NOC Code Finder (Canada)

What is a NOC code?

The National Occupational Classification (NOC) is Canada's official system for describing every job in the country. Statistics Canada and Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) maintain it, and every occupation gets a five-digit code plus a TEER category. Immigration Canada uses it to decide who is eligible for Express Entry, PNPs and work permits. Employers use it on LMIA applications and Job Bank postings. Recruiters and ATS systems in Canada search resumes for the exact wording of NOC main duties, which is why knowing your code is a small but useful resume win.

NOC 2021 vs NOC 2016

NOC 2021 replaced the old four-digit skill levels (0/A/B/C/D) with a five-digit code and six TEER tiers (0–5). Every 2016 code maps to a new 2021 code, but the boundaries have shifted for a handful of occupations. Full details in our NOC 2021 vs NOC 2016 guide.

How NOC affects Express Entry

IRCC only counts work experience in TEER 0, 1, 2 and 3 toward Express Entry programs (Federal Skilled Worker, Canadian Experience Class and most PNP streams). If your job falls in TEER 4 or 5, that experience usually doesn't help your Express Entry profile — with the exception of specific pilots such as the Home Care Worker program. Picking the right NOC is critical: choose a code that overstates your duties and you'll fail a CBSA or IRCC verification; choose one that understates them and you may lose eligibility. Match the code where thelead statement and main duties most closely describe what you actually do at work.

How NOC affects LMIA

For a Labour Market Impact Assessment, employers must post at the prevailing Canadian wage for the exact NOC code and province. Use our LMIA job search to see which employers have already been approved for a given NOC. If you want to understand what the LMIA labels actually mean before you contact an employer, read LMIA requested vs approved.

How to pick between two plausible codes

When two NOC codes both look right — for example a Growth Analyst who could fit either NOC 11202 (Marketing coordinators) or NOC 21223 (Data analysts) — read the lead statement of each occupation, then compare its main duties to yours line by line. Whichever occupation covers more of your day-to-day tasks is your code. Job title alone doesn't decide it; duties do. If you're still torn, pick the code whose duties you can prove on your resume with quantified bullets, because that's what a visa officer or auditor will scrutinise.