What Are NTEE Codes? A Plain-English Guide to Nonprofit Classification

If you’ve spent any time researching nonprofits, you’ve probably come across NTEE codes, cryptic letter-number combinations like “B20” or “T31” attached to organizations. They look intimidating, but the system is actually straightforward once you understand it.

What is an NTEE code?

NTEE stands for National Taxonomy of Exempt Entities. It’s a classification system developed by the National Center for Charitable Statistics (NCCS) that categorizes every tax-exempt organization in the United States by its primary activity.

Think of it like the Dewey Decimal System for nonprofits. Instead of organizing books by subject, NTEE organizes nonprofits by what they do.

Every organization that files with the IRS gets an NTEE code. It’s assigned based on the organization’s stated mission and activities, and it appears in IRS data files alongside the organization’s name, EIN, and other basic information.

How NTEE codes work

The system has two levels:

Major groups (the letter)

The first character is a letter from A to Z, representing 26 broad categories:

• A: Arts, Culture, and Humanities
• B: Education
• C: Environment
• D: Animal-Related
• E: Health Care
• F: Mental Health and Crisis Intervention
• G: Diseases, Disorders, and Medical Disciplines
• H: Medical Research
• I: Crime and Legal-Related
• J: Employment
• K: Food, Agriculture, and Nutrition
• L: Housing and Shelter
• M: Public Safety, Disaster Preparedness
• N: Recreation and Sports
• O: Youth Development
• P: Human Services
• Q: International, Foreign Affairs
• R: Civil Rights, Social Action, Advocacy
• S: Community Improvement and Capacity Building
• T: Philanthropy, Voluntarism, and Grantmaking
• U: Science and Technology
• V: Social Science
• W: Public and Societal Benefit
• X: Religion-Related
• Y: Mutual and Membership Benefit
• Z: Unknown or Unclassified

Subcategories (the numbers)

The two-digit number after the letter narrows the classification. For example, within Education (B):

• B20: Elementary and Secondary Schools
• B40: Higher Education
• B50: Graduate and Professional Schools
• B60: Adult Education
• B70: Libraries
• B80: Student Services

So a code of B40 tells you the organization is in higher education. T31 would be a community foundation (T = Philanthropy, 31 = Community Foundations).

Why NTEE codes matter

For grant writers and fundraisers

When researching potential funders, NTEE codes help you quickly filter foundations by their area of focus. A foundation classified as T20 (Private Grantmaking Foundations) with a history of giving to B-coded organizations (Education) is a better prospect for your school than one focused on E-coded (Health Care) recipients.

For prospect researchers

If you’re building a list of organizations similar to yours (for benchmarking, competitive analysis, or partnership opportunities), NTEE codes are the fastest way to find peers. Search for organizations with the same code in your state and revenue range.

For data analysis

Researchers, journalists, and policy analysts use NTEE codes to aggregate data across the nonprofit sector. Questions like “how much total revenue do environmental nonprofits in California generate?” are answerable because of NTEE classification.

How to look up an organization’s NTEE code

On 501(see), NTEE codes appear in organization search results and profiles. You can also filter your search by NTEE category to find all organizations in a specific classification.

The IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search also shows NTEE codes, though the search interface doesn’t let you filter by them.

Limitations of NTEE codes

The system is useful but imperfect:

Organizations only get one code. A nonprofit that runs after-school programs (O20), a food bank (K30), and job training (J20) gets classified under one primary code. The others are invisible in the data.

Codes are sometimes inaccurate. The IRS assigns codes based on the organization’s application, and they’re not always updated when an organization’s mission evolves. Some codes were assigned decades ago and no longer reflect what the organization actually does.

The system is broad. With only 26 major categories and roughly 600 subcategories, there’s a lot of variation within each code. Two organizations with the same NTEE code might do very different work.

Some organizations are classified as “Z” (Unknown). This usually means the IRS didn’t have enough information to assign a specific code, or the organization didn’t fit neatly into the taxonomy.

Despite these limitations, NTEE codes remain the most widely used classification system for US nonprofits and the best available tool for filtering and comparing organizations at scale.

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NTEE codes are one of those things that seem obscure until you need them, and then they’re everywhere. Whether you’re filtering a search, benchmarking peers, or building a prospect list, understanding how the system works makes nonprofit research significantly more efficient.

Search nonprofits by NTEE category on 501(see) – free, no account required.