How do i know if i have a duns number

As part of their verification process, a D&B representative may contact you directly for more information (such as your business type or number of employees). Please have your business registration documents ready.

Receiving and managing your D-U-N-S Number

After requesting a D-U-N-S Number, please allow up to 5 business days to receive your number from D&B. Expediting your D-U-N-S Number creation process will not shorten this waiting period. If your application has taken longer than two weeks to process, please email D&B.

Once you receive your D-U-N-S Number, please allow up to 2 business days for Apple to receive your information from D&B. After this period, you may enroll as a company/organization in the Apple Developer Program.

To update your D&B profile, email D&B. Please note that it takes up to two business days for D&B to provide updated information to Apple.

The business you entered is either listed in the D&B database with a different legal status (such as a sole proprietorship), or its legal status has not been verified. When enrolling, make sure to use the legal entity name of your organization, as Apple does not accept DBAs, fictitious businesses, trade names, or branches for enrollment as a company/organization. If your legal status is a sole proprietorship/single person business, enroll as an individual. If you believe your business should be listed as a legal entity, have your business registration documents ready and email D&B. Complete business registration documents are required to verify your organization’s legal status.

The DUNS (Data Universal Numbering System) number is a nine-digit identification number widely used by both commercial and federal entities. It is assigned by Dun & Bradstreet (D&B), an organization that keeps track of more than 200 million businesses world-wide.

DUNS numbers are required for all federal grant applications, including The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). Since Mid-America re-grants federal funds, it is now a requirement for all M-AAA’s applications as well.

Organizations with DUNS numbers are automatically included in a nationwide study of nonprofit and for-profit arts-related businesses called Creative Industries: Business & Employment in the Arts. This report is produced by Americans for the Arts and provides valuable visibility as an advocacy tool for advancing the arts. It documents the number of arts-related businesses and employees in any geographical region or political jurisdiction.

Check if Your Organization has a DUNS Number

To check if your organization has a DUNS Number you can search for your organization’s name in the Dun & Bradstreet database online. An email confirming your DUNS number can be requested if one is found in the D&B system.

How to Apply for a DUNS Number

If your organization does not have a DUNS number, one can be requested at no cost by phone or online.

By Phone

Call D&B at 866-705-5711 and tell the operator that you are applying to a federal grant program and need to register for a DUNS number. The process will take about ten minutes.

Online

Submit your web request. Online requests typically take 1–2 business days to process. You will be asked to provide:

You may have heard the term D-U-N-S number (also known as DUNS number or D&B D-U-N-S Number) and wondered whether your business needs one. Here we’ll explain the importance of a DUNS number for your business.

What Is a DUNS Number?

A DUNS number is a unique nine-digit identifier for a business created by credit bureau Dun & Bradstreet. The Data Universal Numbering System — or DUNS number — was created and copyrighted in 1962 by Dun & Bradstreet. Dun & Bradstreet is one of the three major business credit bureaus. DUNS numbers have become the standard numbering system to identify business entities across the globe. 

Just as your social security number reveals a lot about you, like your bank account, tax returns, credit score, residences, etc., your DUNS number and business credit scores reveal similar information about your business. Your DUNS number is linked to you PAYDEX credit score, which is Dun & Bradstreet’s own credit scoring system for businesses. The PAYDEX score ranges between 0 and 100 and is based on suppliers’ reports of your payment history as a business. This information is used to determine how likely you are to pay back loans or other business debts on time.

How do i know if i have a duns number

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How Can a D-U-N-S Number Help Me?

Here are three ways a DUNS number can help you:

  1. Establish business creditworthiness. Your DUNS number is directly tied to the credit profile D&B builds on your business. In fact, to even have a D&B PAYDEX score (you can check yours with Nav), you’ll need a DUNS number. When vendors or suppliers look up your business credit profile because they are considering doing business with you and offering your business trade credit, they’ll want to see a credit history. The same is true with a lender or bank who is considering lending to your business through small business loans, business credit cards, or other financing. Keep in mind that your credit profile won’t be of much use to you (and can actually harm you) until you begin establishing a strong business credit history.
  2. Safeguard your personal creditworthiness. When you don’t have a DUNS number tied to your business credit profile, you’ll need to depend more on your personal credit for business purposes. This can harm your personal credit if you make late payments or keep high amounts of business debt.
  3. Get longer terms with your suppliers. If you can prove to vendors and suppliers that you are a creditworthy business, they will be more likely to offer you longer trade terms, like net-30 or even net-90 day terms. The best way to do this is by establishing business credit history tied to your DUNS number.

Who Is Dun & Bradstreet?

Your DUNS number only reveals credit information gathered by one credit bureau: Dun & Bradstreet. Originally known as the Mercantile Agency, Dun & Bradstreet is one of America’s oldest companies. Its founder, Lewis Tappan, created it in 1841 for the purpose of helping merchants establish the creditworthiness of potential customers.

Today, Dun & Bradstreet keeps track of over 265 million businesses worldwide. Over 100 million of those businesses have been assigned a DUNS number. The federal government adopted the DUNS identification number as its principal business identifier in 1994.

In 1998, the DUNS number was incorporated as the U.S. government’s contractor identification code. This means that companies without a DUNS number cannot do business with the federal government. This makes a DUNS number invaluable for many small businesses, since government contracts are often stable, lucrative sources of income. They also use the DUNS number to determine your eligibility for federal grant money.

Is a DUNS Number the Same as a Federal Tax ID Number?

A DUNS number is different from your federal tax ID number, called your employer identification number (EIN). A DUNS number is used for business credit reporting purposes, whereas an EIN is issued by the IRS and used for tax identification purposes. An EIN is like a social security number for your business, and is included on any tax documents. You may also be required to provide your EIN number for business purposes, like opening a business bank account.

How Do I Look Up My DUNS Number?

Before you apply for a DUNS number, check to see if your business already has one. If you are a Nav customer, you can do this via the BusinessLauncher tool in your profile. You can also check at the D&B D-U-N-S Number Lookup. Here, you’ll be connected to a lookup tool that search for your business using either your company name and address, or your company’s telephone number.

How to get a DUNS number

Apply here to get a DUNS number. Once you’ve applied, you’ll likely get a call from a D&B representative to help you through the process, and you’ll receive your DUNS number within 30 days. For quicker service, you can use DUNSFile to get it in less than five business days, but it will cost you $229.

Applying for a DUNS number is a simple process, but it does require you to first establish your business as a legal entity (LLC, C-Corp, S-Corp, etc) with your state. Inside the application, you’ll need to provide information like your legal name and those of any other business owners, your business name, the name of your business’s headquarters and address of your business, your telephone number, whether you’re a home-based business, and the number of employees at your physical location.

If you want your number fast, you can use the DUNSFile service to get it in less than five business days, but it will cost you $229.

The more you learn about business financing—including the importance of business credit cards and business tradelines and how reporting to the business credit bureaus is a key factor to the growth of your company—the more your DUNS number will work in your favor.

How do i know if i have a duns number

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FAQs About DUNS Numbers

  • How much is a DUNS number?

    A DUNS number is free from Dun & Bradstreet, but if you want an expedited DUNS number (within five business days), it will cost $229 using their DUNSFile system.

  • Do you need a tax ID to get a DUNS number?

    No, you don’t need a tax ID to get a DUNS number. Dun & Bradstreet will use other means to verify your business, including:
    – Business name
    – Business entity structure (LLC, C-Corp, S-Corp, etc.)
    – Year the business was started
    – Business address
    – Phone number
    – Name(s) of owner(s)
    – Industry/line of business
    – Number of employees (full- and part-time)

  • How do I build business credit with my DUNS number?

    Once you’ve established your business and received your DUNS number, you can start to build business credit. You should open a business bank account to separate your business finance from your personal finance. You’ll be able to start building credit by paying expenses on time, such as vendor invoices. You can also get a business credit card to help build a credit history — it’s a good idea to find a card that can help you build your business credit. Keep in mind that not all accounts will report your credit to Dun & Bradstreet, so you may need other accounts to help you build your credit under your DUNS number. 

  • Can a sole proprietor get a DUNS number?

    Yes, a sole proprietorship can get a DUNS number. 

  • Are DUNS numbers going away?

    No, DUNS numbers aren’t going away. The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) — a.k.a. the federal government — has officially stopped using DUNS numbers in their System for Award Management (SAM) and is now using government issued Unique Entity IDs at their awards system SAM.gov. However, the DUNS number is still popular with lenders and banks who may use it to determine how likely your business is to repay loans or other financing, which can inform whether or not they lend to you.

    How do I know if I have a DUNS?

    If you are not sure if you have a DUNS number. Call D&B using the toll-free number, 1-866-705-5711 and indicate that you are a Federal grant applicant/prospective applicant. D&B will tell you if you already have a number.

    How do you check if a DUNS number is active?

    Go to https://support.dnb.com/?CUST=GOVTDUNS and select “Federal Government Contractors or Grantees DUNS Number Support” then “DUNS Number Search/Look-up” to verify the primary DUNS number for your jurisdiction.

    How did I get a DUNS number?

    You will need a DUNS number before registering in the SAM database. If you are located within the United States a DUNS number may be obtained by calling Dun and Bradstreet at 1-866-705-5711 or at http://www.dnb.com.

    Is Ein different from Duns?

    EIN numbers, or federal tax IDs, are issued by the IRS for tax purposes, while DUNS numbers are issued by Dun & Bradstreet. DUNS numbers also remain the same for the entire life of the business, while EIN numbers can change.