Standard Industrial Classification

The Standard Industrial Classification (also known by its acronym, SIC; hereinafter, SIC) is the United States industrial classification system that classifies industries by a four-digit code.

Sometimes, the same term is used for the United Kingdom Standard Industrial Classification of Economic Activities.

Definitions

According to Product Manager's Handbook by Gorchels (2nd edition),

Standard Industrial Classification (SIC). Numeric government codes assigned to companies to designate the industry they are in.

Description

SIC was established in 1937, it is used by government agencies to classify industry areas. The SIC system is also used by agencies in other countries, e.g., by the United Kingdom's Companies House.

In the United States, the SIC code has been replaced by the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), which was released in 1997. Some U.S. government departments and agencies, such as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), continued to use SIC codes through at least 2019.