Social work activities without accommodation (SIC division 88)
Division 88 of the UK SIC 2007 list. It holds 3 codes, listed in full below with the number of active UK companies filed under each.
What sits in division 88
Community-based care registers in division 88. Domiciliary and day care for older and disabled people sits under 88100. Child day-care providers use 88910, and that includes many private nurseries and childminding businesses. Code 88990 gathers other non-residential social work. That covers family support services, charities' operating companies and supported employment schemes. The division blends commercial home care agencies with voluntary sector organisations. Legal form varies a lot as a result, from ordinary private companies to companies limited by guarantee and community interest companies.
Home care agencies under 88100 buy heavily. They need care worker recruitment, rostering and medication management software, franchise systems and help with regulatory registration. A new incorporation often means a franchisee starting up, or an experienced care manager going out alone. Nurseries and day-care settings buy premises fit-outs, parent communication apps and payroll built for shift staff. Councils and funders shape much of the revenue, so tender alert services sell well here. Separate commercial from voluntary entities early. Grant-funded organisations buy on completely different cycles.
How to read a division 88 code
A UK SIC code is five digits and division 88 is the first two of them. Everything filed under 88 shares those digits: all 3 codes below begin 88, then the third digit narrows to a group, the fourth to a class and the fifth to the subclass a company actually picks. Division 88 sits inside section Q, human health and social work, 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 88 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 88990, other social work activities without accommodation n.e.c..
Working division 88 as a list
Division 88 holds 3 codes and 45,703 active companies between them. One code carries most of it: 88990 accounts for 53 per cent on its own, and the other 2 codes account for the rest. Filtering by the whole division is therefore close to filtering by 88990 with a tail attached, so start from the code and widen only if the list runs dry.
More on working division 88
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.
Prospecting this division
Division 88 companies, as leads
Tell us who you sell to. We find them, with a real email. 25 free leads, no card.
Division 88 questions
Should a home care agency use 88100 or a division 87 code?
If care is delivered in clients' own homes, 88100 is correct. Division 87 codes describe residential settings, where people live on the provider's premises. The split matters when you build a list. The two models face different regulatory requirements, carry different costs and buy different things. Codes are self-declared and changeable on any confirmation statement (CS01), with up to 4 allowed per company.
Which SIC code fits a private nursery, 88910 or 85100?
Both turn up in practice. Code 85100 leans towards pre-primary education. Code 88910 leans towards day care. Many settings genuinely do both. Companies House does not adjudicate, so directors pick whichever fits, or list both within the allowance of up to 4. Whatever code you choose, providing regulated childcare still needs registration with Ofsted or the equivalent national regulator.
Find companies across division 88
✓ No card · ✓ 25 free leads · ✓ Cancel anytime