The safest workflow is to start broad, compare nearby siblings and only then choose the five-digit subclass that best matches the real activity.
This page is part of an independent reference site. Verify critical tax, registration, legal or reporting decisions against the current official PSA, BSP or BIR source that applies to your workflow.
Describe what the business actually does, what it sells or delivers and where revenue mainly comes from. That practical wording is usually better than a broad label like trade, services or manufacturing.
Use the section, division, group and class hubs to narrow the search. The goal is not to stop early, but to reach the most specific subclass that still matches the business honestly.
Before using a code in a filing or onboarding workflow, compare the sibling subclasses on the same page. The right answer is often in the boundary between two similar labels.
Start from the real activity, products or services first. Broad sector labels are useful for orientation, but the final subclass should match the actual work being done.
Most PSIC mistakes happen at the boundary between similar subclasses. Checking siblings helps you see which wording is closer to the business reality.
No. PSIC is a statistical classification of economic activity. It can appear in administrative workflows, but it is not the same thing as a trade name or a permit label.