Overview
A NAICS code API built from the Census Bureau's NAICS 2022 files and the SBA Table of Size Standards. Every one of the 2,125 codes, from the 20 sectors down to the 6-digit national industries, comes with its official title and description, its parent and full hierarchy, its children and whether it is shared with Canada and Mexico. On paid plans, six-digit codes carry the SBA size standard in receipts or employees, with any exceptions. Keyword search ranks codes by hits in the title, the 20,000 Census index entries and the description. Paid plans add details=true: the index entries, the cross-references to related codes and the NAICS 2017 codes each 2022 code replaced, plus batches of up to 500 codes.
Live Test NAICS Lookup Skill Skill →
The tool
Once your client is connected to the VerveKit server, this appears in its tool list as NAICSLookupSkill. It is read-only and open-world — it fetches and never mutates anything on your side — so most clients call it without asking you to confirm.
{
"name": "NAICSLookupSkill",
"arguments": {}
}Connecting
One server URL covers every skill in the catalog, including this one. Authorization is OAuth: the client opens a browser once, and there is no key to paste into a config file.
{
"mcpServers": {
"vervekit": {
"url": "https://api.vervekit.com/v1/mcp"
}
}
}https://api.vervekit.com/v1/mcpPer-client setup — Claude, Cursor, VS Code, ChatGPT — is on the MCP setup page.
Arguments
These are the properties on the tool's inputSchema, so a well-behaved client validates them before the call is made. Premium arguments are accepted on every plan but only take effect on plans that include them.
| Argument | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
codeOptional | string | One NAICS code, or several separated by commas (up to 10 on Free, 500 on paid plans) length 0–4000 |
searchOptional | string | Keywords to search titles, index terms and descriptions length 0–200 |
levelOptional | integer | Only return codes at this level when searching (2 to 6 digits)23456 |
detailsOptionalPremium | boolean | Include index terms, cross-references and the NAICS 2017 concordance |
limitOptional | integer | Maximum search results (1-50) default 10 · range 1–50 |
What the model gets back
The result carries a structuredContent object matching the tool's declared outputSchema, so a client reads fields without parsing prose. status is "ok" and error is null on success; a null field means the value was not available for that input, not that the call failed.
{
"status": "ok",
"error": null,
"data": {
"count": 1,
"results": [
{
"code": "541511",
"title": "Custom Computer Programming Services",
"level": 6,
"levelName": "national_industry",
"trilateral": false,
"description": "This U.S. industry comprises establishments primarily engaged in writing, modifying, testing, and supporting software to meet the needs of a particular customer.",
"parent": {
"code": "54151",
"title": "Computer Systems Design and Related Services"
},
"hierarchy": [
{
"code": "54",
"title": "Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services",
"level": 2,
"levelName": "sector"
},
{
"code": "541",
"title": "Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services",
"level": 3,
"levelName": "subsector"
},
{
"code": "5415",
"title": "Computer Systems Design and Related Services",
"level": 4,
"levelName": "industry_group"
},
{
"code": "54151",
"title": "Computer Systems Design and Related Services",
"level": 5,
"levelName": "industry"
},
{
"code": "541511",
"title": "Custom Computer Programming Services",
"level": 6,
"levelName": "national_industry"
}
],
"children": [],
"sizeStandard": {
"revenueMillions": 34,
"employees": null,
"summary": "$34M average annual receipts",
"exceptions": []
},
"indexTerms": [
"Applications software programming services, custom computer",
"Computer program or software development, custom",
"Computer programming services, custom",
"Computer software analysis and design services, custom",
"Computer software programming services, custom",
"Computer software support services, custom"
],
"crossReferences": [
{
"text": "Software design, development, and publishing, or software publishing only--are classified in Industry 513210, Software Publishers;",
"codes": [
"513210"
]
},
{
"text": "Providing computing infrastructure, data processing services, Web hosting services (except software publishing), and related services, including streaming support services (except streaming distribution services)--are classified in Industry 518210, Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services; and",
"codes": [
"518210"
]
},
{
"text": "Planning and designing computer systems that integrate computer hardware, software, and communication technologies, even though such establishments may provide custom software as an integral part of their services--are classified in U.S. Industry 541512, Computer Systems Design Services.",
"codes": [
"541512"
]
}
],
"naics2017": [
{
"code": "541511",
"title": "Custom Computer Programming Services"
}
]
}
],
"notFound": []
}
}
Response fields
Paths are relative to data. Premium fields are absent rather than zeroed on plans that do not include them, so check for presence instead of comparing to 0.
| Field | Type | Example | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
count | number | 1 | Number of codes returned |
results | array[1] | ||
results.0.code | string | 541511 | NAICS 2022 code (2 to 6 digits, or a sector range such as 31-33) |
results.0.title | string | Custom Computer Programming Services | Official title |
results.0.level | number | 6 | Number of digits: 2 sector, 3 subsector, 4 industry group, 5 industry, 6 national industry |
results.0.levelName | string | national_industry | sector, subsector, industry_group, industry or national_industry |
results.0.trilateral | boolean | false | The code and title are shared by the US, Canada and Mexico |
results.0.description | string | This U.S. industry comprises establishments primarily engaged in writing, modifying, testing, and su… | Official Census description of what the code covers |
results.0.parent | object | {…} | The code one level up ({code, title}); null for sectors |
results.0.parent.code | string | 54151 | Parent code |
results.0.parent.title | string | Computer Systems Design and Related Services | Parent title |
results.0.hierarchy | array[5] | Path from the sector down to this code: code, title, level, levelName | |
results.0.hierarchy.0.code | string | 54 | |
results.0.hierarchy.0.title | string | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | |
results.0.hierarchy.0.level | number | 2 | |
results.0.hierarchy.0.levelName | string | sector | |
results.0.children | array | [] | Codes one level down: code, title |
results.0.sizeStandardPremium | object | {…} | SBA small-business size standard (6-digit codes); null above that level |
results.0.sizeStandard.revenueMillionsPremium | number | 34 | Average annual receipts limit in millions of US dollars; null when the standard is in employees |
results.0.sizeStandard.employeesPremium | object | null | Employee limit; null when the standard is in receipts |
results.0.sizeStandard.summaryPremium | string | $34M average annual receipts | The standard in words, e.g. $34M average annual receipts |
results.0.sizeStandard.exceptionsPremium | array | [] | Activities with their own standard under this code: activity, revenueMillions, employees, summary |
results.0.indexTermsPremium | array | ["Applications software programming services, custom computer","Computer program or software development, custom","Computer programming services, custom"] | Census index entries classified under this code (details=true) |
results.0.crossReferencesPremium | array[3] | Activities classified elsewhere, each with text and the codes it points to (details=true) | |
results.0.crossReferences.0.textPremium | string | Software design, development, and publishing, or software publishing only--are classified in Industr… | |
results.0.crossReferences.0.codesPremium | array | ["513210"] | |
results.0.naics2017Premium | array[1] | NAICS 2017 codes this code came from: code, title (details=true) | |
results.0.naics2017.0.codePremium | string | 541511 | |
results.0.naics2017.0.titlePremium | string | Custom Computer Programming Services | |
notFound | array | [] | Requested codes that do not exist in NAICS 2022 |
Failure modes
Errors come back as tool errors carrying a sentence the model can act on, not a bare status code. Error handling covers the full list.
| Status | What it means |
|---|---|
400 / 422 | The arguments did not validate. The message names the offending one. |
401 | The OAuth session is invalid or expired — reconnect the server. |
403 | Blocked by a key restriction or an IP allow-list. Never a bad identity. |
404 | This skill is not part of VerveKit. Check the catalog. |
429 | Out of credits, or a brief rate limit. The message tells them apart. |
A call costs 2 credits each time the tool actually runs; a model that reasons about the tool without calling it costs nothing.
Use cases
- Business Onboarding
- Let applicants search for their industry in plain words and store the matching 6-digit NAICS code.
- Government Contracting
- Check a company against the SBA small-business size standard for the NAICS code on a solicitation.
- Data Normalisation
- Expand stored NAICS codes into titles, sectors and hierarchy for reporting and segmentation.
- Code Migration
- Map records coded under NAICS 2017 to their 2022 successors using the concordance.
Other ways to use NAICS Lookup Skill
Set up NAICS Lookup Skill on VerveKit, or reach the same source a different way. Your VerveKit account and credits work on all of them — one key, one balance.
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