NAICS Code for Event Planner

What NAICS is

The Census Bureau's NAICS home page describes the North American Industry Classification System as the standard used by Federal statistical agencies in classifying business establishments for the purpose of collecting, analyzing and publishing statistical data related to the U.S. business economy.

The same page says NAICS was developed under the auspices of the Office of Management and Budget and adopted in 1997 to replace the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system, and that it was developed jointly with Statistics Canada and Mexico's Instituto Nacional de Estadistica y Geografia, to allow comparability of business statistics across the three countries.

The page offers searches of the 2022, 2017 and 2012 editions. It also lists an announcement dated July 13, 2026 about a notice requesting comments on proposed updates for 2027. If a form asks for a specific NAICS edition, use the one it names.

• Source: NAICS home page

  U.S. Census Bureau, North American Industry Classification System, https://www.census.gov/naics/, read 2026-10-28.

  Census Bureau NAICS home page

561920: Convention and Trade Show Organizers

The 2022 NAICS definition of 561920, as shown on the Census Bureau's page, reads: this industry comprises establishments primarily engaged in organizing, promoting, and/or managing events, such as business and trade shows, conventions, conferences, and meetings (whether or not they manage and provide the staff to operate the facilities in which these events take place).

The page's cross-reference says that establishments primarily engaged in organizing, promoting and/or managing live performing arts productions, sports events and similar events, such as festivals, are classified instead in Industry Group 7113, Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events.

Under 561920, the Census index lists, among others, these entries: Convention or trade show event planners; Event and meeting planning services; Convention managers, organizers and promoters; Convention services; Trade show managers, organizers and promoters; Trade fair managers, organizers and promoters; and craft fair, home show, flower show and automobile show managers, organizers and promoters.

• Source: 2022 NAICS definition of 561920

  U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 NAICS Definition, 561920 Convention and Trade Show Organizers, read 2026-10-28.

  Census Bureau page for 561920

The neighboring codes the Census pages point to

Because the cross-reference sends some activities elsewhere, it is worth reading the neighbors. This table restates the Census definitions in short form. Read the full text on the Census pages before relying on any of them.

• Source: 711320 and 711310 definitions

  U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 NAICS Definitions for 711320 and 711310, read 2026-10-28.

  Census Bureau page for 711320

• Also read: 711310

  The companion definition for events held in facilities the establishment operates.

  Census Bureau page for 711310

How to look up your code, step by step

The Census search page accepts a keyword or a two to six digit code. This method keeps you to the official text.

1. 1

   Write what you do in one sentence

   Use the verbs the definition uses: organizing, promoting, managing. Note what kinds of event: conferences, trade shows, festivals, concerts, sports, other.

2. 2

   Search the Census NAICS page

   Use the 2022 search on the NAICS home page, or the edition the form you are filling in names. Try keywords from the index entries above, such as event and meeting planning services.

   Census Bureau NAICS search
3. 3

   Read the whole definition

   Read the opening sentence and the cross-references, not only the title. The cross-references say which activities belong in another code.

4. 4

   Compare with the neighbors

   Read 561920, 711320 and 711310 side by side, as in the table above. Check what the definition says about facilities, because that is one of the lines they draw.

5. 5

   Note the edition and the date

   Write down the code, its title, the NAICS edition and the date you read it. Codes are revised between editions.

6. 6

   Ask the party that requires it

   If an agency, lender or platform asks for a code, ask them which edition and which level of detail they want. The Census pages describe classification for statistical purposes; they do not say what any other party will accept.

A worksheet to record your reading

Copy this into a document and fill it in as you read the Census pages. It keeps the source, the date and your reasoning together.

NAICS LOOKUP WORKSHEET

Business or organization: [name]
Date read: [date]
NAICS edition: [2022 / 2017 / 2012 / the one the form names]
Source: U.S. Census Bureau NAICS pages, https://www.census.gov/naics/

1. What the business primarily does, in one sentence:
   [e.g. organizes and manages conferences and meetings for clients]

2. Kinds of event involved:
   [ ] Business or trade shows   [ ] Conventions   [ ] Conferences   [ ] Meetings
   [ ] Performing arts, sports or similar events (festivals, concerts, fairs)
   [ ] Other: [describe]

3. Code(s) I read:
   - 561920 Convention and Trade Show Organizers  [matches / partly / does not match]
   - 711320 Promoters ... without Facilities       [matches / partly / does not match]
   - 711310 Promoters ... with Facilities          [matches / partly / does not match]

4. Do I run the facilities where the events happen?  [yes / no]

5. Cross-references that apply to me:
   [copy the sentence from the Census page]

6. Code I am recording: [code] [title]

7. Who asked for it and which edition they want: [name, edition]

8. Questions for the Census Bureau (naics@census.gov) or the requesting party:
   [list]

What this page does not cover

The Census pages define industries. They do not answer the questions people often attach to a code, and this guide does not either.

• No earnings or demand figures

  The definitions say what an industry covers, not what a business in it earns or whether a market is large. Nothing here is a view on either.

• No advice on which code to file under

  Whether a code suits a registration, a loan application, an insurance quote or a tax form is a question for the party asking for it, and for your own advisers.

• Other kinds of planner

  The pages read for this guide do not list every type of event. If your work is different from the definitions above, search the Census page with your own words and read what comes back.

• Contact the source

  The Census NAICS page gives naics@census.gov as its contact for questions about NAICS.