KYB Lookup

What a know-your-business review collects from public records, and how to request one.

KYB Lookup

Is This Business Legit

Quick answer. Asking if a business is legit is several questions. The one a public file answers is whether an entity by that legal name exists in a given state and what status the office shows. A KYB lookup is a stack of official sources. The legal entity comes from the state. The TIN match comes from the IRS. Sanctions come from OFAC. No single public page contains all three.

Official office

USA.gov — State governments

Open the official search

Steps

  1. Write the question

    Existence, status, TIN, or sanctions. They are different lookups.

  2. Open the matching official tool

    State search, IRS TIN matching, or OFAC. Do not substitute a blog.

  3. Paste the raw fields

    Name, number, status, date. Skip narrative.

  4. Mark gaps

    “EIN not provided” is a complete answer. A guessed EIN is not.

Legit starts with “does this legal entity exist”

A real filing does not mean the website you saw is that company. Match the legal name, the address, and the person. A cloned brand can sit on top of a real LLC or on no LLC at all.

Status “dissolved” means you are not dealing with an active charter, whatever the website says. Status “active” does not mean the offer is honest.

One fact, one source

People search “KYB lookup” hoping for one box. The useful version is a checklist with a URL for each line. Legal name and file number: secretary of state. Employer identification number: the company, confirmed through IRS TIN matching when you are eligible. Sanctions: OFAC Sanctions List Search.

Commercial data brokers republish pieces of this and add phone numbers and revenue estimates. Estimates are not records. If a field has no official source, label it as an estimate or leave it blank.

Common mistakes

  • One search box for three agencies.
  • Filling blanks with broker estimates.
  • Calling a lookup a verification certificate.
  • Skipping the date on each source.

Questions

Is there a national KYB database?

No. Entities are registered with states. Federal pieces (EIN, sanctions, BOI rules) live at different agencies.

What is business verification?

Matching the claimed legal entity to an official file and recording status. It is not a credit decision.

What is an ultimate beneficial owner lookup?

An ownership question. Most state entity searches do not list beneficial owners. Ask the company for documents and read current FinCEN rules before you describe a filing duty.

Sources reviewed