The Data Universal Numbering System, abbreviated as DUNS or D-U-N-S, is a proprietary system developed and managed by

Dun & Bradstreet The Dun & Bradstreet Corporation is an American company that provides commercial data, analytics, and insights for businesses. Headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, the company offers a wide range of products and services for risk and financia ...

(D&B) that assigns a unique numeric identifier, referred to as a "DUNS number" to a single business entity. It was introduced in 1963 to support D&B's credit reporting practice. It is standard worldwide. DUNS users include the

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, the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

, the

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, and

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. More than 50 global industry and trade associations recognize, recommend, or require DUNS. The DUNS database contains over 300 million entries for businesses throughout the world.

Details

The DUNS number is a nine-digit number, issued by D&B, assigned to each business location in the D&B database, having a unique, separate, and distinct operation for the purpose of identifying them. The DUNS number is random, and the digits have no apparent significance. Until approximately December 2006, the DUNS number contained a mod-10

check digit A check digit is a form of redundancy check used for error detection on identification numbers, such as bank account numbers, which are used in an application where they will at least sometimes be input manually. It is analogous to a binary parity ...

to support error detection. Discontinuing the check digit increased the inventory of available DUNS numbers by 800 million. As of 25 February 2017, the website shows that there is no charge to get a DUNS number, and the time to create the number is 24 to 48 hours. When obtaining a DUNS number online, the wait is usually 30 business days, but assignment of a number can be immediate for UK businesses who provide their company registration number. When purchasing the "Small Business Starter" from

Dun & Bradstreet Credibility Corp Dun & Bradstreet Credibility Corp was a privately held company headquartered in Malibu, California, USA until it was purchased by Dun & Bradstreet in a $320 million deal that closed in May 2015. The company provided credit and credibility solut ...

the wait time reduces to 5 business days or less. Unlike national employer identification numbers, a DUNS number may be issued to any business worldwide. Certain U.S. government agencies require that a vendor have a DUNS number as well as a U.S. Employer Identification Number (EIN). Other agencies, such as some United Nations offices and

Australian government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Government i ...

agencies, require certain businesses to have a DUNS number. The U.S.

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(OMB), a United States federal agency, announced in the 27 June, 2003 issue of the

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that a DUNS number would be required for all grant applicants for new or renewal awards submitted on or after 1 October, 2003. The DUNS number is a supplement to other identifiers, such as the EIN, and is required whether the application is made electronically or on paper. A DUNS number is sometimes formatted with embedded dashes to promote readability, such as "15-048-3782". Modern usage typically omits dashes, and shows the number as in the form "150483782". The dashes are not part of D&B's official definition of the DUNS number. Businesses may choose to append four extra alphanumeric characters to their DUNS number. This is called a DUNS+4 number. The suffix is for the use of the business (for example, to identify different electronic funds transfer accounts). It has no significance otherwise and is not tracked by Dun & Bradstreet. Numerous other business-numbering systems exist independent of DUNS—for example, the International Suppliers Network system. However, few, if any, register as many international businesses as with DUNS. Prior to DUNS numbers, the U.S. government used another coding system known as ACASS. The ACASS number was abolished on 5 October, 2005, when a modernized platform replaced the ACASS system. The ACASS system now uses the DUNS number, rather than the former ACASS number.

References

{{Reflist Company identification numbers Unique identifiers Dun & Bradstreet

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See also

References