A Croatian company business activity code is a short number that tells the state what your company mainly does. Every company in Croatia has one. Most founders first see it on a form and assume it controls everything their company may do. It does not. Knowing what the code does, and what it leaves alone, saves you from two common mistakes: panicking over a code that looks wrong, and trusting a code to protect you when it cannot.
If you are starting a Croatian business, or you already have one and just noticed your activity code changed, you have probably run into three different things all called “activity” and no clear explanation of how they relate.
This guide sorts that out: what your business activity code actually is, what changed under NKD 2025, what your company is legally allowed to do, and which activities need a licence before you start.
Hi, My name is Šime Jozipović, founder and CEO of Mandracchio Capital. I am a business lawyer based in Croatia, holding an LL.M. from Harvard Law School and a doctorate in international tax planning, with over 10 years of experience advising international clients on market entry and structuring.
What is a Croatian company business activity code
In Croatian, the business activity code is called šifra djelatnosti. It comes from the National Classification of Activities, known as NKD. The current version, NKD 2025, has applied since 1 January 2025 under the Decision published in Narodne novine 47/24.
Each company receives one main code. That code reflects the company’s principal activity. A software company gets a programming code. A consultancy gets a consulting code. Under NKD 2025, the code has five digits instead of the old four. The first four digits match the EU classification. The fifth digit is a Croatian national subdivision.
You do not apply for the code separately. If you incorporate remotely through the government’s START platform, registration in the Register of Business Entities and code assignment happen inside the incorporation procedure. The platform sends your data to the Bureau electronically. When we incorporate a company for a client at Mandracchio Capital, the code arrives as part of that process, not as an extra step the founder has to chase.
Your code does not decide what your company may legally do. That job belongs to your company’s business purpose, set in the founding documents under the Companies Act. I cover that in detail further down.
Here is a typical case. A founder registers a software company, then starts selling online courses on the side. The courses sit under a different activity classification. The founder worries the company is now operating illegally. It is not. The statistical code has no power to forbid the course sales. The real question is whether the company’s business purpose covers them, and that question has a clear legal answer.
List of business activity codes for your business
The fastest way to find your Croatian company business activity code is the Croatian Bureau of Statistics NKD 2025 browser. You can search by keyword or walk down the tree from section to subclass. The Bureau also publishes the full NKD 2025 structure as a PDF if you prefer to scan the whole list.
Every code below has five digits. The first four match the EU classification. The fifth digit is 0 unless Croatia created a national subclass. The official names are in Croatian, so I have added a plain English description next to each one.
Remember one rule while you read. Your company receives one main code, based on its principal activity. The other codes show where related work sits. They are not a shopping list you must register in full.
Software, IT and SaaS
Software businesses moved in 2025. Computer programming now sits in section K, not section J. The old programming class was also split in two.
| Code | Official Croatian name | What it covers in practice |
|---|---|---|
| 62.10.9 | Ostalo računalno programiranje | Custom software, SaaS development, web and app development |
| 62.10.1 | Programiranje videoigara | Video game development |
| 62.20.0 | Računalno savjetovanje i djelatnosti upravljanja računalnom opremom | IT consulting, systems planning, managing clients’ IT systems |
| 62.90.0 | Ostale uslužne djelatnosti u vezi s informacijskom tehnologijom i računalima | Other IT services, such as software installation and IT support |
| 58.29.0 | Ostalo izdavanje softvera | Publishing your own software product, including licensing |
| 63.10.0 | Računalna infrastruktura, obrada podataka, usluge poslužitelja | Hosting, data processing, cloud infrastructure |
Here is where founders slip. Picture two friends who both “make software.” One builds booking platforms for hotels. The other builds mobile games. Before 2025, both had the same code. Now the first founder sits in 62.10.9 and the second in 62.10.1. If your code shows the wrong one, contact the Bureau. It takes one request, and it keeps your statistical profile accurate.
Digital marketing, advertising and content
Marketing codes gained one useful change. Public relations moved out of management consulting and into its own class, 73.30.
| Code | Official Croatian name | What it covers in practice |
|---|---|---|
| 73.11.0 | Djelatnosti agencija za promidžbu | Advertising agencies: campaigns, creative, performance marketing |
| 73.12.0 | Oglašavanje putem medija | Selling or buying advertising space and media representation |
| 73.20.0 | Istraživanje tržišta i ispitivanje javnog mnijenja | Market research and opinion polling |
| 73.30.0 | Odnosi s javnošću i djelatnosti priopćavanja | Public relations and communications |
| 74.12.0 | Djelatnosti grafičkog dizajna i vizualnih komunikacija | Graphic design, branding, visual identity |
| 60.39.0 | Ostale djelatnosti distribucije sadržaja | Other content distribution activities |
| 63.92.0 | Ostale informacijske uslužne djelatnosti | Other information services |
One boundary matters for agencies that also code. The Bureau’s own guidance places website creation combined with programming under 62.10.9, not under graphic design. A design studio that builds full websites for clients may therefore sit closer to the software table than this one.
Consulting and professional services
This is where many of our clients at Mandracchio Capital land. Croatia added national subclasses here, so the fifth digit carries real meaning.
| Code | Official Croatian name | What it covers in practice |
|---|---|---|
| 70.20.0 | Savjetovanje u vezi s poslovanjem i ostalim upravljanjem | Business and management consulting |
| 69.20.1 | Računovodstvene i knjigovodstvene djelatnosti | Accounting and bookkeeping |
| 69.20.2 | Revizijske djelatnosti | Audit |
| 69.20.3 | Porezno savjetovanje | Tax advisory |
| 69.10.2 | Djelatnosti odvjetnika | Services of lawyers |
| 74.30.1 | Djelatnosti pismenog prevođenja | Written translation |
| 74.30.2 | Djelatnosti usmenog prevođenja | Interpreting |
A code in this table does not grant the right to practise. Lawyers, auditors and tax advisers work in regulated professions, and each has its own entry requirements. The code only classifies the work once you meet them.
Transport and logistics
Transport shows the difference between a code and a permission better than any other sector. The code costs nothing. The right to operate does.
| Code | Official Croatian name | What it covers in practice |
|---|---|---|
| 49.41.0 | Cestovni prijevoz robe | Road freight transport |
| 49.42.0 | Usluge preseljenja | Removal and moving services |
| 49.33.0 | Uslužne djelatnosti prijevoza putnika vozilom s vozačem na zahtjev | On-demand passenger transport with a driver, such as ride-hailing |
| 49.32.0 | Povremeni cestovni prijevoz putnika | Occasional road passenger transport, such as charter coaches |
Road transport in Croatia runs under EU Regulation 1071/2009 and the Croatian Road Transport Act. Operators need a certificate of professional competence, issued through the Croatian Chamber of Economy or the Croatian Chamber of Trades and Crafts. Licence applications for international and domestic road transport can be filed online through START Plus. The Bureau will assign you 49.41.0 regardless. Your trucks still stay parked until the licence arrives.
Do not confuse your activity code with the KPD code. KPD 2025 classifies products and services, and those codes appear on individual invoice lines. One company has one main activity code but can use several KPD codes, one for each type of item it sells. A software company coded 62.10.9, for example, might invoice development work and a licence sale under two different KPD codes.
Regulated vs unregulated business activities
Every Croatian company business activity code falls into one of two groups. Some activities you can start the day your company is registered. Others need a licence or permit first. Your code does not tell you which group you are in. The law behind your activity does.
Unregulated activities (most digital businesses)
The Croatian Companies Act starts from freedom. Under Article 32, a company may carry out any activity that is not prohibited by law or contrary to morals. No licence is the default.
Most digital businesses sit here:
- Software development, SaaS and app development
- IT consulting and IT support
- Digital marketing, advertising and graphic design
- Business and management consulting
- E-commerce selling ordinary consumer goods
For these activities, registration is the only gate. Once the commercial court registers your company, you can sign clients and send invoices.
Unregulated does not mean obligation-free. You still register for VAT once you cross the threshold, keep books to Croatian standards, and follow data protection rules. Those are compliance duties, not permissions to trade.
Regulated activities that need a licence or permit
The Companies Act recognises two kinds of permission. They work differently, so it helps to know which one you face.
The first is a consent for the activity itself. Under Articles 32(4) and 34(3), where a special law allows an activity only with a consent, permit or other act of a competent authority, the company may perform it only after obtaining that act. This part of the business purpose goes into the main book of the Commercial Register, and the court enters it only on the basis of the authority’s prior consent.
The second is a consent to start operating. Under Article 32(3), some activities need a decision confirming that the company meets technical, health, environmental or other conditions. The company may start as soon as it obtains that decision. The decision is not entered in the Commercial Register.
Four examples show what “regulated” means in practice:
| Activity | What you need before you start |
|---|---|
| Real estate brokerage | Entry in the Register of Real Estate Agents kept by the Croatian Chamber of Economy, at least one employed licensed agent, and liability insurance of at least €26,544.56 per claim and €79,633.69 for all claims per insurance period |
| Travel agency | At least one employed operations manager, a regulated profession requiring a certification exam and the consent of the minister responsible for tourism |
| Road transport | A certificate of professional competence under EU Regulation 1071/2009, plus a transport licence, which can be applied for through START Plus |
| Transport agency activity | A licence carrying an administrative fee of €139.36 under Narodne novine 156/22 |
Financial services, crypto-asset services, private security, construction, healthcare and accredited education also fall into this group. Each has its own supervisor and its own entry test.
Picture a founder who registers a company for “property services.” She plans to manage short-term rentals and, later, help owners sell their flats. The rental management part may need no brokerage licence. The moment she starts matching buyers with sellers for a commission, she is doing real estate brokerage. That part needs the register entry, the employed agent and the insurance first. Same company, same business code family, two very different legal positions.
How to tell which category yours falls into
You can check your own activity in four steps.
- Find your code. Look it up in the Croatian Bureau of Statistics NKD 2025 browser, as described above. The code tells you where your work sits, but not whether it is regulated.
- Check the Point of Single Contact. The government’s Point of Single Contact lists sectoral requirements by activity and regulated profession. It also explains the rules for EU and EEA businesses providing services in Croatia.
- Search for a special law. If your activity has its own act, such as the Real Estate Brokerage Act or the Road Transport Act, it is almost certainly regulated. The act names the authority and the conditions.
- Ask the relevant chamber. The Croatian Chamber of Economy and the Croatian Chamber of Trades and Crafts keep many of the registers for regulated activities.
A quick rule of thumb helps too. If your business handles other people’s money, moves people or goods, brokers property, sells package travel, affects health or safety, or issues recognised qualifications, assume a licence applies until you confirm otherwise.
At Mandracchio Capital, we run this check before we draft a client’s founding documents. It costs far less to find a licence requirement before incorporation than after a lease is signed and a team is hired.
How to choose the correct business activities
Choosing your activities is a legal decision first and a statistical one second. Your business purpose decides what the company may do. Your Croatian company business activity code follows from that purpose and from what the company actually does. Get the purpose right, and the code usually takes care of itself.
Start from what the company will actually do
Begin with one question: where will your revenue come from in the first 12 to 24 months?
Write that down in plain words before you look at any code. “We build booking software for hotels and charge a monthly subscription” is a better starting point than any list copied from another company. Then match each revenue stream to its activity.
The Companies Act gives you two ways to set the business purpose. Under Article 33(2), you can list the activities the company intends to perform, or you can use a general clause without listing them. Either route is valid. The right choice depends on how settled your business model is.
Main activity vs additional activities
Your company has one main activity code. The Croatian Bureau of Statistics assigns it based on your principal activity, meaning the work that brings in most of your business.
Your business purpose can cover more than that. A software company might list programming, IT consulting and software publishing. The Bureau still records only one main code. The other activities stay part of the company’s legal scope.
The law also gives you some room beyond your list. Under Article 35(2), a company may carry out other activities that serve its main work, where they are performed on a smaller scale or customarily alongside it. A software company that runs occasional training for its own clients does not need a separate training activity for that.
If your main activity changes over time, your code should change too. A company that starts as a consultancy and grows into a software business should ask the Bureau to reclassify it once software becomes the principal source of revenue.
How broad a scope should you register
Founders usually make one of two mistakes. Some register a long list “just in case.” Others register one narrow activity and outgrow it within a year.
A broad scope has a real benefit. Changing the business purpose later requires a members’ resolution passed by the majority needed to amend the articles of association, a notary, and a filing with the registry court. A wider scope from day one can save you that step.
A broad scope also has limits:
- It does not replace a licence. Listing real estate brokerage in your purpose does not let you broker property. Regulated activities still need the authority’s prior consent.
- It can raise questions at the bank. Banks review your activities during account opening. A software company that also lists financial services or crypto-asset activities should expect extra questions.
- It can blur your profile. A focused scope tells banks, clients and tax authorities clearly what your business is.
My recommendation for most digital businesses is simple. Register your core activity, the two or three activities closest to it, and anything you realistically plan to add within 12 months. Leave out anything regulated until you are ready to apply for the licence.
When we prepare founding documents at Mandracchio Capital, we draft the business purpose from the founder’s business plan, not from a template. It takes one conversation, and it prevents most later amendments.
NKD 2025: what changed on 1 January 2025
Croatia replaced its activity classification at the start of 2025. If your company existed before then, your code has probably changed. If you are registering now, you will only ever see the new system.
The legal basis and the date
The Croatian Government adopted the Decision on the National Classification of Activities 2025, published in Narodne novine 47/24. It entered into force on 1 January 2025. It replaced NKD 2007, which had applied since 2008.
The Decision is the mandatory statistical standard for collecting, recording, processing and publishing statistical data in Croatia.
Alignment with NACE Rev. 2.1
NKD 2025 follows the EU’s updated classification, NACE Rev. 2.1. The two match exactly down to class level, which is the fourth digit.
The fifth digit is Croatian. It marks a national subclass, introduced with European Commission approval. Where Croatia created no national subdivision, the fifth digit is 0. Most codes end in 0 for this reason.
What changed for digital and software businesses
The biggest change for digital founders is a new section letter. The old section J, “Information and communication,” was split in two:
- Section J now covers publishing, broadcasting, and content production and distribution.
- Section K now covers telecommunications, computer programming, IT consulting, computing infrastructure and other information services.
A software company that sat in section J in 2024 now sits in section K.
Croatia also added national subclasses where the EU classification was too broad. Two examples matter here. Computer programming now splits into video game programming (62.10.1) and other computer programming (62.10.9). Engineering gained a separate subclass for geodetic and geoinformation services (71.12.1).
An overview of the activity sections
NKD 2025 has 22 sections, marked A to V. Use this as a quick map before you search the browser.
| Sections | What they cover |
|---|---|
| A to F | Agriculture, mining, manufacturing, energy, water and waste, construction |
| G to I | Wholesale and retail trade, transport and storage, accommodation and food service |
| J to K | Publishing and content (J); telecommunications, IT and computer services (K) |
| L to M | Financial and insurance services (L); real estate (M) |
| N to O | Professional, scientific and technical services (N); administrative and support services (O) |
| P to V | Public administration, education, health and social care, arts and recreation, other services, households as employers, extraterritorial bodies |
Can you invoice for something outside your registered activities
Yes. The contract is valid, and your client owes you the money. This is the question founders worry about most, so here is the full answer.
The Companies Act settles it in Article 35, in three layers:
- Your determined activities. A company may carry out the activities that make up its business purpose.
- Supporting activities. A company may also carry out other activities that serve its main work, where they are performed on a smaller scale or customarily alongside it.
- Everything else. Transactions a company concludes with third parties outside both of those categories remain valid.
Picture a web agency registered for programming and graphic design. A long-standing client asks it to organise a product launch event, a one-off job worth €8,000. Event organisation is not on the agency’s list. The agency can still sign the contract, send the invoice and collect payment. The client cannot refuse to pay on the ground that the activity was not registered.
A valid contract is not the whole story, though. Three limits apply.
- Regulated activities are different. If the work needs a licence, doing it without one breaks the special law that governs it. The contract may stand, but the company carries the regulatory exposure.
- The purpose must stay current. Under Article 34(1), a company must inform the registry court of every change to its business purpose. A one-off job does not change your purpose. A new service line that brings in regular revenue does.
- Your profile can drift. If the gap between your registered purpose and your real business grows, banks and auditors notice. Your Croatian company business activity code may also end up describing a business you no longer run.
My practical rule: one-off jobs outside your scope are fine. Once something becomes a regular revenue stream, amend the business purpose and check whether your main code still fits.
Activities that need a licence before you can start
For regulated activities, the order of steps matters. The licence comes first. The Commercial Register entry comes second. Trading comes last.
Two provisions of the Companies Act work together:
- Article 32(4): where a special law allows an activity only with a consent, permit or other act of a competent authority, only companies that obtain that act may perform it. The same applies where a law reserves an activity for certain company forms.
- Article 34(3): for these activities, the business purpose is entered in the main book of the Commercial Register, and the court makes the entry only on the basis of the authority’s prior consent.
In plain terms, you cannot register a regulated activity on the promise that the licence will follow. The court needs the consent in hand.
Worked examples
| Activity | Licence requirements |
|---|---|
| Real estate brokerage | Entry in the Register of Real Estate Agents kept by the Croatian Chamber of Economy; at least one real estate agent employed full-time, evidenced through the Croatian Pension Insurance Institute; liability insurance of at least €26,544.56 per claim and €79,633.69 for all claims per insurance period |
| Travel agency | At least one employed operations manager, a regulated profession requiring at least secondary education, a passed certification exam and the consent of the minister responsible for tourism |
| Road transport agency activity | A licence, with an administrative fee of €139.36 under Narodne novine 156/22 |
The brokerage example shows how licences often work in Croatia. The requirement is not only a document. It is people and cover: an employee with the right qualification and an insurance policy of a set minimum value. Founders who budget for the licence fee alone often miss the payroll and insurance costs that come with it.
How to check whether your own activity is regulated
Use three official sources:
- The Point of Single Contact. The government’s Point of Single Contact sets out sectoral requirements by activity and regulated profession, including the rules for businesses already established elsewhere in the EU or EEA.
- START Plus. The government e-service accepts online applications for certain licences, including international and domestic road transport and real estate brokerage.
- The relevant chamber. The Croatian Chamber of Economy and the Croatian Chamber of Trades and Crafts keep many of the registers for regulated activities and can confirm what applies.
If you are still unsure after these three checks, get advice before you incorporate. At Mandracchio Capital, we screen for licence requirements at the planning stage, because a licence discovered after the lease and the first hires is the expensive kind.
Mistakes I see foreign founders make
Four mistakes come up again and again in my work with foreign founders. Each one is easy to avoid at the planning stage and awkward to fix later.
Choosing a code that trips a bank’s risk model
Banks and payment providers read your activities during onboarding. Some codes attract extra checks. Financial services, crypto-asset services, gambling, and certain trading activities all sit high on a bank’s risk map.
I have seen account opening slow down by several weeks because a software company also listed activities it had no intention of pursuing. The company was low risk. Its registered profile was not.
Keep your registered activities close to your real business. If you genuinely need a higher-risk activity, prepare for the bank conversation before you apply, rather than during it.
Assuming the statistical code creates or restricts the right to trade
This is the most common misunderstanding of all. Founders treat the code as a licence. It is not.
The Act on the National Classification of Activities states that the classification applies for statistical purposes only and cannot be the basis for determining the rights or obligations of legal or natural persons. Your right to trade comes from your business purpose under the Companies Act, plus any licence a special law requires.
The “just in case” activity, and why it is not tax planning
Here is a real pattern I meet in Split. A client says: “I may buy a boat in the future, so let’s add a boat-related activity to my company now.”
It sounds harmless. It is also based on a misunderstanding of how Croatian tax works.
Croatia charges an annual vessel tax under the Local Taxes Act. Article 14 makes legal and natural persons who own a vessel liable, and the amount depends on three factors: the vessel’s length in metres, whether it has a cabin, and engine power in kilowatts. Article 15 then exempts vessels used to carry out a registered activity.
Read that exemption closely. It applies to vessels with which a registered activity is actually being carried out. Not to vessels owned by a company that once listed a nautical activity. The test looks at real use and real business, not at a line in the register.
So adding an activity “just in case” gives you nothing on its own. If the company never charters the boat, never invoices for it, and has no nautical business, the registered activity will not carry the exemption. What it will do is widen your company’s profile, and possibly raise questions with your bank.
This is the principle behind everything in this article. Croatian tax and regulatory treatment follows what your company genuinely does. The registered activity describes that reality. It cannot manufacture it.
How we help at Mandracchio Capital
Getting the activities right at formation costs one conversation. Fixing them later costs a notary, a court filing and time.
Our support covers four points:
- Activity selection at formation. We draft your business purpose from your business plan, then match it to the correct Croatian company business activity code.
- Regulated-activity screening before incorporation. We check whether any part of your plan needs a licence, so you learn it before you sign a lease or hire.
- Business purpose amendments after registration. If you pivot or add a service line, we prepare the members’ resolution and the filing with the registry court.
- Coordination with your accountant. Where a change affects VAT, reporting or payroll, we make sure your accountant is in the loop rather than finding out at year end.
The process on your side is simple. Send us a plain list of everything your business will do now and everything it may do within the next 12 to 24 months. We classify those activities and register them at the right scope.
You can read more on our company formation service page and in our guide to accounting and compliance after company registration.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to pick my activities before I incorporate
No, not in the way most founders fear. Article 33(2) of the Companies Act allows you to set the business purpose either by listing activities or by using a general clause without listing them. You are not locked in either way, because the purpose can be amended later.
If your model is still moving, register your core activity plus the two or three closest to it, and leave the rest open.
How many activities can I register, and does more cost more
There is no legal limit on the number of activities, and you do not pay a separate fee per activity. The list of activities is filed with the registry court as one document.
More activities cost nothing extra at registration. They can cost you attention later, during bank onboarding.
What happens if I invoice for something that isn’t on my list
The invoice stands and the contract is valid. Article 35(3) of the Companies Act states that transactions a company concludes with third parties outside its registered and supporting activities remain valid.
Two caveats. If the activity is regulated, you still need the licence. And if the work becomes a regular revenue stream, amend your business purpose.
Which activities need a licence before I can start
Real estate brokerage, travel agencies, road transport, financial services, crypto-asset services, private security, construction, healthcare and accredited education all sit in this group. So do many others.
Check your own activity in the government’s Point of Single Contact, which lists sectoral requirements by activity, and with the relevant professional chamber. Software, IT consulting, digital marketing and general business consulting normally need no licence.
Does my activity code affect my tax, my VAT, my contributions, or my ability to open a bank account
Your code does not set your tax rate. Corporate profit tax and the VAT registration threshold apply the same way regardless of code.
Where the code does matter is elsewhere: in statistical reporting, in occupational safety documentation, in sector-specific obligations, and in how banks assess your business at onboarding. Some incentive schemes also reference activity type.
Does the code affect how banks and payment processors see me
Yes. Banks, and providers such as Stripe, Wise and Revolut, use your registered activities as an input to their risk assessment.
A clean match between your code, your website and your invoices speeds onboarding. A mismatch, or a high-risk activity you never intended to pursue, invites questions and delay.
Did the codes change recently
Yes. NKD 2025 replaced NKD 2007 on 1 January 2025, under the Decision published in Narodne novine 47/24. Codes now have five digits instead of four.
Existing companies did not need to apply. The Croatian Bureau of Statistics reassigned codes across the Register of Business Entities. Around 18,000 entities whose code could not be determined clearly were emailed and asked to choose the most accurate code themselves.
