Dun and Bradstreet Business Directory: Free Listing Guide

The Dun and Bradstreet business directory is the public-facing side of Dun & Bradstreet’s company database: a profile page for a business that sits next to its D-U-N-S Number, the nine-digit identifier D&B assigns to businesses. You can look up a record for free, ask for a number for free, and request corrections for free, while a separate Business Listing product sells extra profile features by subscription. Our take: treat D&B as business identity housekeeping, not as a ranking tactic. Look up your record, fix the legal name and address through the free tool, get the D-U-N-S Number if an app store or lender asks for it, and be skeptical of any paid tier until you know exactly what it adds. People search for it under several names (D&B business directory, DNB business directory, Dun and Bradstreet profile), and they all point to the same few pages. This guide covers how to look up and claim your record, what a D-U-N-S Number is for, what D&B charges for on top, and what a D&B profile honestly does for local SEO.

One limit on what follows: D&B’s business directory profile pages and its directory landing page refused our fetch tools (HTTP 403) when we tried to read them. So everything below comes from the D&B pages we could open (the D-U-N-S, lookup, request, D-U-N-S Manager, Business Listing and Credit Insights pages), plus the pages of the organizations that rely on the number. Where a detail lives only on a page we could not read, we say so.

What the D&B business directory and a D-U-N-S Number actually are

D&B sells several things under one name, and the mix-up is the main source of confusion:

Thing	What it is	Cost per D&B’s pages
D-U-N-S Number	A unique nine-digit identifier used exclusively for businesses	Free to get and free to look up
Company record (credit file)	The data D&B holds about the company: credit history, ratings, scores, lawsuits, liens and judgments, per D&B’s lookup page	Free to view and request updates via D-U-N-S Manager (U.S.-based, non-public companies)
Business Directory profile	The public profile page you can claim and customize	Free tier, with paid tiers via Business Listing
Credit and risk products	Scores, ratings and monitoring, for example D&B Credit Insights	Free tier, then paid tiers

D&B’s lookup page is explicit that the number itself holds no stability or credit data. It links to the company’s business credit file. That matters for expectations: the number is an ID, and what other parties judge you on is the file behind it.

D&B also says D-U-N-S Numbers are assigned at an individual branch level. A company with several locations can have several numbers, which is why the organizations that ask for one are specific about which one they want (more on that below).

Dun and Bradstreet company search: how to look up a record

Anyone can use D&B’s D-U-N-S Lookup for free. It searches D&B’s data and offers two modes, “My Company” and “Other Company”. For your own company you can search by address or phone number.

1. Search under your current legal name and address first. Then try a former name, a former address and your phone number, because older records often carry old details.
2. If the tool returns a number, you are done with the lookup. The number links to the company’s credit file.
3. If it returns nothing, do not assume you have no record. D&B’s own troubleshooting note says the address or phone in your D&B profile may not match what you typed, so you may need to update the profile, or you may not have a number yet.

How to get a free D-U-N-S Number

D&B states plainly: “Getting a D-U-N-S Number is free.” Its request page tells you to use the search tool first to see whether your business already has one. If not, the form asks for two things: a business ZIP code (U.S. only) and a business name. The request then moves through three steps: Add Business, Select Package and Sign In.

Three points that save time:

• Check first, request second. Requesting a number for a business that already has one is how duplicate records start. Apple’s help page makes the same point: D&B may already have assigned your organization a free number, so look it up before enrolling.
• Ownership is checked. D&B’s lookup page says numbers must be requested by a verified business owner or officer. Apple adds that a D&B representative may contact you for details such as business type or number of employees, and to have your business registration documents ready.
• The Select Package step is a place to slow down. D&B’s page calls the number free but does not explain what the package step offers or whether any option costs money. Google’s help page for developer accounts warns that third-party services may attempt to charge high administrative fees for this free registration. The safe default is to request it directly from dnb.com.

How long it takes

The official pages disagree, so plan for the long end:

Source	What it says
D&B app page	Up to 30 business days after you submit, subject to D&B verification and acceptance
Google Play help	The process can take up to 30 days
Apple Developer help	Allow up to 5 business days to receive it; expediting will not shorten the wait; if it takes longer than two weeks, email D&B. Then up to 2 more business days for Apple to receive your information from D&B

If you need a number for an app store account, start the request before you need it.

Who asks for a D-U-N-S Number, according to their own pages

D&B’s page says organizations “may use your D-U-N-S Number to evaluate your business credit profile, maintain their records, onboard your company, and maintain compliance.” Only some parties name it as a requirement on their own pages:

• Apple Developer Program. Apple’s page says companies and educational institutions must provide a D-U-N-S Number registered to their legal entity, that it is optional for government organizations, and that individuals do not need one. It also says DBAs, fictitious businesses, trade names and branches are not accepted, and that a sole proprietorship should enroll as an individual.
• Google Play. Google’s help page says only organization accounts require one: “You will not be able to create a developer account for an organization without one.” Google says it will not make exemptions or extend deadlines for organization accounts that lack one.
• U.S. federal government: no longer. GSA announced that on April 4, 2022 SAM.gov and its other systems would stop using the D-U-N-S Number to identify entities and use a new Unique Entity ID instead. SAM.gov says that ID is assigned during entity registration, or you can get an ID alone with your legal business name and physical address (an ID alone does not let you apply for federal awards). D&B’s own government page agrees and adds that many state and local agencies still work with D-U-N-S Numbers.
• Lenders, grant programs and marketplaces. D&B says you may also need a number when you apply for loans or grants and that global marketplaces may ask for it during their application process. D&B does not name them, so we will not either.

Because Apple and Google both want a number matched to a legal entity, use your registered legal name, not your trade name, when you look up or request one.

How to claim or update your D&B record

There are two separate jobs here, and they use different tools.

Fix the company record (free)

D-U-N-S Manager is D&B’s free tool for viewing and requesting updates to your company information. D&B’s page sets these rules:

• It is for U.S.-based, non-public commercial organizations.
• You must be the company’s owner, director or officer, and you verify your identity and your association with the business.
• You can request changes to basic information such as legal name, address or number of employees, upload financial statements and dispute payment experiences on your business credit report.
• All requests are reviewed and validated by D&B, which may contact a registered company officer, and D&B says it cannot guarantee that a requested update will be accepted.
• D&B recommends reviewing your information annually and after a major change such as a move, an ownership change or a new branch.

D&B’s view and update page says you can review and update your company’s business information for free. The search form marks the legal business name, street address and city and ZIP code as required and also has a business phone field. If no match appears, the page points to requesting a new number.

Claim the public directory profile

D&B’s Business Listing page says you can claim your company profile on the D&B Business Directory, and that doing so helps keep a consistent business identity online. It also says the directory gets “more than 16M unique views per month”. That figure is D&B’s own statement, we cannot check it, and a view count is not the same as customers.

We could not open a directory profile page, so we cannot tell you the exact button wording or the verification steps on the profile itself. What the Business Listing page does say is that submissions through it may be reviewed and validated by D&B, that D&B cannot guarantee a submission will be accepted, and that information submitted through Business Listing is not added to the company’s credit file and does not affect its scores and ratings.

Can you remove a business from the D&B directory?

We could not confirm a self-service way to delete a company profile. D-U-N-S Manager, as D&B describes it, handles update requests and payment-experience disputes, and its page does not mention removal. D&B’s privacy notice (we read the Canadian-site version) says an individual may ask to be excluded from its professional contacts database, in writing, by phone or through an online case form, but it also says D&B continues to provide a company’s contact information in its business reports. So a person’s contact record and a company’s profile are different things. If you want a company profile gone, ask D&B in writing and expect that it may decline.

What D&B sells on top, and what it costs

At the time of writing (November 2026), these were the prices on D&B’s own pages. Prices change and paid products renew automatically at the list price in effect at renewal, which D&B says may be higher than the purchase price, so confirm on the page before you buy.

Business Listing (D&B’s page):

Tier	Price shown	What it adds
Free	$0	Customizing hours of operation, languages, social media URLs and payment methods
Basic	$99 a month or $999 a year	Everything in Free, plus a company description, tagline, logo, 5 photos and 5 videos
Plus	$119 a month or $1,199 a year	Everything in Basic, plus 10 photos, 10 videos and “Sync Your Info Across 80+ Sites”

D&B’s page says the sync distributes your information to more than 80 online platforms, including Apple Maps, Bing and Yahoo, in one step, subject to validation. To cancel, the page says to use Cancel Renewal from the profile menu in your D&B account before the term ends, or call the number it lists.

Credit Insights (D&B’s page): a score-and-monitoring product with a free tier at $0 a month, then Basic at $49 a month or $499 a year, Plus at $149 or $1,499, and Premium at $199 or $1,999. The free tier leaves out the Maximum Credit Recommendation and D&B Rating, and D&B’s free tier page says it shows risk range indicators (such as low, moderate, high) for the PAYDEX, Delinquency, Failure and Supplier Evaluation Risk measures rather than the scores themselves.

If the goal is to be findable and correct, the free tools cover identity. Seeing your own credit scores is a credit product, not a listing product, and should be priced as one. Nothing on the pages we read says a paid tier is needed to have a number or a record.

Does a Dun and Bradstreet listing help local SEO?

Be careful here, because the honest answer is smaller than the sales language around it. We found no independent source that publishes a D&B profile as a confirmed Google ranking factor, and D&B’s pages do not claim one. What is defensible:

• It is a public business record. A D&B profile is another place where your name, address and other details can be checked against your website and your Google Business Profile. Consistency across sources is the job every local citation does, and the free NAP checker shows what the open web currently says about you.
• The data underneath is wider than a normal directory. Because the profile sits on a credit-file database, a wrong legal name or an old address there can contradict what you publish elsewhere. Fixing it through D-U-N-S Manager is cheap and removes a conflict.
• The paid sync is a convenience, not a requirement. D&B says Plus pushes your details to more than 80 platforms. You can reach the major ones yourself, and our roundup of free business listing sites lists the ones that cost nothing.

For context, D&B is not in our directory catalog, which tracks citation sites by country and industry. That is a statement about our catalog, not a verdict on D&B, and D&B’s identity data matters for different reasons (credit, onboarding, app stores) than a typical consumer-facing directory. If you want to see what is in the catalog for your own market, use the local citation finder. For a comparable free-profile-plus-paid-upgrade model, see our guide to a Manta business listing.

Common mistakes with a D&B record

• Requesting a new number without a lookup. Search first, so you do not create a second record for the same business.
• Using a trade name for an app store account. Apple and Google both want the legal entity, and Apple lists DBAs and branches as not accepted.
• Paying a third party for a free number. Google’s help page specifically warns about administrative fees on the free registration.
• Ignoring address changes. After a move or an ownership change, D&B recommends updating your information. A stale address there will disagree with your fixed listings, as we describe in changing your business address everywhere and in the guide to finding and fixing duplicate listings.
• Assuming a paid tier improves your credit scores. D&B states that Business Listing information is not added to the credit file and does not impact scores or ratings.

A short D&B checklist

1. Write down your exact registered legal name, address and phone before you search.
2. Run the D&B lookup under current and former names and addresses.
3. If you have a number, open D-U-N-S Manager as an owner, director or officer and correct the legal name, address and employee count.
4. If you have no number and need one, request it directly from dnb.com and start early: allow up to 30 business days.
5. Match the details to your Google Business Profile and website, and recheck them with the NAP checker a few weeks later.
6. Skip paid tiers until you can name the specific feature you want and its renewal price.

D&B in the wider picture of listings and AI answers

A D&B profile is one of many identity records the open web holds about a business. Search engines and AI assistants read them together, as we explain in our guide to citations for AI search, so the aim is not to win at any single directory but to make every record say the same thing. Your D&B record is one you manage directly, using the free tools above, and the directory side of the same job is covered in our citation building service.