A Brief History
Some years ago a company called Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) came up with a system for determining the creditworthiness of individual businesses. The system requires a company trying to establish a good credit rating to register with D&B. The registration process requires your company to provide information related to your company's size, location, number of years in business, cash flow, capital, etc.
Your company's information is then placed in D&B's database and the company assigned a DUNS Number. The information you provide regarding your company is used to create a credit profile for the company.
The DUNS Number itself is used by D&B, SBA, GSA CCR and a number of other agencies to identify your company. The number may be aptly analogous to a Federal Employer Identification Number or Social Security Number. Using your DUNS Number, the GSA can review your credit history as reported by D&B.
DUNS Number Required
If you wish to participate in the GSA Schedules program you are required to have a DUNS Number. You may obtain a DUNS Number by filling out the paperwork yourself and submitting it to D&B.
As a result of obtaining a DUNS Number, you might be included on D&B's marketing list that is sold to other companies. If you do not want your name or company name included on this marketing list, you will need to contact D&B to request your company's name be removed.