Business Identity
What Is a D-U-N-S Number and Why Does a Business Have One?
A practical guide to the Dun & Bradstreet D-U-N-S Number, business identity and credit files, and DSDillon’s published D-U-N-S identifier.
On this page
The direct answer
A D-U-N-S Number is a unique nine-digit business identifier issued by Dun & Bradstreet. D&B uses the identifier to associate a business with its business-information and commercial-credit file.
The identifier can help counterparties distinguish one legal or operating entity from another, especially where similar names, multiple locations or international relationships make business identity harder to establish from a company name alone.
How a D-U-N-S Number is used
Businesses, suppliers and financial or commercial counterparties may use D&B information during vendor onboarding, credit review, procurement or entity due diligence. A D-U-N-S Number is an identifier; it is not itself a credit rating, licence or government approval.
The underlying D&B file can contain business information used in commercial risk decisions. Businesses should therefore keep their D&B record accurate when the identifier matters to customers or counterparties.
DSDillon’s D-U-N-S Number
Company identifier
DSDillon D-U-N-S Number: 11-901-9915.
DSDillon publishes this identifier as part of its institutional verification information. It provides another reference point for organizations performing vendor or business-identity checks.
D-U-N-S and the U.S. federal Unique Entity ID are different
The D-U-N-S Number remains a Dun & Bradstreet business identifier. The U.S. federal government now uses the Unique Entity ID assigned through SAM.gov for federal award systems. The D-U-N-S Number remains a separate Dun & Bradstreet identifier. A business can therefore have both identifiers for different purposes.
How to check D&B information
Dun & Bradstreet provides official information explaining the D-U-N-S system and tools for business lookup. Use D&B’s current records for third-party verification rather than treating a number printed on a website as the only evidence.
The D-U-N-S Number still has a commercial identity role after the federal UEI transition.
Dun & Bradstreet describes the D-U-N-S Number as its proprietary nine-digit global business identifier. It is used to associate a business location with D&B records and can appear in supplier, credit and due-diligence workflows. The number itself is not a credit score and does not state whether the business is financially strong.
The U.S. federal award system changed its identifier. SAM.gov now assigns the government Unique Entity ID for federal registration and award processes, so a D-U-N-S Number should not be presented as the current federal award identifier. A business can still maintain both because they belong to different information systems.
- Check the D&B record when D-U-N-S information matters to a commercial decision.
- Check SAM.gov when the question concerns federal entity registration or UEI status.
- Match the legal business and location details rather than relying on an identifier copied from a third-party page.
Why this distinction matters
Procurement teams often collect several identifiers at once. Keeping D-U-N-S, UEI and EIN roles separate reduces false verification and makes it clearer which official or proprietary system should answer each question.
Current primary source: Dun & Bradstreet D-U-N-S Number
Sources and methodology
D-U-N-S descriptions were checked against Dun & Bradstreet’s official materials on 17 September 2026. The DSDillon identifier shown above is the company identifier supplied for publication.
