What Is a D-U-N-S Number and Why Does a Business Have One?

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

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 rather than the D-U-N-S Number. A business can therefore have both identifiers for different purposes.

Read DSDillon’s guide to the SAM.gov Unique Entity ID →

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.