Many companies require their vendors to provide D&B, SIC or NAICS numbers before they will conduct business. These numbers are available at no cost.

D&B Number

Dun & Bradstreet is a private company which monitors business credit. They provide a free number to any business that is willing to wait 30 days. They also provide expedited Duns numbers and credit services on a fee basis.

To obtain a free D&B number, click here and enter your business ownership information.

Business credit is established through trade references, which are reported on a voluntary basis to a company such as Dun & Bradstreet. Usually, new businesses must wait a few months to start establishing credit. If you want to establish business credit with Dun & Bradstreet, you can provide references to Dun & Bradstreet, which they will verify to give you a credit rating. This is a fee-based service, and you must have 4 to 6 references which Dun & Bradstreet can verify. You can also improve your credit rating by providing D&B with information about contracts that you have received. For more information, visit http://www.dnb.com or call (800)234-3867.

Other resources available through the bookstore:

All about Credit

ABCs of Getting Out of Debt

Credit Repair Kit

SIC number

SIC stands for Standard Industrial Code, which is a system that categorizes all products and services. The SIC system is being replaced by the NAICS system (below), but some companies still request an SIC number. To obtain an SIC number, go to http://www.osha.gov/pls/imis/sicsearch.html and enter your product or service. If you sell multiple products or services, you may have multiple SIC codes.

NAICS number

NAICS stands for North American Industry Classification System, which has replaced the SIC system to categorizes all products and services. To obtain your NAICS number (no charge), go to http://www.naics.com/search.htm and enter your product or service. If you sell multiple products or services, you may have multiple NAICS codes.