In brief
- WZ 2008 assigns every economic activity to one of 839 five-digit codes.
- A business has one code – that of its main activity. Secondary activities cannot be found via the code.
- Everyday terms such as “skilled trades”, “industry” or “online shop” are not economic activities.
- WZ 2025 has existed since 2025; for now, both editions apply side by side.
Structure: five levels from letter to subclass
The Klassifikation der Wirtschaftszweige, Ausgabe 2008 (classification of economic activities, 2008 edition) is Germany’s official classification of industries. According to the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), it follows the European NACE Revision 2, published with Regulation (EC) No 1893/2006.
Scroll the table sideways.
| Level | Notation | Example | WZ 2008 | WZ 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Section | letter | F Construction | 21 | 22 |
| Division | two digits | 43 Specialised construction activities | 88 | 87 |
| Group | three digits | 43.2 Electrical, plumbing and other construction installation activities | 272 | 287 |
| Class | four digits | 43.22 Plumbing, heat and air-conditioning installation | 615 | 651 |
| Subclass | five digits | 43.22.0 (same title) | 839 | 983 |
The examples in the table refer to WZ 2008. The deeper the level, the more precise the target group – and the more important the question of whether the data source actually knows the code to that level of detail.
One business, one code
The classification assigns each unit according to its main activity. For target group lists, this has three consequences that regularly come as a surprise in practice:
- Secondary activities are invisible. A car dealership with a workshop is classified under trade or under repair, not both. If you only ask for workshops, you will not get the dealerships’ workshops – see car dealers and repair shops.
- The sales channel is not an economic activity. A manufacturer with its own web shop remains a manufacturer. Class 47.91 “retail sale via mail order houses or via internet” only contains retailers whose main business is there – more under online shops and mail-order retailers.
- Holding companies are classified elsewhere. The parent company of a mechanical engineering group may be classified as a holding company (64.2) or under “activities of head offices” (70.1) and is then missing from a mechanical engineering list.
When the everyday term has no code
Scroll the table sideways.
| You are looking for | In WZ 2008 | What to watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| “Tradespeople” (Handwerker) | no branch of its own; construction and building completion are in section F (41–43) | Handwerk (skilled trades) is a term of the German Crafts Code. Bakers are under food products (10), motor vehicle businesses under trade (45), hairdressers under personal services (96.02). |
| “Industry” | section C manufacturing (10–33) | also includes craft bakeries and contract manufacturers with few employees |
| “Freight forwarder” | 52.29.1 freight forwarding (Spedition) | Businesses that drive themselves are under 49.41 freight transport by road. |
| “Property management” | 68.32 management of real estate on a fee or contract basis | Estate agents are 68.31; many offices do both. |
| “Tax adviser” | 69.20.3 practices of tax agents and tax advisers, tax advisory firms | Bookkeeping offices are 69.20.4. |
| “Restaurant” | 56.10 restaurants, inns, snack bars, cafés, ice cream parlours and the like | no official distinction between restaurant and snack bar |
| “Specialist doctor for …” | 86.22 specialist medical practice activities | no breakdown by specialty |
Where a business’s code comes from
In Germany there is no public register in which you can look up the WZ code of a particular business. The statistical offices keep the code in the statistical business register; its individual records are subject to statistical confidentiality. The commercial register only knows the object of the company as free text (see German Commercial Register: Which Company Data Is Public).
In a company list, the WZ code is therefore always an assignment made by the provider – derived from the object of the company, from the self-description on the website or from information provided by the business. Ask how the assignment is made, to which digit it goes and how many records have no code. The firmenkontaktdaten.de export includes a “WZ code” column where the code can be derived from the source; an empty field is not filled with a guess (structure of the export).
WZ 2025: what changes
WZ 2025 was introduced on 1 January 2025. It is based on NACE Rev. 2.1 and, according to the Federal Statistical Office, generally replaces WZ 2008; it is being introduced into the individual statistics in stages, and both classifications apply in parallel until the changeover is complete.
For working with lists, this means: codes from both editions look the same but do not always mean the same thing. A list should state which edition it refers to. The industries on firmenkontaktdaten.de are defined according to WZ 2008.
The 15 firmenkontaktdaten.de industries and their WZ positions
Scroll the table sideways.
| Industry | WZ 2008 |
|---|---|
| Business and consulting services | M 69, M 70, M 73 |
| Construction and trades | F 41, F 42, F 43 |
| Manufacturing and industry | C 10–33 |
| Real estate and property management | L 68 |
| Energy, water and waste | D 35, E 36–39 |
| Hospitality and tourism | I 55, I 56, N 79 |
| Agriculture and food | A 01–03, C 10–11 |
| Transport and logistics | H 49–53 |
| IT, software and technology | J 62, J 63 |
| Architecture and engineering offices | M 71 |
| Healthcare and wellness | Q 86–88, S 96 |
| Finance and insurance | K 64–66 |
| Municipalities and public institutions | O 84 |
| Automotive and car services | G 45 |
| E-commerce and online retail | G 47.91 |
Each industry page states which groups and classes it includes, which public registers exist in the industry and which information a list does not contain. The overview: Company addresses by industry.
How to describe a target group in a request
- Activity, not label. “Businesses that install heating systems” is more precise than “plumbing and heating trade”.
- Code as deep as necessary. Give the class or subclass if you know it, and say what you mean by it.
- Name exclusions. Holding companies, asset-holding companies, operating companies without staff.
- Region by registered address. The assignment to federal state and district follows the business address, not the area of operation.
- Ask about the fuzziness. How many records have no code, and how many only a two-digit one?
Frequently asked questions
What is a WZ code?
The code of an economic activity in the German “Klassifikation der Wirtschaftszweige” (classification of economic activities) published by the Federal Statistical Office. The 2008 edition (WZ 2008) has five levels: section (letter), division (two digits), group (three), class (four) and subclass (five digits).
Is WZ 2008 the same as NACE?
Not quite. WZ 2008 is based on the European NACE Rev. 2, which ends at the four-digit level; the fifth digit – the subclass – is a German addition. Four-digit codes are therefore generally comparable with those of other EU countries.
Does WZ 2008 still apply, or already WZ 2025?
Both. WZ 2025 was introduced on 1 January 2025 and is being applied to the individual statistics in stages; according to Destatis, both classifications apply in parallel until the changeover is complete. For every list, ask which edition the codes refer to.
How do I find the WZ code of my target group?
Work from the top down: first determine the section, then the division, group and class. Destatis provides the structure and a keyword index (in German). Then describe what the business you are looking for actually does – not what the industry is called in everyday language.
Is the WZ code in the commercial register?
No. The commercial register contains the object of the company as free text, but no industry code. In a company list, the code is therefore an assignment from other sources and may be missing.
As of 11 October 2026. Titles and figures according to the publications of the Federal Statistical Office, retrieved on the same day.
