# Merchant Industry Code Lookup
source: https://developer.mastercard.com/places/documentation/use-cases/merchant-industry-code-lookup/index.md

### Overview {#overview}

A Merchant Industry Code is a short alphabetic code, such as `ACC`, used to group merchants into broad industry segments. Industry codes sit above Merchant Category Codes in Mastercard's classification model, giving a higher-level view of what a business does, but the code alone provides little business meaning without an up-to-date mapping of codes to industry names.

Places API exposes Mastercard's global Merchant Industry Code dataset so organizations can retrieve the complete list of active codes or decode an individual code on demand. Customers who need a list can synchronize a local reference table, populate filters and drop-downs, or validate incoming values; customers who need a single code can translate it into a human-readable industry name at the point of use. The same codes can also be applied as filters in a Places search to isolate merchants in specific industries.

### Where it applies {#where-it-applies}

* **Financial Institutions** decode industry codes to present clear, high-level merchant segments in statements and digital banking experiences.
* **Merchant Analytics Platforms** use a synchronized industry reference list to roll up merchant and transaction data into consistent industry segments.
* **Onboarding \& Risk Teams** validate that the industry code assigned to a merchant is a valid, active code and aligns with the declared line of business.
* **Marketing \& Segmentation** build industry-based audiences and filter Places searches to merchants in targeted industries.

## How it works {#how-it-works}

**Retrieve all merchant industry codes**

Diagram placesIndustryCodesDiagram

Example response, limited to five results:

```json
{
  "total": 42,
  "offset": 0,
  "limit": 5,
  "items": [
    {
      "industry": "ACC",
      "industryName": "Accommodations"
    },
    {
      "industry": "ALS",
      "industryName": "Accounting and Legal Services"
    },
    {
      "industry": "ADV",
      "industryName": "Advertising Services"
    },
    {
      "industry": "AFH",
      "industryName": "Agriculture/Forestry/Fishing/Hunting"
    },
    {
      "industry": "ARA",
      "industryName": "Amusement, Recreation Activities"
    }
  ]
}
```

**Retrieve a single merchant industry code**

Diagram placesIndustryByCode

Example response for industry code `ACC`:

```json
{
  "industry": "ACC",
  "industryName": "Accommodations"
}
```

## Relevant Endpoints {#relevant-endpoints}

[Find All Merchant Industry Codes](https://developer.mastercard.com/places/documentation/api-reference/index.md#tag/Merchant-Industry-Codes/operation/getAllIndustryCodesUsingGET)
Use this endpoint when a customer needs to obtain a list of Merchant Industry Codes. It returns all active codes with their industry names, ordered by industry name by default, with `limit`, `offset`, and `sort` available for paging and ordering the results.

API Reference: `GET /merchant-industry-codes`

[Find a Merchant Industry Code](https://developer.mastercard.com/places/documentation/api-reference/index.md#tag/Merchant-Industry-Codes/operation/getByIndustryUsingGET)
Use this endpoint when a customer needs to obtain a specific Merchant Industry Code. Supply the industry code as a path parameter and the API returns that code with its industry name.

API Reference: `GET /merchant-industry-codes/industries/{industry}`

Tip: The same patterns apply to Merchant Category Codes. See [Merchant Category Code Lookup](https://developer.mastercard.com/places/documentation/use-cases/merchant-category-code-lookup/index.md).

## Useful Links {#useful-links}

* [View the full Open API Specification](https://developer.mastercard.com/places/documentation/api-reference/index.md)
* [Review the APIs error responses](https://developer.mastercard.com/places/documentation/codes-and-formats/index.md)