Quick answer
A D-U-N-S number is a nine-digit-style identifier that Dun & Bradstreet assigns to a business for its own commercial credit files. Whether one is needed depends on the purpose. For federal registration, no: the GSA moved SAM.gov and all its other systems to the Unique Entity ID on Monday, April 4, 2022, and that identifier is obtained at SAM.gov. For a Dun & Bradstreet credit file, a D-U-N-S number still matters, but the SBA's own five steps for building business credit do not list it as a requirement.
What is a DUNS number, and do I need one?
A D-U-N-S number is an identifier that Dun & Bradstreet assigns to a business so it can match records to the right company. It belongs to Dun & Bradstreet, not to any government agency. It is the thing that ties a business to its D&B credit file.
Whether a business needs one depends on what it is trying to do. If the goal is federal registration, the answer is no. If the goal is to have a Dun & Bradstreet file that vendors or lenders can look up, the number matters, because that file is built around it.
Many guides still say a DUNS number is required for federal work. That advice is out of date, and the next section explains why.
What replaced the DUNS number for federal use?
The Unique Entity ID. The GSA announced that on Monday, April 4, 2022, SAM.gov and all other General Services Administration systems would switch to the new Unique Entity ID (SAM). The identifier is obtained at SAM.gov.
So a business can end up with two separate identifiers for two separate purposes. The Unique Entity ID is for federal registration. The D-U-N-S number is for Dun & Bradstreet's commercial credit file. Having one does not substitute for the other.
Where does a DUNS number sit in the SBA's sequence?
It does not appear in it. The SBA publishes five steps for building business credit, in order: choose the right business structure, obtain an EIN, open a business bank account, establish credit with vendors and suppliers who report, and monitor your business credit reports. A D-U-N-S number is not named as a step.
The SBA's reasoning for the first step is that making a business a distinct legal entity requires selecting a structure such as an LLC, an LLP or a corporation. Its guidance also says that to keep business and personal finances separate, the first step is to start building credit in the company's name. A D-U-N-S number is a way for one bureau to identify that company, so the entity has to exist first.
That makes the entity and the EIN the real starting point. ZenBusiness helps with entity formation and offers accounting support to customers who form with it. It does not sell business credit, monitoring or any credit-building service, so it belongs at the start of the sequence, ahead of any credit tool.
What does an EIN have to do with it?
An EIN is the federal tax ID for a business. The SBA notes that it can be applied for free through the IRS assistance tool, and the IRS issues it at no charge. A service that charges for the number itself is selling something the government gives away.
State filing fees, where a state charges them, are set by the state and are separate from any formation service fee. Keeping those two figures apart makes cost comparisons honest.
Other terms that come up alongside it
Business credit file. The record a bureau keeps about a company, built from what vendors, suppliers and lenders report. A business with no reporting vendors has little on file.
Business credit report. A document showing what is on that file. A report shows where a business stands. It does not create credit.
Monitoring. Ongoing access to the file so a business can spot errors or non-reporting accounts. The SBA lists monitoring as the fifth step, after the entity, the EIN, the bank account and the vendor accounts.
Business credit score. A number a bureau produces from its file. How any given score is calculated is the bureau's own description, not a government standard, and no official source publishes a score lenders require.
Unique Entity ID. The federal identifier obtained at SAM.gov, which replaced the D-U-N-S number for federal systems.
Advance fee. Money collected before a loan or credit is granted. The FTC says any up-front fee a lender wants before granting a loan is a cue to walk away, especially when it is labelled insurance, processing or paperwork.
How do the providers differ?
The four providers below are listed alphabetically. The order is not a ranking. Experian, Dun & Bradstreet and Equifax own the reports, and all four sell the products described, so claims below are attributed to each company, not presented as government fact. Prices are as of 2026-10-06 and may have changed since.
Dun & Bradstreet
Dun & Bradstreet is the company behind the D-U-N-S number. It sells monitoring through D&B Credit Insights, the current name for the product formerly called CreditSignal. As of 2026-10-06 it has four tiers: Free at $0, Basic at $49 a month or $499 a year, Plus at $149 a month or $1,499 a year, and Premium at $199 a month or $1,999 a year.
Best for: businesses that want to see what is on their Dun & Bradstreet file, starting free.
Equifax
Equifax does not sell business credit reports directly. They are sold through approved resellers: eCredable for the one-time report and Nav for monitoring. That is a real difference from Experian and Dun & Bradstreet, which sell their own.
As of 2026-10-06, a one-time report is $49.99 and monitoring starts from $39.99 a month.
Best for: businesses that want an Equifax view and are comfortable buying through a reseller.
Experian
Experian sells its own business reports and subscriptions. As of 2026-10-06 its published prices are the CreditScore Report at $59.95 one-off, the ProfilePlus Report at $69.95 one-off, Business Credit Advantage at $199 a year, and Business CreditScore Pro at $1,995 a year.
Best for: businesses that want a direct report from a bureau, once or on subscription.
Nav
Nav is a monitoring platform. As of 2026-10-06 it has a Free tier at $0, Track at $39.99 a month, Build at $49.99 a month, and Expand at $74.99 a month. The free tier shows business credit summaries from all three bureaus.
Best for: businesses that want a free look across all three bureaus before deciding what else to pay for.
| Provider | Free option | Paid options (as of 2026-10-06) |
|---|---|---|
| Dun & Bradstreet | D&B Credit Insights Free, $0 | Basic $49/mo or $499/yr; Plus $149/mo or $1,499/yr; Premium $199/mo or $1,999/yr |
| Equifax | Not published | $49.99 one-time report; monitoring from $39.99/mo (via resellers) |
| Experian | Not published | CreditScore Report $59.95; ProfilePlus Report $69.95; Business Credit Advantage $199/yr; Business CreditScore Pro $1,995/yr |
| Nav | Free, $0 | Track $39.99/mo; Build $49.99/mo; Expand $74.99/mo |
Frequently asked questions
Is a DUNS number required to build business credit? The SBA's five steps do not list it. It matters for a Dun & Bradstreet credit file, which is one bureau's file.
Is a DUNS number required for federal contracts? Not any more. The federal identifier is the Unique Entity ID, obtained at SAM.gov.
Does a paid service need to get one? Whether a particular provider charges for it is up to that provider. Any fee should be checked against what the provider publishes.
Will a DUNS number raise a business credit score? No official source says an identifier changes a score, and score formulas are not published by the government.
Can a service guarantee that credit will be built fast? The FTC says banks and other legitimate lenders won't promise or guarantee a loan or credit before you apply. No official source publishes a timeline.
Sources
- U.S. General Services Administration, "GSA Systems Switch to Unique Entity ID (SAM) on April 4, 2022"
- U.S. Small Business Administration, "How to Build Business Credit Quickly: 5 Simple Steps"
- Internal Revenue Service, "Get an Employer Identification Number"
- Federal Trade Commission, "What To Know About Advance-Fee Loans"
This is general information, not legal, tax or accounting advice, and requirements vary and change.