Form 5500 Codes: Plan Characteristic & Service Provider Codes
Form 5500 uses short letter-and-number codes to describe what a plan is and who it pays. This page decodes all of them — the pension and welfare plan characteristic codes on the main form, the Schedule C service-provider and compensation codes, and the Schedule D / DFE entity codes — straight from the official DOL code tables.
Last updated June 5, 2026
What the codes on a Form 5500 mean
Several boxes on a Form 5500 are filled in with codes rather than words. The plan characteristic codes (line 8a/8b) describe the plan's type and features; the Schedule C codes describe each service provider and how it was paid; and the DFE entity codes identify pooled investment vehicles. The tables below list every current code (the 2009-present set used on plan-year 2022–2024 filings) and what it means.
Want to see these codes on a real filing instead of in the abstract? Run a [Form 5500 search](/search) and open any plan — its characteristic codes, schedules, and Schedule C providers are decoded for you on the plan page.
Pension plan characteristic codes — defined benefit (1A–1I)
Codes in the 1-series describe defined benefit (pension) plan features and appear in Form 5500 line 8a.
| Code | What it means |
|---|---|
| 1A | Pay-related DB formula |
| 1B | Flat-dollar DB formula |
| 1C | Cash balance or similar hybrid DB |
| 1D | Floor-offset DB |
| 1E | Section 401(h) arrangement |
| 1F | Section 414(k) arrangement |
| 1G | Covered by PBGC |
| 1H | PBGC-terminated and closed out |
| 1I | Frozen plan — no new benefit accrual |
Pension plan characteristic codes — defined contribution (2A–2Y)
Codes in the 2-series describe defined contribution features. The two most-searched are 2J (the 401(k) cash-or-deferred feature) and 2E (profit-sharing).
| Code | What it means |
|---|---|
| 2A | Age/service weighted or new comparability |
| 2B | Target benefit |
| 2C | Money purchase (other than target benefit) |
| 2D | Offset of another plan |
| 2E | Profit-sharing |
| 2F | ERISA section 404(c) |
| 2G | Total participant-directed accounts |
| 2H | Partial participant-directed accounts |
| 2I | Stock bonus |
| 2J | 401(k) feature |
| 2K | 401(m) arrangement |
| 2L | 403(b)(1) annuity |
| 2M | 403(b)(7) custodial accounts |
| 2N | Code section 408 accounts and annuities |
| 2O | ESOP (non-leveraged) |
| 2P | Leveraged ESOP |
| 2Q | S-corporation ESOP |
| 2R | Participant-directed brokerage (SDBA) |
| 2S | Automatic enrollment |
| 2T | Default investment account (QDIA) |
| 2U | Association Retirement Plan |
| 2V | PEO multiple-employer plan |
| 2W | Pooled employer plan (PEP) |
| 2X | Other multiple-employer DC plan |
| 2Y | Pension-linked emergency savings (PLESA) |
Other pension features (3B–3J)
| Code | What it means |
|---|---|
| 3B | Covers self-employed individuals |
| 3C | Not intended to be qualified |
| 3D | Pre-approved plan (master / prototype / VS) |
| 3F | Sponsor used leased employees |
| 3H | Sponsor in controlled / affiliated group |
| 3I | Requires investment in employer securities |
| 3J | U.S. plan covering Puerto Rico residents |
Welfare benefit codes (4A–4U)
Health & welfare plans use the 4-series codes in line 8b to report the benefits they provide.
| Code | What it means |
|---|---|
| 4A | Health (other than dental or vision) |
| 4B | Life insurance |
| 4C | Supplemental unemployment |
| 4D | Dental |
| 4E | Vision |
| 4F | Temporary disability (accident and sickness) |
| 4G | Prepaid legal |
| 4H | Long-term disability |
| 4I | Severance pay |
| 4J | Apprenticeship and training |
| 4K | Scholarship (funded) |
| 4L | Death benefits (include travel accident but not life insurance) |
| 4P | Taft-Hartley financial assistance for employee housing expenses |
| 4Q | Other |
| 4R | Unfunded/insured welfare plan that will not file next plan year (29 CFR 2520.104-20) |
| 4S | Unfunded/insured welfare plan that stopped filing in an earlier year (29 CFR 2520.104-20) |
| 4T | 10-or-more-employer plan (Code section 419A(f)(6)) |
| 4U | Collectively bargained welfare benefit arrangement (Code section 419A(f)(5)) |
Schedule C service codes (10–49)
On Schedule C, filers tag each service provider with one or more codes describing the kind of service provided. Codes 10–49 cover the service itself; the compensation codes (50–99) below describe how the provider was paid. A single provider row often carries several codes.
On our plan pages we roll these raw codes up into plain-language categories — Recordkeeper, Custodian, Trustee, Advisor/Consultant, Accountant/Auditor, and so on — so you can scan a lineup at a glance. See the Schedule C guide for how the $5,000 reporting threshold and direct vs. indirect compensation work.
| Code | Service |
|---|---|
| 10 | Accounting (including auditing) |
| 11 | Actuarial |
| 12 | Claims processing |
| 13 | Contract Administrator |
| 14 | Plan Administrator |
| 15 | Recordkeeping and information management (computing, tabulating, data processing, etc.) |
| 16 | Consulting (general) |
| 17 | Consulting (pension) |
| 18 | Custodial (other than securities) |
| 19 | Custodial (securities) |
| 20 | Trustee (individual) |
| 21 | Trustee (bank, trust company, or similar financial institution) |
| 22 | Insurance agents and brokers |
| 23 | Insurance services |
| 24 | Trustee (discretionary) |
| 25 | Trustee (directed) |
| 26 | Investment advisory (participants) |
| 27 | Investment advisory (plan) |
| 28 | Investment management |
| 29 | Legal |
| 30 | Employee (plan) |
| 31 | Named fiduciary |
| 32 | Real estate brokerage |
| 33 | Securities brokerage |
| 34 | Valuation (appraisals, etc.) |
| 35 | Employee (plan sponsor) |
| 36 | Copying and duplicating |
| 37 | Participant loan processing |
| 38 | Participant communication |
| 40 | Foreign entity (non-U.S. agent, broker, bank, insurer, etc.) |
| 49 | Other services |
Schedule C compensation codes (50–99)
These codes describe the type of compensation a Schedule C provider received — direct payments, revenue sharing, 12b-1 fees, float, and so on.
| Code | Compensation type |
|---|---|
| 50 | Direct payment from the plan |
| 51 | Investment management fees paid directly by plan |
| 52 | Investment management fees paid indirectly by plan |
| 53 | Insurance brokerage commissions and fees |
| 54 | Sales loads (front-end and deferred) |
| 55 | Other commissions |
| 56 | Non-monetary compensation |
| 57 | Redemption fees |
| 58 | Product termination fees (surrender charges, etc.) |
| 59 | Shareholder servicing fees |
| 60 | Sub-transfer agency fees |
| 61 | Finders' fees / placement fees |
| 62 | Float revenue |
| 63 | Distribution (12b-1) fees |
| 64 | Recordkeeping fees |
| 65 | Account maintenance fees |
| 66 | Insurance mortality and expense charge |
| 67 | Other insurance wrap fees |
| 68 | 'Soft dollars' commissions |
| 70 | Consulting fees |
| 71 | Securities brokerage commissions and fees |
| 72 | Other investment fees and expenses |
| 73 | Other insurance fees and expenses |
| 99 | Other fees |
Schedule D / DFE entity codes
On Schedule D, a single letter identifies the type of pooled investment vehicle (a Direct Filing Entity, or DFE) a plan invests in.
| Code | Entity type |
|---|---|
| M | Master Trust |
| C | Common Collective Trust |
| P | Pooled Separate Account |
| E | 103-12 Investment Entity |
| G | Group Insurance Arrangement |
Look up any company's Form 5500 and we decode its characteristic codes, schedules, and Schedule C providers for you.
Search a plan's Form 5500Business code (NAICS)
The six-digit business code on the main form is the plan sponsor's NAICS industry code — the standard North American Industry Classification System code for the employer's primary business (e.g., 621111 for physicians' offices, 522110 for commercial banking). We group filings by sector so you can browse Form 5500 plans by industry rather than memorize NAICS numbers.
Search ~2.9 million Form 5500 filings by company, EIN, or plan name — assets, participants, providers, and holdings.
Search filingsFrequently asked questions
They are standardized plan characteristic codes (1-, 2-, 3-, and 4-series) that describe the plan's type and features, plus Schedule C service and compensation codes (10–99) describing each provider, and Schedule D / DFE entity letters identifying pooled investment vehicles.
Code 2J is the Code section 401(k) feature — a cash-or-deferred arrangement that lets employees defer part of their pay. A plan reporting 2J is a 401(k) plan.
Code 2E identifies a profit-sharing plan feature. It often appears alongside 2J on 401(k) profit-sharing plans.
On Schedule C, element (b). Codes 10–49 describe the kind of service (accounting, recordkeeping, custodial, legal, etc.) and codes 50–99 describe the type of compensation received.
A DFE (Direct Filing Entity) code on Schedule D is a single letter — M (master trust), C (common/collective trust), P (pooled separate account), E (103-12 investment entity), or G (group insurance arrangement) — identifying a pooled investment vehicle a plan invests in.