Best Business Registration Number Lookup Tools & Methods

In brief: 

• A business registration number (BRN) refers to any number assigned to a business by a U.S. government or regulatory agency to identify that business for various purposes (filing taxes, opening commercial bank accounts, applying for business licenses, etc.).
• Looking up a business’s registration numbers determines if the business is properly authorized to operate in the U.S., certain states, or particular counties (in the case of industry-specific or activity-specific licenses or permits), helping you avoid legal liability and other risk from working with an unauthorized business.
• BRNs can be searched for at various government agencies (notably Secretary of State offices and the Securities and Exchange Commission) or included in a business credit report, but the quickest and most trustworthy way to find them is by using a dedicated business verification platform like Middesk that draws data directly from government sources.

Before you have your company form a professional relationship with another business, you need to check if that business is properly registered to operate. Unfortunately, “registered” can mean many different things in the U.S. For example, is the business:

• Registered to operate within the U.S.?
• Registered to pay taxes to the federal U.S. government?
• Registered to operate and pay taxes within specific U.S. states?
• Licensed or permitted to operate in an industry with additional regulatory requirements?

You can answer these questions by looking up a business’s registration numbers. But what are those, exactly? And where can you find them? We’ve put together this guide to answer those questions: what some of the different kinds of business registration numbers are, how they help you with “Know Your Business” (KYB) processes, and the best ways to do a business registration number lookup. In the rest of this article, we’ll cover:

To start, we should answer the question “What is a business registration number?”, since there can be some confusion around what a BRN is called in different circumstances.

‍

Business registration number (BRN) refers to any number a U.S. government or regulatory agency assigns to a business when it registers to begin operations. It officially identifies the business for purposes such as filing taxes, applying for business licenses, and opening commercial bank accounts. 

Is a business registration number the same as an EIN?

Not exactly. When it comes to business registration number vs. EIN, business registration number is a more general term referring to any unique ID number a business receives from a U.S. government or regulatory agency. An Employer Identification Number (EIN) is a type of BRN the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issues to a business to track that business’s tax returns.

However, an EIN isn’t the only type of BRN a business can potentially have or require, as we’ll elaborate on in the next section.

{{related-content-block="/blog/ein-search"}}

Types of business registration numbers

There are several different government and regulatory agencies in the U.S. that oversee the creation, operation, merging/acquiring, and dissolution of businesses. So it’s not uncommon for a business to have more than one type of BRN, though each may be used in different situations.

Here are some types of business registration numbers and what their purposes are:

• Company Registration Number (CRN): A number a federal, state, or regional government agency assigns to a business when it registers for operation that serves as the business’s general ID number.
• Employer Identification Number (EIN): The IRS assigns an EIN to a business for the purpose of tracking the business’s federal tax reporting.
• State Registration Number: A number a Secretary of State (SOS) office assigns a business when the business registers to operate in that state. It’s used to track the business’s state tax reporting and records of activities within the state.
• License/Permit Number: Businesses in certain industries, or that engage in certain activities, may need a license or permit from a local government agency to operate. These, too, have ID numbers.
• Registered Identification Number (RN): A number issued by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to a fur, wool, or textile business to track their business activities and serve as an alternative ID for the company (instead of the company’s name) in trade.

As you can see, there are a number of different types of BRNs your company has to account for to ensure a business you want to onboard is properly registered to operate. 

BRNs are just some of the information you’ll need to verify a business’s identity and assess the potential risks of associating with the business. It can all seem overwhelming, which is why Middesk has put together a playbook for scaling business verification and due diligence as your company grows. Get your copy below.

‍

At this point, you may be wondering: “How do I find my business registration number?” Well, it depends on which one you’re looking for:

• CRN or state registration number – Look on your business formation documents (Articles of Incorporation, Articles of Organization, Partnership Agreement, etc.) or on correspondence from government registrar agencies. 
• EIN – Check your correspondence with the IRS such as your EIN confirmation letter or your tax return. You can also check certain financial documents such as those for opening a commercial bank account or taking out a commercial loan. If all else fails, contact the IRS directly through its dedicated business tax phone line at 800-829-4933.
• License or permit numbers – Look for them on related correspondence from local governments or regulators.

If you’re wanting to know how to find a business registration number for another business, on the other hand, you’ll have to use one of the options we list below. Some of these options may also allow you to find your own BRNs.

How long does it take to find a business registration number?

It depends on the method you use. Top KYB software providers like Middesk can find a business’s BRNs in seconds. Checking government sources can take minutes to hours because they each have different interfaces, and you may have to register for an account, pay a fee, or sift through various documents until you find what you’re looking for. Ordering a report from a credit bureau is usually the slowest option, as it can take days or even weeks.

How to find a business registration number for business verification purposes

If you want to look up a business’s registration numbers for the sake of KYB, you need to retrieve the data from an official recorded source – usually a government agency – or somewhere that’s drawing data directly from those sources. The following are your main options.

1. Use a dedicated business verification tool like Middesk

The most efficient way to find all of a business’s BRNs at once is to use a solution like Middesk that can automate KYB verification for companies. When you place an order on a business via the dashboard or API, it retrieves data on the business from several relevant government and regulatory agencies at once. That means you’re getting data from official sources, and you don’t have to search them all individually. 

You’ll get more than just the business’s BRNs, though. You’ll also get other registration and risk-related information to help you determine if a business is real, is what it claims to be, and is safe to associate with. With TIN matching, you can also get early indicators that save you time verifying businesses.

2. Check Secretary of State offices

In the U.S., most business information is registered at the state level of government. So going to a state’s Secretary of State office is a good way to find official documents that will include a business’s BRNs.

{{related-content-block="/blog/business-registration-lookup"}}

There are a few pitfalls to this method, though. One is that each Secretary of State portal has a different interface and requirements, so you may need to sign up for an account, or even pay a fee, before you’re allowed to search for a business. Another is you may have to look through multiple documents to find all of a business’s relevant BRNs. 

A third hurdle is you may even have to look through multiple SOS offices to find where the company is officially registered, as it may not be the same state in which it’s headquartered. For example, Google’s main offices are in California, but you actually have to look in Delaware’s SOS portal to find its filings.

3. Look up a company in the SEC’s EDGAR system

Another place to find official documents containing a business’s BRNs is the SEC. You can search through its Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval (EDGAR) system for a business to find documents it has filed with the SEC, many of which will contain the business’s BRNs.

The catch with this method is it only works for businesses large enough that their shares are traded on public stock exchanges. If a business is small enough that it’s not offering its shares for trade, you won’t find its information here.

4. Order a commercial credit report from a major credit bureau

Commercial credit reports aren’t subject to the same privacy standards as personal credit reports, so you can order one for the business you’re looking into from a credit bureau such as Equifax. The report will likely have at least some of the business’s BRNs, but ask ahead of time to see if you can find out for sure.

Remember: credit bureaus may have different requirements for ordering reports, such as needing a commercial account or directly contacting their sales department. These reports also typically cost money, and they can take a few days to compile and deliver to you.

5. Go to the IRS to find EINs for non-profits

You can look up the EIN of a charitable or not-for-profit organization by going to the IRS’s Tax Exempt Organization Search. Change the “Search By” field to Organization Name, and then type in the business’s name in the “Search Term” field. Select or enter any other information to narrow your search if desired, then click Search. You will see a list of organizations matching your search criteria, along with their EINs.

Note this method only works for charities and other non-profit organizations; it doesn’t work for other types of businesses.

{{related-content-block="/blog/verify-ein-number"}}

6. Search the Federal Trade Commission’s RN Database for RNs

If you’re researching a business dealing in fur, wool, or textiles, you can find its RN by going to the FTC’s RN Database. You can run a search using a business’s trade name or legal name, or choose advanced options (corporate structure, products, materials, addresses, etc.) to narrow your search. 

This is only useful for looking up a BRN for businesses in niche industries, though, and not all of those companies necessarily have an RN they use to identify themselves on product labels.

An automated business verification platform like Middesk’s Verify Product is the fastest and most reliable way to look up a business’s registration numbers. Because it retrieves data from official government sources, refreshing as often as every 2 hours, you don’t have to worry about data being incorrect. And it fetches data from several different sources at once so you don’t have to search them individually.  

‍

You want to do a business registration number search to find another business’s registration numbers to reduce the risk of onboarding a business that’s breaking the law by:

• Not being properly registered 
• Not being what it claims to be
• Illegally seeking financial support when it’s not a legitimate business

The points below will elaborate on these reasons. 

1. Verify a business’s legitimacy

A business needs to have certain BRNs to operate legally within the U.S., or even within a specific state or county. Finding out if a business has these numbers – and if those numbers are valid and unique to that business – lets you confirm whether or not the business is properly registered with the relevant agencies and representing itself truthfully.

2. Avoid legal trouble from associating with an illegitimate business

Going hand-in-hand with confirming a business is legitimate is steering clear of legal liability if it isn’t properly registered. If a business doesn’t have valid, unique BRNs (i.e. they’re invalid, improperly formatted, or stolen from another business), onboarding that business can open up your own business to civil or criminal penalties if the other business is caught breaking the law. 

3. Confirm a business is financially capable

Without the proper BRNs, a business can’t perform commercial financial transactions (e.g. open a commercial bank account, apply for commercial loans, or receive capital from investors) or get commercial financial perks (e.g. writing off commercial expenses to get tax breaks or securing discounted supply contracts). Knowing the business has valid, unique BRNs reduces the risk of onboarding that business, as it’s a sign the business can financially support itself.

4. Check that a business has a reputable public presence

BRNs are public information, which means any business that has one can be found by looking through government records (if not in other places, like if they have a website or physical stores/offices). This gives the business visibility and credibility, as customers and partner companies are able to confirm it’s a legitimate business properly registered to operate in the U.S.

 Not only does this make the business better able to attract customers and partners, but it also reduces the risk the business is fraudulent from a KYB standpoint.

‍

If you want to verify businesses on a large scale, you’ll need an automated tool to look up BRNs and other identifying information quickly and efficiently. Here are three examples.

1. Middesk

Middesk provides complete coverage of U.S. businesses for information verification purposes. It draws data directly from the Secretary of State offices in 52 U.S. states and territories, along with other U.S. government agencies. It offers TIN matching for businesses and document retrieval services, giving you all the information you need to find a business’s BRNs. Middesk can also fetch plenty of other information needed to verify a business’s identity and assess its risk profile.

2. Trulioo

Trulioo is definitely capable of automating BRN lookups for you. It can collect data from over 450 government registries across over 195 countries, and recognizes over 700 million businesses and over 12,000 kinds of ID documents. However, Trulioo specializes more in individual identity verification, so its business verification and risk assessment capabilities may not be as potent.

3. Notice Ninja

Notice Ninja provides automated KYB tools that retrieve information directly from government agencies. It also has mechanisms to check that the information is up-to-date so you can accurately verify a business’s registration numbers. It’s difficult to determine the scope of Notice Ninja’s business verification abilities, though, as it’s primarily a commercial tax compliance platform.

‍

‍

Finding all of a business’s registration numbers to verify the business is operating legally and is what it claims to be can seem daunting, but it doesn’t have to be. Let Middesk do the legwork of bulk-searching government databases and organizing and normalizing information automatically so you have what you need to know within seconds, as opposed to minutes or hours you could take searching sources one at a time. Middesk has profiles on over 160 million businesses across the U.S. and growing, with the majority of them updated within 10 days.

Get in touch with our sales team to get a demo and see for yourself how Middesk can simplify your business verification and risk assessment processes.