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SSIC Codes Explained, and How to Pick One

SSIC, the Singapore Standard Industrial Classification, is the system ACRA uses to record what a registered company actually does. Every company on this site shows at least a primary SSIC code, and many show a secondary one too.

Who maintains it

SSIC is published and maintained by the Department of Statistics Singapore (SingStat), not ACRA — ACRA simply requires every company to declare a code from SingStat's classification at the point of registration. The current edition is SSIC 2025, which is what this site uses to label every SSIC section and code page.

How the classification is structured

SSIC 2025 has five levels, from broadest to narrowest:

  1. Section — a single letter, A through V, 22 in total. "G", for example, is Wholesale and Retail Trade; "K" covers telecommunications, computer programming and related information services.
  2. Division — a 2-digit code, a broad industry grouping within a section.
  3. Group — a 3-digit code, narrower still.
  4. Class — a 4-digit code.
  5. Sub-class — the 5-digit code, the most specific level, and the one ACRA actually records against a company. This is the code shown on every company page here, and it's what each SSIC code page on this site groups companies by.

A code's digits nest inside each other: a 5-digit sub-class always belongs to exactly one 4-digit class, which belongs to exactly one 3-digit group, and so on up to its single-letter section. This site's SSIC pages reflect that structure — a code page links up to the section it belongs to, and the section page lists every company registered under any code within it.

How a company picks a code

When a company registers or changes its business activities, it selects the SSIC sub-class that best matches its main line of business as its primary code. If it has a genuinely distinct secondary activity, it can also register a secondary SSIC code — around 9 in 10 companies on this site's current wave have one. There's no requirement to pick the narrowest possible code; a company can reasonably choose a broader "not elsewhere classified" code within the right group if none of the more specific ones fit, which is why you'll see codes ending in descriptions like "n.e.c." fairly often.

The SSIC code a company declares is self-selected, not independently verified by ACRA against what the company actually does day to day. Treat it as a strong indicator of a company's registered business line, not a guarantee — a company's real activity can drift from its original SSIC code over time if it never formally updates it.

Why SSIC codes matter beyond ACRA

SSIC codes aren't just a registration formality. Government procurement, industry statistics, and eligibility for some grants or licences are all organised around them. On this site, they're also how you can browse companies by activity — every SSIC section and sub-class with enough published companies gets its own page listing them, which is often a faster way to find competitors, suppliers or potential customers in a specific line of business than searching by name.

Where to find a code

A company's own primary and secondary SSIC codes are shown on its page here, alongside its own description of what it does under that code. To browse in the other direction — from an activity to the companies registered under it — start from the SSIC sections listed on the homepage, or search this site by name if you already know which company you're looking for.