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DUNS Number Meaning: What is a DUNS Number?

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September 09, 2019


What is the DUNS Number meaning? What is a DUNS Number? And the DUNS meaning? What is the DUNS Number definition? All businesspeople should know the answer!

What is a DUNS Number?

In 1963 Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) created the Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS or D-U-N-S) to identify businesses for its business credit reporting system. DUNS is a proprietary method of assigning unique nine-digit identification numbers to businesses. Along with the DUNS number, a business profile is created along with the following data points in a common database:

  • Company's Name
  • Company's Phone Number
  • Company's Address
  • Company's Number of Workers
  • Company's Other Relevant Corporate Information

It has been reported that there over 300 million entries for businesses across the globe in the DUNS database.

DUNS Number Definition

The Data Universal Numbering System, DUNS Number, or D-U-N-S Number, is a proprietary means of assigning a nine-digit identification number to a business. Embedded dashes are sometimes included to enhance readability, but they do not represent D&B’s official definition of the DUNS Number. Once assigned, a DUNS Number is never re-used, even if the business associated with it ceases to exist.

DUNS Number Meaning & Purpose

Maintained by Dun & Bradstreet, it is considered a common worldwide standard for commercial, non-profit, and government entities, as well as some self-employed individuals. In addition to serving as a worldwide standard for business identification, D&B use that number to create a business credit file.

The DUNS Number is free for creation by companies in the USA, and it 
is the most widely used method for identifying companies in the United States. 

DUNS Number Acquisition

If you are a Nexcess client and require a DUNS Number, you may acquire one via the Dun & Bradstreet D‑U‑N‑S® Number websiteIt normally takes about one business day, and the DUNS Number is randomly generated.

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Paul Stubblefield
Paul Stubblefield


Nexcess Knowledge Base Owner
Content Marketing in Nexcess Digital Marketing
Nexcess, A Liquid Web Brand

Paul Stubblefield
— Technical Writer & Knowledge Management Professional

"Delivering the next generation of life-enhancing technology platforms, software solutions, and mobile-ready applications for technology pioneers, thought leaders, and market innovators in a robustly connected world."

Paul lives in Bonita Springs, Florida, USA. He is an aficionado of art, coffee, good-natured humor, lifelong learning, music, nature, pets, technology, world cultures, and his Zen Patio Garden project.

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