR-Lex summary list of the 22 sections, and in the Central Statistics Office account of the split. The former Section J covered information and communication as a single section, with divisions 58 to 63. In the new lettering, the divisions that belonged to the former J are divided between the new J and the new K, and the divisions that followed move up a letter in their section heading, while their division numbers remain the same. A listing that shows a division number without a section letter can therefore be read correctly, where the division number is stable, while a listing that shows only a section letter cannot be read without the version. A reader should always record the full code, letter and digits together, rather than the letter alone, and should record the version with it.

How is a shifted letter checked in a listing?

A shifted letter is checked by opening the category in the version stated, and by comparing the section title, not just the letter. The check has three steps. First, record the code exactly as shown, with the letter and the digits, and record the version stated in the listing or the dataset metadata. Second, open the section in the explanatory notes or the structure for that version, and read the section title. Third, where the letter appears to belong to the other version, open the correspondence table and check whether the category moved, split, or stayed, and record the mapping type. The table below shows the two letterings side by side for the split, using only the titles verified in the EUR-Lex summary and the Central Statistics Office account, so that a reader can see the shift without relying on memory.

Lettering	Section J	Section K
NACE Rev. 2	Information and communication, single section	Financial and insurance activities
NACE Rev. 2.1	Publishing, broadcasting and content production and distribution	Telecommunication, computer programming, consulting, computing infrastructure and other information service activities

The table shows only the two sections affected by the split, and it does not list the sections that shifted after them, because those titles were not all verified in the pages consulted for this guide, and a partial list presented as complete would mislead. A reader who needs the full lettering for the new version should open the structure in the Official Journal text or on ShowVoc, and should record the version consulted.

What does a shifted letter not prove?

A shifted letter does not prove that a business changed its activities, that it moved from one sector to another, or that its code is wrong. It proves that the lettering changed, and that the same activity can appear under a different letter in the new version, with the same or a different division number below it. A business whose code was in the former Section J can appear in the new Section J or the new Section K, depending on which part of the former section its activity falls in, and a business whose code was in a later section can appear under a letter one place on, with no change in its activity at all. The letter shift is a classification change, not a business event, and it should be described as such wherever a code is quoted across the changeover. The entry for a specific business is confirmed in the register, on the version the register currently uses, and the letter in that entry is read with that version.

Where is a shifted letter confirmed?

A shifted letter is confirmed in the structure for the version in use, in the Official Journal text or on ShowVoc, and in the explanatory notes for the category. The move between versions is confirmed in the correspondence tables. The register holding the record confirms the entry for a specific business. A listing that shows a letter without a version should be completed from the register or the dataset metadata, and a letter quoted without a version should be treated as unchecked.

Record the full code, letter and digits together, record the version, and confirm the entry in the register that holds it.