How to verify american business?

[imagination]

I need to verify that an american business is a properly tax registered company that still exists and that is safe to deal with from tax point of view. I also need to verify that a particular person is the owner of the business. What information do I need for that? I have an EIN number of the company but I'm not sure where to call to get the number verified (IRS?). Should I also request the photo of their ID to verify that they truly are registered owners of the business?

What verification procedure do you use and what do you typically need to do in order to connect the person to the business and the business to their business location?

 

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[SkyLake]

If you distrust them so much you need to verify all that before doing business.

Don't do business with them.

 

[Scot]

Typically what most businesses will do to verify good standing of a business will be to get their DnB number and do a credit check through DnB. I've never initiated one of those, only been on the receiving end, so I can't say how much that will cost to do.

As for verifying if the guy still works for the company, the best I can think of is making sure any emails you get are from his company email address. Logic would put it that if the guy worked there, he'd be sending emails from the company domain. If he were fired, he would be kicked out of his email. If you want to take it a step further, you can ask for a Letter of Intent on company letterhead through a main email address from the company, like Info@walmart.com . There isn't really a directory of CEO's out there. And it depends on the way the company is structured. I'm listed as the manager of my LLC on state documents, but if he's CEO and its a C-Corp, he may not necessarily be a majority owner, and therefore not on any official documents.

 

[imagination]

If you distrust them so much you need to verify all that before doing business.

Don't do business with them.

What has that to do with verifying somebody's identity? If it checks out you continue to trust them, if not then you do what you said.

 

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[imagination]

Typically what most businesses will do to verify good standing of a business will be to get their DnB number and do a credit check through DnB. I've never initiated one of those, only been on the receiving end, so I can't say how much that will cost to do.

As for verifying if the guy still works for the company, the best I can think of is making sure any emails you get are from his company email address. Logic would put it that if the guy worked there, he'd be sending emails from the company domain. If he were fired, he would be kicked out of his email. If you want to take it a step further, you can ask for a Letter of Intent on company letterhead through a main email address from the company, like Info@walmart.com . There isn't really a directory of CEO's out there. And it depends on the way the company is structured. I'm listed as the manager of my LLC on state documents, but if he's CEO and its a C-Corp, he may not necessarily be a majority owner, and therefore not on any official documents.

Thanks. My concern is like this: unless you can really verify something like that you can have a defunct company that somebody just hijacks the identity of and does business in it's name. Unless it is somehow possible to verify that the person you are signing contract with is really the registered owner of the company, how do you even know you are signing contract with somebody who has the authority to sign the contract on behalf of the company? Sure, you can visit the company place of business but suppose it is too far away for you to easily go there.

What other options do we have?

 

[imagination]

If you distrust them so much you need to verify all that before doing business.

Don't do business with them.

I have already decided that I wouldn't. And I totally agree with you. However, I do not live in the US and I need to establish a procedure for verifying a privately held companies in the US to be certain that they are who they say they are. I'm not familiar with how US business registration works yet. I'm reading up on it.

 

[Rabby]

Another tool would be the Department of State/Division of Corporations for the state the business is registered in. In the US, businesses are registered by state and county. The state will have a database where you can (usually) search by business name, owner/officer name, etc.

For example, in Florida it is:

Division of Corporations - Florida Department of State

While in Oregon it is:

Oregon Secretary of State

The Oregon Secretary of State works to maximize voter participation, is a watchdog for public spending, makes it easier to do business in Oregon, and preserves and promotes Oregon history.

sos.oregon.gov

If you have their address, try searching "<state> division of corporations".

Further investigation...

This is for when you're entering a relationship that needs deeper verification. I'll mention some things that are a bit invasive, but it's not my intention to endorse them. It's just that, in some situations, you might be assuming another person/businesses obligations, or extending a great deal of credit, etc to them. So it may be necessary to investigate more.

If you're worried about litigation, debts, or bankruptcy affecting the business, you can do a credit search using Dun & Bradstreet, Equifax Business, and/or Experian Business. Probably others. You might also run personal credit, with permission (required with disclosure under US law), on the owner.

Furthermore, you have a business address and an owner name and address. If you look up the county in which the business is located, you can start looking for more. Each county (~3,242 in the US) has the equivalent of a:

1. Clerk of the Circuit Court
2. Tax Collector
3. Property Appraiser

With these you can verify ownership of real estate owned, pull up property deeds, trust names (trust documents are usually witheld from public record), look up lawsuits filed in the county, divorces, bankruptcy filings in progress, mechanic's liens, mortgages and debts either taken or given, mortgage satisfaction, leases and lease satisfaction, affidavits signed, criminal records in the county, and more.

Each state also has a department of law enforcement where you can search criminal records for the owner (state level, rather than county... you'll need to search the state and several counties if you are looking ofr something criminal/misdemeanor).

You can also do a whois search on their domain(s) to see if there is contradictory information there (eg: domain is registered to a different person or business). Domains may be private however, or have the webmaster's name rather than the owner/business. Still, it's a potential crack in the facade if you're looking for something.

Now, that's a lot of stuff you can find. Tbh, I could probably list this much more, but you might not even need that. I should add the caveat that many people don't think this stuff is easily findable. So if you call them up and say "how about you use your property on 4th Street for collateral?", or "we could assume the debt you owe to Gerald Sanders in return for..." when the person never disclosed those details to you, you're probably going to burn the relationship. It also makes you creepy, which is bad. That said, I have no way of knowing who you're dealing with, or what the situation is. So these are some of the tools you can use, and the judgement is yours.

 

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[Rabby]

Also, you joined in 2012 and just now posted? Good heavens, make a progress thread