Entity Verification

Entity verification is the process of confirming that a business exists as a legal entity and that the information provided about it is accurate.

What Gets Verified

Legal name: Secretary of State records

Registration status: State business registry lookup

Formation date: Official filing records

Registered agent: State records

EIN/Tax ID: IRS databases, TIN matching

Address: Postal verification, commercial databases

Officers/directors: Corporate filings, registry data

Verification vs. Validation

Verification: Confirming information matches authoritative sources

Validation: Checking that data is properly formatted and complete

Validation happens first (is this a valid EIN format?), verification happens second (does this EIN belong to this company?).

Entity Verification in KYB

Entity verification is the foundation of KYB. Without confirming the business exists:

• Beneficial ownership verification is meaningless
• Sanctions screening may miss true parties
• Risk assessment lacks a valid subject

Challenges

• Jurisdiction fragmentation: 50+ US states, each with different systems
• Data freshness: Registry data may be outdated
• Name variations: Trade names, DBAs, abbreviations
• Entity evolution: Mergers, conversions, dissolutions

See Entity Resolution for techniques to match entities across data sources.

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Related: Legal Entity | Entity Resolution | Secretary of State