Top 6 Business Identity Verification Tools
If your business or entity is involved in working with other organizations or vendors, you’d know that business identity verification tools are a necessity.
With a good KYB verification tool in your arsenal, you can ensure that you are doing business with a legitimate company. These types of tools verify business details to reduce the risk of fraud or illegal activities. It brings transparency to the table. That’s why choosing a good business identity verification tool for proper verification is important.
Essential Features Every Business Verification Tool Must Have
A solid Know Your Business (KYB) verification tool confirms who the business is and who owns/controls it. Continuous KYB monitoring also alerts businesses to changes in ownership, status, or risk profile of your clients. So, before choosing a KYB tool, you should make sure it has the following core functionalities:
- Verifies information such as legal name, EIN/TIN, registration status, address, and active/inactive status from official registries.
- Conducts ultimate beneficial ownership (UBO) verification by collecting and verifying the IDs and documents of beneficial owners, directors, and key officers.
- Conducts automated sanctions and watchlist screening for businesses and their owners.
- Offers API integrations for real-time checks and batch uploads as well as webhooks and developer-friendly documentation.
- Keeps records of requests, results, timestamps, and reviewer notes for audits.
- Monitors business details and sent alerts for any changes to registration status, changes in ownership, etc.
- Protects data using data encryption both at rest and in transit, access controls, and clear retention settings.
1. Compliancely
Unified KYB + EIN/TIN + Sanctions
Compliancely is a 360-degree business identity verification tool that lets you onboard merchants, vendors, and customers with a complete picture of their risk profile. It is designed for teams that want a single streamlined workflow to verify businesses, confirm EIN/TIN, collect required documents, and run sanction screenings.
Standout Features
- All-in-one Workflow: Not only does it verify business identity, but this platform also offers EIN / TIN business verification, sanctions/watchlist screening, and business registration document collection in one workflow.
- API Integration + Batch Operations: Provides APIs and plug-and-play widgets that lets you integrate into an existing workflow or system. Add to this, the ability to do bulk/batch operations and use of webhooks to get notified of any changes.
- Case & Evidence: Provides audit logs of when checks were run and reviewer notes. Plus, gives you the ability to export reports.
- Monitoring: Gives you the option to check if something about the business has changed and sends alerts or notifications anytime there is a change.
2. Trulioo Business
Global Registry Coverage + UBO Support
Trulioo is an automated global KYB verification tool that uses real-time data that’s refreshed every 15 seconds to verify entities and their owners. Its flexible workflows adapt to regional regulations and risk levels. This makes it ideal for onboarding businesses across countries that require extensive registry coverage and detailed ownership checks.
Standout Features
- Global Business Lookup: Gives you access to official government registries, credit bureaus and proprietary sources across different countries to verify details.
- UBO Verification: Identify and verifies a business’ ultimate beneficial ownership and provides a detailed ownership map to understand the hierarchy.
- Developer-friendly APIs & Sandboxes: Provides APIs and detailed documentation for faster integrations. There is also a sandbox environment to run tests before going live.
3. Middesk
U.S. Business Verification From Authoritative Sources
Middesk is a KYB verification tool that helps you automate business identity verification. It retrieves data needed for KYB directly from the US Secretary of State offices, the IRS, and more. It is made for onboarding teams that need fast, reliable data to stay compliant.
Standout Features
- U.S. Registry Data: Pull legal name, entity type, status, formation dates, registered agent, and filings directly from Secretary of State (SoS) filings across all U.S. states.
- Ownership & Filings Support: Workflows to fetch documents such as Articles of Incorporation and Certificate of Good Standing.
- Web Presence Insights: Checks a business’s online footprint like company website and verifies industry classification codes like NAICS, SIC, or MCC.
Note: This tool is primarily for U.S-based businesses.
4. Dun & Bradstreet
(D-U-N-S® & Linkage) Identity + Corporate Hierarchies
Dun & Bradstreet is a global leader in business data analytics. It offers a unique business identity verification tool- the D-U-N-S® number, a globally recognized standard for identifying businesses. It acts as a live business registry check to track business activities, verify credibility, and bring transparency. It is made for vendor management and B2B platforms that need detailed data and visibility into corporate family trees.
Standout Features
- D-U-N-S® Numbers: This unique nine-digit number is globally recognized method of verifying business identities within the massive D&B database.
- Comprehensive Linkage & Hierarchy: Live business identity linkage lets you see parent companies, subsidiaries, and branches to ensure you are working with verified and active businesses.
- Data Enrichment: Direct+ API provides access to business information such as addresses, industry codes, and longevity signals.
5. LexisNexis® Risk Solutions
Business Identity + Watchlists
LexisNexis® Risk Solutions is a trusted data analytics provider for organizations that require actionable insights to manage risks. It offers a variety of features including business identity verification capabilities which are designed for enterprises that need comprehensive workflows that combine entity data, ownership insights, and sanctions/PEP screening.
Standout Features
- Business identity products: Verifies businesses and lets you directly search for a business to confirm the data matches official records.
- Risk screening: Supports both batch and ongoing monitoring for risks from global watchlists, sanctions, PEPs, and media sources.
- Integrated Risk Workflows: Allows you to combine several risk signals like identity verification, sanctions checks, credit risk, and fraud detection into a single workflow.
Note: Enterprise-grade deployments may require more implementation planning.
6. Socure
API-First KYB with Owner Verification Options
Socure is a leader in digital identity verification and trust. It offers end-to-end fraud, risk, and compliance solutions. Using AI and ML combined with online and offline data, the platform verifies business identities in real-time and is designed for digital platforms that need quick API-based identity checks and owner verification.
Standout Features
- Business Lookup + Watchlists: Gives you access to global watching screening and monitoring with real-time alerts and updates. Plus, access to ‘Graph Intelligence’ for PII connections to spot risk ahead of time.
- Owner Capture & Verification: Collects and verifies UBO details and other relevant documents. It also identifies fake IDs, deepfakes, or stolen identities.
- Decisioning Support: Provides a Unified Decisioning Engine that brings together data and tools from over 90 sources for faster decision making and offers natural-language explanations.
Comparing Business Identity Verification Tools
| Platform | Key Strengths | UBO / Ownership | Sanctions / Watchlists | Best For | Global Business Verification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Compliancely | Unified KYB + EIN/TIN + Sanctions | Yes | Yes | Businesses needing a single workflow for onboarding + Risk profiles | Yes |
| Trulioo Business | Global Registry Coverage + UBO Support | Yes | Yes | Businesses onboarding globally + Real-time entity verification | Yes |
| Middesk | U.S. Business Verification | Yes | Optional | Businesses onboarding U.S.-based companies | Mainly U.S focused |
| Dun & Bradstreet (D-U-N-S®) | D-U-N-S® + Corporate Hierarchies Corporate linkage |
Optional/Partner | Vendor management & B2B platforms needing corporate family trees and business data | Yes | |
| LexisNexis® Risk Solutions | Enterprise identity + Risk Data + Watchlists | Yes | Enterprises needing comprehensive identity and risk assessment workflows | Yes | |
| Socure | API-First KYB + Owner Verification | Yes | Yes | Businesses needing fast API-based identity checks | Yes |
Examples of When to Use Business Verification Tools
Onboarding a new LLC
If a company is starting a business relationship with a new LLC, the business can use KYB verification tool to confirm the legal name, check the status of the LLC, collect UBO information, and even screen the owners before signing the contract.
Name/EIN (TIN) mismatch
If there is a mismatch between EIN and name during an EIN/TIN business verification where the legal name is wrong by a single word, the KYB or business verification tool would flag it.
Business has been inactive
If the registry shows the business has been inactive for some time, verification tool would automatically block the activation and route the case for manual review.
Ownership information is missing
If an applicant omits a 30% owner of the company, the system will identify the missing UBO information and require details to be submitted before proceeding.
Onboarding vendor from another country
If a business wants to onboard a vendor from another country, the tool will retrieve registries from the vendor’s source country as well as screen the business and its directors/owners.
FAQs
1. What is business identity verification or Know Your Business (KYB)?
Business identity verification, also known as Know Your Business (KYB), is the process of checking if a business entity is legitimate and active or not by checking the legal name, registration status, and address. It also includes identifying and verifying the individuals who own or control the business (ultimate beneficial owners or UBOs) and key officers.
2. Is verifying EIN enough?
No, verifying EIN alone is not enough for verifying a business. You would still need to verify the legal name of the business, its status, address, owners, and check against sanction/watchlists.
3. Do we need both API and batch?
Yes, you need both API integration and batch processing. API enables real-time verification and screening during onboarding or transactions. While batch processing is important for periodic re-verification or monitoring of large vendors.
4. How often should we re-verify?
Re-verification should occur at onboarding and on a scheduled basis (e.g., quarterly, biannually, or annually) or when official registry data or sanction/watchlist statuses change.
5. What evidence should we keep during KYB or business verification process?
To make sure you are audit ready, keep a comprehensive and secure audit trail. This includes requests made for verification, results, any documentation, reviewer notes, and timestamps.
6. Is data security important choosing a business verification tool?
Data security in business verification tools are mandatory for KYB processes since sensitive business and ownership data is involved. Make sure the tool you choose has secure encryption, strict access controls, and clearly defined retention policies with privacy regulations (such as GDPR or CCPA).
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