Other professional, scientific and technical activities (SIC division 74)
Division 74 of the UK SIC 2007 list. It holds 10 codes, listed in full below with the number of active UK companies filed under each.
What sits in division 74
This is the public record's professional services odds and ends. Code 74909 covers other professional, scientific and technical activities not elsewhere classified. It is a true catch-all, picked when nothing else fits. A list built on it mixes unrelated trades and needs careful filtering. Code 74990 is different again. Companies House labels it non-trading company, and it mostly marks entities with little value to a seller. The cleaner segments are easy to name: 74100 for specialised design, 74901 for environmental consulting, 74902 for quantity surveying, 74300 for translation, and 74201, 74202 and 74209 for photography.
Work this division code by code. Designers under 74100 buy creative software, hardware and portfolio services. Construction firms and insurance providers sell to quantity surveyors. Environmental consultants buy training, accreditation and tender-alert services. Photographers buy kit, insurance and booking tools. Skip 74990 altogether. Treat 74909 as a research pile, never as one audience. Across the useful codes, a new incorporation plus the poor-website filter points to a freelancer formalising the business. That is a good moment for accountants and insurers to introduce themselves.
How to read a division 74 code
A UK SIC code is five digits and division 74 is the first two of them. Everything filed under 74 shares those digits: all 10 codes below begin 74, then the third digit narrows to a group, the fourth to a class and the fifth to the subclass a company actually picks. Division 74 sits inside section M, professional, scientific and technical activities, which is the broadest tier of the classification. So a code is read left to right, from an industry down to a specific activity.
More on how division 74 codes are built
Companies choose their own codes at incorporation and can change them on any confirmation statement, and Companies House does not check the answer. A company may list up to four. That is worth knowing before you treat any division total as a headcount: the numbers here are what companies said about themselves, on the August 2026 register, and the largest single code in this division is 74909, other professional, scientific and technical activities n.e.c..
Working division 74 as a list
Division 74 holds 10 codes and 215,995 active companies between them. 74909 is the largest at 37 per cent and the top three take 79 per cent, with the rest spread across the remaining 7 codes. That is balanced enough that the division is a reasonable unit to work, though the leading code alone will usually give you a cleaner list.
More on working division 74
A caveat that matters more in some divisions than others: a company may register up to four SIC codes, and the figures below count every position, not just the first. A business filed under two codes in this division appears under both. Treat the totals as reach rather than a headcount, and if you need a clean list, filter to companies whose FIRST code sits in the division. Every company you pull carries the Companies House record, the director's name, a verified website and a verified email, and the ones we cannot complete are not charged.
Every SIC code in division 74
74100, Specialised design activities74201, Portrait photographic activities74202, Other specialist photography74203, Film processing74209, Photographic activities not elsewhere classified74300, Translation and interpretation activities74901, Environmental consulting activities74902, Quantity surveying activities74909, Other professional, scientific and technical activities n.e.c.74990, Non-trading companyProspecting this division
Division 74 companies, as leads
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Division 74 questions
What does SIC code 74990 actually mean?
On the UK register, 74990 is labelled non-trading company. It marks an entity that exists but is not carrying on business. That is different from the dormant code 99999. Like any SIC code, it is self-declared. If your company starts trading, update the code on your next confirmation statement (CS01) to something descriptive. There is no approval process, and you can list up to 4 codes.
My business does not fit any SIC code cleanly. Should I use 74909?
Code 74909 exists for professional and technical activities not elsewhere classified. It is a legitimate choice when nothing else matches. Check the full condensed SIC list first. A specific code makes your company easier for customers, lenders and directories to place. You can also combine codes. Companies House permits up to 4, changeable at any confirmation statement.
Find companies across division 74
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