NACE 97 – Activities of Households as Employers of Domestic Personnel | Public Tenders

NACE 97 Households with domestic staff: classification, delineation and relevance for public procurement. Procurement-law positioning.

Definition: NACE 97 covers the activity of private households as employers of domestic personnel — including cooks, household helpers, gardeners, childminders, drivers and other domestic staff. This division has hardly any direct relevance in classical public procurement, since private households are not contracting authorities.

Legal basis: NACE Rev. 2 (Regulation (EC) No 1893/2006) · Last updated: January 2026

What does NACE 97 cover?

NACE 97 (Activities of households as employers of domestic personnel) classifies private households in their function as employers — an area without typical public-procurement relevance, but significant as a delineation criterion for related service areas.

Division 97 within Section T is broken down into one group:

Group	Title	Typical activities
97.0	Activities of households as employers of domestic personnel	Employment of housekeepers, cooks, gardeners, drivers, au pairs and childminders as private employers

This classification does not describe service undertakings but the function of the private household itself as an economic unit with an employer role. There is no further breakdown into classes.

Public Tenders: Scope of NACE 97

NACE 97 is not directly relevant in public procurement, since private households are not contracting authorities and the activity classified here (employment of domestic staff) does not constitute a market appearance towards third parties.

Indirect Points of Contact with the Public Sector

Although NACE 97 does not generate classical public contracts, the following links to procurement exist:

Household-related services as the subject of funding: Public bodies fund household-related services (e.g. via tax deductibility or employment promotion). Delineation from NACE 88 (social work) is relevant here.
Service agencies: Companies that supply domestic staff (NACE 78 — employment activities) are commissioned by private households and do not themselves fall under NACE 97.
Public official residences: The employment of staff in official residences (households serving state guests) may touch the boundary between NACE 97 and public administration.

Delineation from Similar Service Areas

Service	NACE classification
Domestic staff in private household	NACE 97
Household-related service undertakings (cleaning)	NACE 81
Childcare by undertakings	NACE 88
Recruitment and temporary work	NACE 78
Home care of older people	NACE 88

For Contracting Authorities and Bidders

Public Contracting Authorities

NACE 97 generates no procurement transactions in the procurement-law sense. The private household does not appear as a contracting authority. This classification is relevant for statistical purposes (national accounts) and for social-security and tax law (household-cheque procedure in Germany, service voucher in Austria).

Relevance for Bidders and Providers

Companies providing household-related services for private households (cleaning staff, care services, garden maintenance) do not themselves fall under NACE 97, but under the relevant company classification (NACE 81, NACE 78, NACE 88). These companies may, however, be contractors of public bodies where contracting authorities procure such services for their institutions.

Frequently Asked Questions on NACE 97

Why does NACE 97 exist if private households are not undertakings?
The NACE classification captures all economic activities, including those carried out by private households as employers. This is relevant for national-accounting statistics (gross value added, employment), even though these units are not classical market providers.

Can agencies for domestic staff receive public contracts?
Yes — recruitment agencies (NACE 78) or service undertakings offering cleaning and care (NACE 81, NACE 88) can receive public contracts. These undertakings do not themselves fall under NACE 97. Public institutions procure household-related services through these undertakings.

Is NACE 97 relevant for procurement statistics?
No — NACE 97 does not appear in procurement statistics as a bidder classification, since private households do not appear as bidders or contractors in public procurement procedures.

Navigation: NACE 97 in Context

NACE T – Activities of Households: Parent section
NACE 78 – Employment activities: Supply of domestic staff through agencies
NACE 81 – Services to buildings: Professional cleaning and caretaker services
NACE 88 – Social work activities: Social support services without accommodation
NACE 98 – Production/services by private households: Related classification

Last updated: January 2026
All information is provided without guarantee. For legally binding advice, please consult a law firm specialising in public procurement law.