NACE 98 – Undifferentiated Goods- and Services-producing Activities of Private Households for Own Use | Public Tenders

NACE 98 private households for own use: classification, delineation and positioning in public procurement. Procurement-law relevance.

Definition: NACE 98 covers the production of goods and the provision of services by private households exclusively for their own use — that is, not for the market. A classic example is the own production of food (gardening, subsistence farming) or home textiles. This division has no practical relevance in public procurement.

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

What does NACE 98 cover?

NACE 98 (Undifferentiated goods- and services-producing activities of private households for own use) classifies the non-market own production of private households — a residual category of the NACE system without relevance for public procurement procedures.

Division 98 within Section T is broken down into two groups:

Group	Title	Typical activities
98.1	Undifferentiated goods-producing activities of private households for own use	Home production of food, clothing, furniture; subsistence farming
98.2	Undifferentiated services-producing activities of private households for own use	Own-provided household services such as cooking, child-rearing and care within the household

This classification serves statistical purposes for national accounts (NA) and the recording of non-market activities. It does not describe economic subjects that appear on the market.

Public Tenders: Scope of NACE 98

NACE 98 has no direct relevance in public procurement, since private households producing goods or services exclusively for themselves do not appear as bidders or contracting authorities.

Delineation from Procurement-relevant Areas

Correct classification of similar activities is important for contracting authorities and bidders:

Activity	Correct NACE classification	Procurement relevance
Household production for own use	NACE 98	None
Agricultural production for sale	NACE 01	Yes (as bidder)
Food processing for the market	NACE 10	Yes (as bidder)
Catering for public institutions	NACE 56	Yes (as contractor)
Childcare by undertakings	NACE 88	Yes (as contractor)

Statistical Significance

NACE 98 is used in national accounts to record the value of non-market household production. In developing countries with a high share of subsistence, this category has greater statistical significance. In Western European economies its share of GDP is low.

For Contracting Authorities and Bidders

Public Contracting Authorities

NACE 98 generates no public procurement transactions. Where public bodies procure services that private households typically perform for themselves (cleaning, cooking, child-rearing), procurement is from professional service undertakings — which fall under other NACE classes.

Delineation for Bidders

Companies providing household-related services professionally to third parties do not fall under NACE 98. They classify themselves according to the nature of their service:

Cleaning companies: NACE 81.2
Care services: NACE 88.1
Catering and canteen services: NACE 56.2
Childcare facilities: NACE 88.91
Garden design firms: NACE 81.3

Frequently Asked Questions on NACE 98

Why does NACE 98 exist in the classification?
NACE 98 is a residual category that is needed for the completeness of national-accounting statistics. National accounts must also record non-market production activities in order to obtain a complete picture of economic performance.

Does NACE 98 have any significance for procurement law?
No — procurement law governs the procurement of goods and services by contracting authorities from third parties (undertakings). Private households producing or providing services for themselves do not act on the market and are therefore not relevant for procurement law.

Can a company be classified under NACE 98?
No — NACE 98 is intended exclusively for private households as economic units, not for undertakings. Where a company produces goods or provides services, it always falls under another NACE division corresponding to the nature of its main activity.

Navigation: NACE 98 in Context

NACE T – Activities of Households: Parent section
NACE 97 – Households as employers of domestic personnel: Related classification
NACE 99 – Extraterritorial organisations: Final NACE division
NACE 01 – Agriculture: Market-related agricultural production

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