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SIC code SIC
Also called Standard Industrial Classification, NAICS code, industry code.
A numeric industry classification attached to a business that funders use to screen against restricted-industry lists, set pricing tiers and route files to the right underwriting box.
Drafted with AI assistance. Not yet independently checked. Nobody has verified the claims on this page against a source, so treat the figures and legal points as a starting point rather than as settled, and confirm anything you are about to act on. How we check things.
What it means
Two systems are in circulation: the older Standard Industrial Classification and the newer NAICS. Funders use one, the other, or their own internal mapping, and the code follows a business through credit bureaus, bank records and state registrations. It is rarely something the owner consciously chose — it was picked at bank account opening, on an incorporation form, or by a bureau's automatic classification.
Every funder keeps a restricted list. Common exclusions cluster around long collection cycles, high chargeback rates, regulatory exposure and prior loss experience: construction subcontractors, trucking, law firms, auto dealers, cannabis-adjacent businesses, adult industries, firearms, gambling, non-profits, real estate investment and financial services. Some are hard declines, others just get worse terms.
A mismatch between the code on file and what the business actually does is common and cuts both ways. A restaurant classified as catering, a specialty contractor classified as general construction, an IT consultancy classified as staffing — each changes the box a file lands in.
Where this one catches people
Owners discover the classification only when a file is declined for an industry they are not in, and assume it is unchangeable. It comes from identifiable sources — the bureau record, the bank's records, the incorporation filing — and each can be corrected. What does not work is telling the broker to submit under a different code while the underlying records say something else; underwriting checks the statements and the bureau, and a discrepancy reads as misrepresentation.
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SIC code — common questions
What does sic code mean?
A numeric industry classification attached to a business that funders use to screen against restricted-industry lists, set pricing tiers and route files to the right underwriting box.
Where does sic code catch people out?
Owners discover the classification only when a file is declined for an industry they are not in, and assume it is unchangeable. It comes from identifiable sources — the bureau record, the bank's records, the incorporation filing — and each can be corrected. What does not work is telling the broker to submit under a different code while the underlying records say something else; underwriting checks the statements and the bureau, and a discrepancy reads as misrepresentation.
Is sic code the same as an interest rate?
SIC code is defined above; if you are comparing it against a rate, check whether the two measures share a time dimension before you put them side by side.
Which products does sic code apply to?
It is not specific to one product — it appears across the market.
Is there a worked example of sic code?
Not on this entry. Where a term is arithmetic, the arithmetic is shown; this one is not primarily a calculation.
What else should I read alongside sic code?
Business credit report, Restricted industry, Stips, Underwriting.
Has this definition been checked?
Not yet. This entry is drafted and live, and the notice at the top says so. Confirm anything you are about to act on.
Is this legal advice?
No. It is a definition. What a clause does in your contract, in your state, is a question for a lawyer licensed where you are.
Can I suggest a term?
Yes — [email protected]. The glossary grows from what people are actually shown in contracts.