A modern, open, AI-powered taxonomy for the nonprofit sector. Replacing outdated codes with a system people can actually use.
NOCS is the Nonprofit Organization Classification System — a free, open-source taxonomy designed to replace and modernize the aging NTEE code system used since the 1980s.
The National Taxonomy of Exempt Entities (NTEE) was designed over 40 years ago. It forces nonprofits into a single code, has wildly unbalanced categories (one code contains 35% of all nonprofits), and over 30% of organizations have no code assigned at all. Candid's Philanthropy Classification System (PCS) attempted to fix this but locked it behind a paywall.
NOCS is different. It's open, hierarchical (pick the level of detail that fits you), multi-label (up to 3 codes), and AI-assisted (every organization in the IRS database gets a classification, not just the 70% that NTEE covers).
160000 (Food & Nutrition sector) or 161000 (Food Banks & Distribution) or 161020 (Food Pantries). All are valid and unambiguous.Type what your organization does — use keywords, your mission, or a description. We'll suggest matching codes.
Click any sector to expand its focus areas and specific activities.
Every NTEE major category maps to one or more NOCS codes. Use this table to translate between systems.
| NTEE | NTEE Name | NOCS Code | NOCS Name |
|---|
Background, methodology, and how to use the classification system.
The nonprofit sector in the United States includes over 1.9 million tax-exempt organizations. Classifying these organizations allows funders to find grantees, researchers to study the sector, and the public to discover nonprofits that match their interests.
Since the 1980s, the primary classification system has been the National Taxonomy of Exempt Entities (NTEE), maintained by the National Center for Charitable Statistics (now part of Candid). While NTEE served its purpose for decades, it has significant limitations:
NOCS codes are assigned through a combination of:
AI-assigned codes include a confidence score. Codes with confidence below 70% are flagged for manual review.
NOCS uses a numeric hierarchical system with three levels:
| Sector | XX0000 | Broad classification |
| Focus Area | XXYY00 | Specific focus |
| Activity | XXYYZZ | Exact service type |
Every NOCS code is exactly 6 digits. Trailing zeros indicate classification at a broader level. 160000 = Food & Nutrition (sector), 161000 = Food Banks & Distribution (focus area), 161020 = Food Pantries (specific activity). No ambiguity — if you see 6 digits, it's a complete code.
Organizations may have up to 3 NOCS codes: one primary (required) and up to two secondary (optional). The primary code reflects the organization's core mission. Secondary codes capture other significant activities.
Example: Collier Resource Center provides case management (primary: 182000 Individual & Emergency Assistance), senior services (secondary: 200000 Aging & Senior Services), and disaster recovery (secondary: 232000 Disaster Recovery).
170000 Housing (primary), 270000 Veterans (secondary) — not the reverse. This ensures peer comparison groups are based on what orgs do.280000 as primary. Faith-based social service orgs (Catholic Charities, Lutheran Services) use the relevant service category as primary and 280000 as secondary.290000 regardless of the cause area funded. The cause area becomes a secondary code.The full NOCS taxonomy is available as:
CC BY 4.0 The NOCS taxonomy is released under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Anyone may use, share, and adapt the taxonomy for any purpose, including commercial use, provided attribution is given.
Suggested citation: NOCS — Nonprofit Organization Classification System, v1.0. Maintained by LCO Software Inc. Available at nocscode.org.
NOCS is maintained by LCO Software Inc. For questions, corrections, or to suggest improvements, contact us at nocs@lcosoftware.com.