--- title: Why Does Your Business Need a DUNS Number? description: A DUNS Number is typically essential to your small business if you want to establish creditworthiness and build a solid financial profile for your company. Obtaining one is generally easy, and you may do it at no cost. image: https://smartbizbank.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/duns-number-1.jpg --- - [Share](https://smartbizbank.com/blog/duns-number#) - - - - [mailto:?subject=Check%20out%20https://smartbizbank.com/blog/duns-number](mailto:?subject=Check%20out%20https://smartbizbank.com/blog/duns-number) # Why Does Your Business Need a DUNS Number? May 16, 2023 By [Kristin Woodward ](https://smartbizbank.com/blog/author/kristin-woodward) If you're a small business owner, you may have heard of a DUNS Number and wondered if your company needs one. In short, the answer is typically yes. A DUNS Number is a unique identifier for your business that credit reporting agencies and trade associations around the world use. It's generally essential if you want to establish creditworthiness and build a solid financial profile for your company. [![Apply for an SBA Loan](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/21458256/5e044285-671c-49e1-956e-7b71ba93d17a.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/21458256/5e044285-671c-49e1-956e-7b71ba93d17a) ## What is a DUNS Number? The Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) is a proprietary system developed and regulated by Dun & Bradstreet (D&B). It assigns a nine-digit numeric identifier to a single business entity. Introduced in 1963 to support D&B's credit reporting practice, it has become a common standard worldwide. More than 50 global, industry, and trade associations recognize, recommend, or require DUNS. ## Why does my small business need a DUNS Number? Establishing a positive credit rating with major business credit reporting agencies like D&B is typically crucial for your small business. These agencies use your DUNS number to create your business credit file, similar to how they use your social security number to identify your personal credit reports. It may help you establish credibility and trust with lenders, creditors, and suppliers. With a DUNS number, obtaining financing, securing contracts, or establishing relationships with suppliers who may require a DUNS number as part of their due diligence process could be easier. By having a DUNS number, your small business is typically better able to differentiate itself from others and demonstrate its creditworthiness. [![See if you pre-qualify](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/21458256/148aad69-7273-4b38-a750-fffe1a2ccf0b.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/21458256/148aad69-7273-4b38-a750-fffe1a2ccf0b) ## How do I get a DUNS Number? There is no charge to get your DUNS Number. Simply [go to the D&B website](https://www.dnb.com/duns.html) and enter your legal business name, city, and state in the search box. If your company is already listed with D&B and has been issued a DUNS number, you may verify specific information about your business to gain authorization and access your files via iUpdate. If your company does not appear in the search results, you most likely do not have one and still need to register. When registering, you will need to have the following information on hand: - Legal name - Headquarters name and address for your business - Doing Business As (DBA) or other name by which your business is commonly recognized - Physical address, city, state and ZIP Code - Mailing address (if separate from headquarters and/or physical address) - Telephone number - Contact name and title - Number of employees at your physical location - Whether you are a Home-Based Business It’s important to note that D&B will create your file once you apply for a DUNS Number. But it will be considered an incomplete file (marketing file) if you don’t have any trade references reporting. If this is the case, you may either add trade references to your file by enrolling in a monitoring program or apply for credit and wait for a supplier to report your company’s payment activity. ## What’s the next step after I set up my DUNS Number? After obtaining a DUNS number, the next step is to start establishing business credit by adding positive trade references to your file. You may do this by making purchases with creditors that report payment activity. It's important to note that not all suppliers report payment activity, so it's typically crucial to do your due diligence and apply for credit with reporting creditors if your chief aim is to build your company’s credit file. By establishing a creditworthy profile, your small business typically has a better chance of obtaining financing, securing contracts, and building relationships with suppliers. With a DUNS number, you may better differentiate your small business from others and demonstrate your creditworthiness in the competitive landscape of the business world. If you need fast and easy financing, you may explore obtaining an SBA loan with SmartBiz using our easy slide calculator [here](https://www.smartbizloans.com/sba-how-it-works). [![See if you pre-qualify](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/21458256/11a444ec-35ef-489a-95bb-23fe9c10727f.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/21458256/11a444ec-35ef-489a-95bb-23fe9c10727f) ![Q3 Promo E1](https://smartbizbank.com/hubfs/Q3%20Promo%20Email%20Images/Q3%20Promo%20E1.png) ### Access Funds Quickly Apply for a Bank Term Loan from a bank in our trusted network [![See if you pre-qualify](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/21458256/08df270b-4561-4437-a5aa-11d47ef08efb.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/21458256/08df270b-4561-4437-a5aa-11d47ef08efb) - [Follow SmartBiz](https://smartbizbank.com/blog/duns-number#) - - - - - ### Access to the right loan for right now We’re connecting small businesses with SBA, bank term loans, lines of credit, and flexible financing options. [![See if you pre-qualify](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/21458256/08df270b-4561-4437-a5aa-11d47ef08efb.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/21458256/08df270b-4561-4437-a5aa-11d47ef08efb) ##### Topic - [Business Loans](https://smartbizloans.com/blog/tag/business-loans) - [Business Stories](https://smartbizloans.com/blog/tag/business-stories) - [Marketing](https://smartbizloans.com/blog/tag/marketing) - [Money Management](https://smartbizloans.com/blog/tag/money-management) - [Operations](https://smartbizloans.com/blog/tag/operations) ## Related Posts [ See all blog posts ](https://smartbizbank.com/blog) [Money Management July 01, 2026 ## How to Reforecast Your Budget Based on Summer Trends When you built your company’s budget for this year, you no doubt looked at past data. However, there were probably also some future projections that... Read More ](https://smartbizbank.com/blog/reforecast-your-budget-with-summer-trends-smartbiz-bank) [Money Management June 24, 2026 ## The Counterintuitive Truth About Summer Slowdowns For many small business owners, summer is an uncomfortable time of year. Many consumers travel or spend more time at home, which typically leads to them making fewer... Read More ](https://smartbizbank.com/blog/do-less-this-summer-to-grow-your-business-smartbiz-bank) [Money Management June 22, 2026 ## Small Business Revenue: Determine Where You Stand As a business owner, regularly reviewing your annual revenue gives you a clear picture of your company’s current health and helps you evolve your business strategically so... Read More ](https://smartbizbank.com/blog/small-business-revenue-determine-where-you-stand) ### Smart growth is smart business ## Access to the right loan for right now See if you pre-qualify, without impacting your credit score. 1 [ Apply Now ](https://smartbizbank.com/apply) 1. We conduct a soft credit pull that will not affect your credit score. However, in processing your loan application, SmartBiz Bank and the lenders with whom we work will request your full credit report from one or more consumer reporting agencies, which is considered a hard credit pull and may impact your credit score. The SmartBiz® Small Business Blog and other related communications from SmartBiz BankSM are intended to provide general information on relevant topics for managing small businesses. Be aware that this is not a comprehensive analysis of the subject matter covered and is not intended to provide specific recommendations to you or your business with respect to the matters addressed. 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