Care home SIC codes are not one code but five: 87100, 87300, 87200, 87900 and 86102. If you want to reach UK care homes, searching 87100 alone will miss many of them, because it covers nursing care and not every residential home.
Results Driven Marketing (RD Marketing) wrote this guide for suppliers who sell to the care sector. We sell B2B data, so we have an interest in the subject. To keep it useful, we link our sources and explain where a SIC search falls short. If you are new to the topic, start with what an SIC code is.
Written by Iain Irvin, Director of RD Marketing. Iain worked in telesales, business development and sales management before starting the business, and has more than 15 years of experience in B2B marketing data and lead generation. Codes, counts and sources checked on 5 November 2026.
Contents
- The Five Care Home SIC Codes to Check
- Why a Company Count Is Not a Care Home Count
- How to Check a Home Is Registered
- Care Home SIC Codes Under SIC 2026
- How to Build a Care Home List
- How We Checked This
- Frequently Asked Questions
- RD Marketing Services That Can Help
- Talk to Us
The Five Care Home SIC Codes to Check
The table shows each of the care home SIC codes, how many active companies list it and where it goes under SIC 2026. Do not add the counts together, because a company can list up to four codes.
| SIC code | Companies House description | Active companies | SIC 2026 code | What to know |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 87100 | Residential nursing care facilities | 8,321 | 87.10 | Nursing homes |
| 87300 | Residential care activities for the elderly and disabled | 13,591 | 87.30 | Many homes without nursing care |
| 87200 | Residential care activities for learning difficulties, mental health and substance abuse | 15,105 | 87.20 | Specialist homes |
| 87900 | Other residential care activities n.e.c. | 17,698 | 87.99 | Catch-all, so check the fit |
| 86102 | Medical nursing home activities | 6,278 | 86.10/2 | Outside Division 87, so easy to miss |
Why a Company Count Is Not a Care Home Count
Active companies under 8,321 might look like 8,321 nursing homes. They are not, for four reasons.
- Companies pick their own codes. The code shows what a company declared. It does not prove what the company does today.
- One company can run many homes. A group may appear once, however many sites it operates.
- The address may be the wrong one. The register holds a registered office, which may be an accountant, a head office or a private address. It may not be the home you want to contact.
- Some operators are not companies. Sole traders and many partnerships do not appear on the register at all.
That matters most for direct mail and field sales, where you need the home itself. Check the site address before you budget for a campaign.
How to Check a Home Is Registered
Care homes register with a regulator in each UK nation, so these sources are a better test than a SIC code. Each one tells you whether a service is registered, which is something care home SIC codes cannot do.
| Nation | Regulator |
|---|---|
| England | Care Quality Commission data |
| Scotland | Care Inspectorate |
| Wales | Care Inspectorate Wales |
| Northern Ireland | Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority |
Care Home SIC Codes Under SIC 2026
The Office for National Statistics finalised UK SIC 2026 in April 2026. Care home SIC codes change less than many others, as each one has a single 2026 destination. Even so, 87900 becomes 87.99, and the wording of 87.20 and 87.30 changes. Keep the version and date with any saved audience. You can read more in our UK SIC 2026 research.
How to Build a Care Home List
- Decide what you sell to. Nursing, older people’s residential and specialist homes can have different needs and buyers.
- Choose the care home SIC codes that match. Use the table above, then remove any that do not fit.
- Target the site or the group. Decide whether the buyer is the home manager or a central procurement team.
- Add size and location. Bed numbers or staff numbers may matter more to you than the code.
- Ask for a sample and a count. Check it against homes you already know.
Our care home email list database contains 29,886 contacts across 16,194 individual care homes at the time of writing. That includes 18,763 records with a TPS-checked telephone number and 14,397 with a decision-maker email address. If you would rather have the outreach run for you, see our lead generation targeting UK care homes.
How We Checked This
Company counts come from Companies House advanced search, using the active status filter and one code at a time, on 5 November 2026. Descriptions come from the Companies House SIC code list. SIC 2026 codes come from the ONS correspondence table, dated 3 August 2026. A correspondence shows where a code could go. It does not tell you how any one company will be recoded. Our own database figures are a separate source and count contacts and homes, so they will not match company counts.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the SIC code for a care home?
There is no single code. Most care homes use 87100, 87200, 87300 or 87900, and 86102 covers medical nursing homes. The right code depends on the care provided, and companies choose their own.
What is the SIC code for a nursing home?
Use 87100 for residential nursing care facilities and check 86102 for medical nursing homes. Search both, as a nursing home could appear under either one.
What is the SIC code for a residential care home for older people?
The usual code is 87300, residential care activities for the elderly and disabled. Some operators also list 87100 where they provide nursing care.
What is the SIC code for home care?
Home care is not residential care, so it normally falls outside Division 87. Check 88100, social work activities without accommodation for the elderly and disabled.
How many care homes are there in the UK?
A SIC count cannot answer this, because it counts companies and not homes. Use each nation’s regulator for registered services. Our database covers 16,194 individual care homes at the time of writing.
RD Marketing Services That Can Help
Once you know which codes and audiences you need, these pages explain how we can help you reach them.
- B2B data lists: who we are and what we supply.
- Buy database: our main page for buying UK business data.
- Email marketing databases: business email data for your campaigns.
- Telemarketing data: phone data for outbound sales teams.
- Direct mail lists: postal data for letters and mailshots.
- LinkedIn automation: managed outreach to decision-makers on LinkedIn.
- Automated email campaigns: email campaigns run and followed up for you.
Talk to Us
Need to reach care homes? Tell us who you want to reach, and we will send you a free audience count and quote within 24 hours, along with a sample.
Contact RD Marketing today to discuss your target market.