• Distributive trades (including retail and wholesale of goods and services)
• Construction services
• Craft services
• Most professional services (such as the services of legal and fiscal advisers, architects, veterinaries)
• Business-related services (such as advertising, recruitment services, patent agents)
• Tourism (such as travel agencies, tourist guides)
• Accommodation and food services (hotels and restaurants)
• Training and educational services (such as private universities, language schools)
• Real estate services
• Household support services
• Rentals and leasing services (including car rental)
• Leisure services (e.g. sports centers and amusement parks)
• Information society services (e.g. publishing — print and web; news agencies; computer programming)

The basic rule is that a service is within the scope of the Services Directive, unless it is explicitly excluded from it. The following services are excluded:

• Financial services (such as banking, credit, insurance and re-insurance, occupational and personal pensions, securities, investment funds, payment and investment advice, including the business of credit institution)
• Electronic communications services
• Transport services (including air transport, maritime and inland waterways transport, including port services, as well as road and rail transport, in particular urban transport, taxis and ambulances)
• Health care services (health care and pharmaceutical services provided by health professionals to patients to assess, maintain or restore their state of health where those activities are reserved to a regulated health profession)
• Audiovisual services (including cinemas and broadcast services)
• Gambling
• Certain social services provided by the state, by providers mandated by the state or by charities recognised as such by the state
• Private security services
• Services provided by notaries and bailiffs (appointed by an official act of government)
• The exercise of official authority as set out on Article 45 of the Treaty
• Services of a general economic interest (such as the Post Office), non-economic services of a general interest and taxation are also excluded from the Services Directive