How to find a Swiss company's NOGA code

I work a lot with NOGA codes: they are used to target businesses by sector, in prospecting as well as in market studies. And I often find that business owners know neither their code nor how to check it. Here are the methods that work, with their limits.

What is the NOGA code?

NOGA (General Classification of Economic Activities) is the Swiss classification of economic activities. It is managed by the FSO and used to code every business and establishment in the Business and Enterprise Register (BER).

It is aligned with the European NACE classification for its first four levels, and adds a fifth level specific to Switzerland. A full code therefore has six digits:

Level	Name	Example from NOGA 2025
1	Section (letter)	C: Manufacturing
2	Division (2 digits)	20: Manufacture of chemicals and chemical products
3	Group (3 digits)	205
4	Class (4 digits)	2051: Manufacture of liquid biofuels
5	Type (6 digits)	Swiss-specific subdivision

The code is used first and foremost for statistics: employment, business demography, value added by sector. But it is also reused by many private players, for sector analyses or prospecting. A code that does not match your real activity puts you in the wrong box, wherever that data is used.

Key point: you don't choose your code. The provisional code is derived from the activity description given at registration, then confirmed or corrected by the FSO. Taking care over that description is therefore the best way to get an accurate code.

Method 1: the UID register, for your own company

The UID register (uid.admin.ch) is the official source for the NOGA code assigned to your company.

1. Go to uid.admin.ch.
2. Log in with the access details you received with the letter giving you your UID number.
3. Open the full extract of your data: the NOGA code appears among the additional attributes.

For another company, the commercial register, which you can search on Zefix, gives the company's purpose: the official description of its activity. It lets you infer the sector, but the NOGA code itself belongs to the UID register.

Limitation: this method only lets you look up an existing code. It does not help you identify the code for an activity or for a company being set up.

Method 2: KUBB, the FSO's official tool

KUBB is the FSO's coding assistance application. It is the reference tool for finding a code from an activity.

• You enter keywords describing the activity ("IT consulting", "bakery").
• The tool suggests matching codes, with their official label.
• You can also browse the entire structure of the classification, section by section, and read the explanatory notes for each code.

Its limits: keyword search often returns several similar codes without saying which fits best. For a hybrid activity (a consultant who also trains, a shop that sells mostly online), you need to read the explanatory notes to decide.

Method 3: an AI assistant for shortlisting

An AI assistant lets you start from a plain-language description rather than administrative keywords. For example: "I'm self-employed, I build websites and do a bit of marketing consulting for SMEs."

That is the principle behind NOGA Finder, a free tool offered by Zenyio, a service I develop. I mention it in full transparency: within seconds, it suggests the most plausible codes with their official label.

Its limits: like any AI tool, it can get an ambiguous activity wrong, and it never replaces the official assignment by the FSO. Use it to shortlist two or three codes, then check them in KUBB.

Which method should you choose?

Your situation	Method
Finding out the code assigned to your company	UID register
Understanding another company's activity	Zefix (company purpose)
Finding the exact code for an activity	KUBB
Shortlisting quickly, without jargon	AI assistant, then check in KUBB

Common mistakes to avoid

1. Describing your activity too vaguely at registration. "Services" or "consulting" is not enough. The more precise the description, the more likely the provisional code is to be right.

2. Never checking your code. Many businesses discover an inconsistent code years after they were set up. Checking it in the UID register takes two minutes.

3. Forgetting to report a change of activity. A business that pivots must report it, by answering the ERST survey or contacting the FSO. The code is not set in stone.

4. Confusing main and secondary activities. The code matches the main activity of each establishment, the one that generates the largest share of value added. Side activities do not change the code.

5. Still thinking in NOGA 2008 codes. With the move to NOGA 2025, some codes have changed. Check your code in the current version before using it in a document or a tool.

My view

KUBB remains the reference, and it has the final say when deciding between two similar codes. The UID register is the only place to look up the code actually assigned to your company.

An AI assistant is useful to save time at the start, especially if the classification's vocabulary is unfamiliar to you. But I see it as a starting point, not a final answer.

If you use NOGA codes to target businesses in your sales processes, it is exactly the kind of task that automates well, as a third of Swiss SMEs that have integrated AI and automation already do. I cover this in my guide to business automation with AI, and I present my services on the page process automation and AI in Geneva.

Useful sources

• Federal Statistical Office, General Classification of Economic Activities (NOGA)
• Federal Statistical Office, NOGA 2025: introduction (PDF, in French)
• Federal Statistical Office, UID Register
• KUBB, coding assistance application
• Zefix, central business name index