About verifyabn.com
verifyabn.com is an independent, unofficial ABN checker. It reads the public Australian Business Register through the ABR's web services and adds a short explanation beside the record: whether the ABN is active and whether the ATO's no-ABN withholding rule is likely to apply, with the rule behind it.
Updated .
Who runs it
Rai Ansar runs verifyabn.com independently. It has no connection to the Australian Business Register, the ATO, ASIC, the Department of Industry, Science and Resources or any other part of the Australian Government, and none of them endorse or approve it. The ABR's web services agreement forbids implying otherwise, and this site doesn't (ABN Lookup: Web Services Agreement (opens in a new tab)).
For anything official, use ABN Lookup (opens in a new tab). Each live record shown here links to its official entry.
Where the data comes from
Lookups call the ABR's web services, the same register that ABN Lookup shows. For an ABN or ACN, the site asks for the full record, including history; for a name, it asks for up to 20 matching names. The site only shows details the ABR publishes (ABR: Your ABN details on the ABR (opens in a new tab)).
The ABR itself says its information may not always be current or complete, because it relies on what businesses tell it (ABN Lookup: Disclaimer (opens in a new tab)). Each result shows when the register was last updated and when this site fetched it.
A result is kept for up to 15 minutes so repeat checks are quick. Once that copy expires, the next lookup asks the register again. The ABR's web services agreement says that when the ABR notifies a user that details have been withdrawn, for example to protect someone's privacy, the user must delete all copies (ABN Lookup: Web Services Agreement (opens in a new tab)). Keeping results for 15 minutes at most limits how long a withdrawn detail could stay in this site's copy of a result.
How the answer is worked out
- Yes when the ABN is active and its name is public. The answer still tells you to match the invoice name to the record, because the ATO says to withhold when the details don't match the supplier (ATO: Checking an ABN (opens in a new tab)).
- Check first when the ABN is active but its name is suppressed, so you can't match it (ABR: Request non-disclosure of ABN details (opens in a new tab)).
- No when the ABN is cancelled, fails the checksum, or isn't on the register, which means don't pay in full on that ABN. The answer quotes the ATO's withholding rule: over $75 excluding GST, withhold the top rate, 47%, unless an exception applies (ATO: Withholding if ABN is not provided (opens in a new tab); ATO: Foreign resident PAYG withholding (top rate of tax: 47%) (opens in a new tab); ATO: Payments you don't withhold from (opens in a new tab)).
The GST line uses the ATO's guidance on GST credits (ATO: When you can claim a GST credit (opens in a new tab)). The business name check applies part of ASIC's identical-name rules and says which parts it doesn't (ASIC: Rules for acceptable business names (opens in a new tab)).
Every rule was read on the official sites listed under each page's sources, on the date shown there, and each page's Updated date is when it was last checked against them. This is general information, not tax or legal advice.
What it won't do
- Show a business's street address, phone number or associates (its partners, directors or trustees): the ABR doesn't publish them (ABR: Your ABN details on the ABR (opens in a new tab)).
- Tell you who the directors of a company are, or whether ASIC still has it registered: search ASIC Connect (opens in a new tab) for that.
- Make up or fill in data. If the register can't be reached, the page says so and points you to ABN Lookup.
Ads and affiliate links
There are no ads and no sponsored results. If the site ever carries an affiliate link, for example to invoicing software on the "how to get an ABN" page, it will be labelled as one where it appears, and it won't change any answer.
Contact and corrections
Found a mistake, or a rule that has changed? Email hello@verifyabn.com. This site can't change register records: each business is responsible for keeping its own ABN details up to date with the ABR (ABR: ABN important facts (opens in a new tab)).
Sources
Every rule on this page comes from the official pages listed here. Each was read on the date shown, and the Updated date at the top is when this page was last checked against them.
- ABN Lookup: Web Services Agreement (opens in a new tab) Read 30 September 2026.
- ABN Lookup: Disclaimer (opens in a new tab) Read 30 September 2026.
- ABR: Your ABN details on the ABR (opens in a new tab) Read 30 September 2026, page updated 5 August 2024.
- ABR: Request non-disclosure of ABN details (opens in a new tab) Read 30 September 2026.
- ABR: ABN important facts (opens in a new tab) Read 30 September 2026, page updated 17 June 2022.
- ATO: Checking an ABN (opens in a new tab) Read 30 September 2026, page updated 11 June 2025, QC51686.
- ATO: Withholding if ABN is not provided (opens in a new tab) Read 30 September 2026, page updated 11 June 2025, QC51682.
- ATO: Foreign resident PAYG withholding (top rate of tax: 47%) (opens in a new tab) Read 30 September 2026, page updated 3 June 2026, QC18618.
- ATO: Payments you don't withhold from (opens in a new tab) Read 30 September 2026, page updated 11 June 2025, QC51683.
- ATO: When you can claim a GST credit (opens in a new tab) Read 30 September 2026, page updated 14 September 2026, QC22431.
- ASIC: Rules for acceptable business names (opens in a new tab) Read 30 September 2026.