NACE 97.0 – Activities of Households as Employers of Domestic Personnel | Public Tenders

NACE 97.0: Private households with domestic staff in public tenders. Marginal procurement relevance, special case of embassy staff and residences.

Definition: NACE 97.0 covers the employment of domestic personnel by private households, including cooks, household helpers, gardeners, babysitters, chauffeurs and similar domestic employees. Procurement relevance is minimal but exists in the context of embassy staff and public residences.

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

What does NACE 97.0 cover?

NACE 97.0 (Activities of households as employers of domestic personnel) classifies a specific form of employment — it is primarily a statistical concept and has only marginal direct relevance in public procurement.

Group 97.0 within Section T (Activities of Households) covers the following classes:

Class	Title	Typical employment forms
97.00	Activities of households as employers of domestic personnel	Cooks, household helpers, nannies, gardeners and chauffeurs in private service

In the NACE classification system, NACE 97.0 captures private households as "producers" of household services for their own use through employed personnel. This is conceptually distinct from commercial household services (NACE 88) or building cleaning (NACE 81.2).

Public Tenders: Scope of NACE 97.0

Direct public tenders under NACE 97.0 are exceptional — the most relevant use case is the employment of staff for public residences, embassy buildings and guest houses.

Specific Public Use Cases

Embassy staff: Some embassies and consulates directly employ household staff (cooks, drivers, cleaners) for residences of ambassadors and consular officers
State guest houses: The Federal Republic of Germany and the Republic of Austria maintain guest houses and residences for state visits, which are operated with domestic staff
Official residences: In particular service relationships (e.g. for the Federal President or Federal Chancellor), domestic staff may be employed as part of the office's appointments
Military residences: Commanders' quarters and military guest houses may employ domestic staff

Procurement-law Positioning

In most cases, this involves direct employment (no contractual relationship) or small service contracts below the procurement thresholds. The procurement relevance is therefore very low. Where household services are awarded to external undertakings, they typically fall under NACE 88 (social care) or NACE 81.2 (cleaning).

Relevant CPV Codes for Adjacent Procurement

CPV Code	Title	Scope
79620000	Supply services of personnel	Where external personnel is provided
90910000	Cleaning services	Domestic cleaning by service providers
60170000	Hire of passenger and commercial vehicles with driver	Chauffeur services
55300000	Restaurant and food-serving services	Catering for residences and guest houses

Who is NACE 97.0 relevant for in procurement?

Public Contracting Authorities

The Federal Foreign Office (embassy staff), the Office of the Federal President (Bellevue Palace), the Federal Government (Federal Chancellery) and corresponding bodies in Austria (Office of the Federal President, federal ministries) are the most relevant public bodies. These often involve direct employment within the framework of public service law, not procurement-relevant contract awards.

Special Feature: Diplomatic Employment Rules

Specific diplomatic immunity rules apply to embassy staff in Germany and Austria. Foreign embassies employing staff in Germany are subject to German employer duties, in so far as diplomatic immunity does not apply (Art. 33 ff. VCDR). Host-country public procurement law is generally not applicable to foreign embassies.

NACE 97.0 in Context: Section T

NACE T – Activities of Households: Parent section
NACE 98.1 – Goods-producing activities of households for own use: Own production in private households
NACE 98.2 – Services-producing activities of households for own use: Own-provided services

Frequently Asked Questions on NACE 97.0 and Public Tenders

Why does NACE 97.0 have hardly any procurement relevance? Because contracting authorities do not in most cases act like "private households with domestic personnel". Where authorities employ cleaning staff, drivers or cooks, they usually do so through direct employment in public service or by awarding service contracts to undertakings — both of which fall under other NACE codes.

How is domestic staff for embassy residences procured? As a rule, through direct employment contracts with individuals (no tendering obligation). Where an agency or service provider is engaged, a procurement-relevant service contract may arise — this would, however, fall under NACE 78 (temporary work) rather than under NACE 97.

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