Subsection & Classification

IRS subsection and classification values work together to describe an organization's tax-exempt category. CharityQuery treats them as a paired filter and returns them as a combined response object.

Why these fields are paired
A subsection or classification value alone can be incomplete or misleading.

The subsection value identifies the broader exempt organization category, while classification further describes the organization type inside that category.

Because the useful meaning comes from the combination, CharityQuery requires both values when filtering and resolves them into one readable response field.

Filtering rule
subsection and classification must be provided together.
GET /charities?subsection=03&classification=2000
GET /nearby?origin_zip=28403&subsection=03&classification=2000

Providing only one of these values returns a validation_error.

Response field
The API returns these values as subsection_classification.

Instead of returning subsection and classification as separate response fields, request subsection_classification.

"subsection_classification": {
  "subsection": "03",
  "classification": "2000",
  "description": "Educational Organization"
}

If either value is unavailable or the pair cannot be resolved, this field may return null.

Using fields
Request the combined field with the fields parameter.
GET /charities?fields=ein,name,subsection_classification

subsection_classification is selectable as a response field, but it is not used for sorting.

Sorting
Sorting uses the underlying fields.

You can sort by subsection or classification individually. The combined response field subsection_classification is not a sort field.

GET /charities?sortBy=subsection&sortDir=asc
GET /charities?sortBy=classification&sortDir=desc
Validation error example
This response is returned when only one paired value is provided.
{
  "code": "validation_error",
  "message": "Request validation failed.",
  "reqId": "4aab7166-4b5b-49d9-a25f-f7db49768a2d",
  "details": [
    {
      "path": "subsection",
      "message": "subsection and classification must be provided together",
      "zodCode": "custom"
    },
    {
      "path": "classification",
      "message": "subsection and classification must be provided together",
      "zodCode": "custom"
    }
  ]
}
Metadata route
Use metadata to find valid subsection and classification pairs.
GET /metadata/subsection-classification

This route is recommended when building dropdowns, comboboxes, or filters that need valid paired combinations.

Read Metadata & Codes →