How to Check an ABN in 2026: Using ABN Lookup, Checking GST Status and Spotting Fake Invoices

An Australian Business Number is public on purpose. Anyone can check it, free, in a few seconds — and knowing how to check an ABN properly protects you from paying GST you can't claim back, from withholding headaches, and from invoices sent by scammers. This guide is for small business owners, bookkeepers, tradies and anyone about to pay a business they don't know well. It explains what ABN Lookup shows and what each line means, how to confirm a supplier is registered for GST, the quick check-digit test for a mistyped number, when you must withhold 47%, and how to keep your own record correct.

Quick answer

Go to ABN Lookup at abr.business.gov.au and type the ABN, ACN or business name into the search box — it's free and there's no login. Check that the entity name matches who you're dealing with, the ABN status says Active, and the GST line says Registered from a date if they're charging you GST.

• ABN Lookup refreshes from the Australian Business Register every hour

• Not registered for GST? They can't charge GST, and you can't claim it on your BAS

• No ABN quoted by a business supplier → withhold 47% (exceptions apply, e.g. A$75 or less)

• Your own details must be updated within 28 days of a change

What ABN Lookup is and who uses it

ABN Lookup is the public window onto the Australian Business Register (ABR), the register of ABNs that the ATO maintains for the Commonwealth. Every business, company, partnership, trust, charity and government body with an ABN appears there. The ABR describes four groups of users: the public checking a business before buying, businesses checking suppliers, partners or their own details, accountants and tax agents verifying information, and government agencies confirming identity.

You'll want to run a check in these everyday situations:

• Before paying a new supplier or contractor — to confirm the business exists, is active and is the entity named on the invoice.
• Before claiming GST credits — to confirm the supplier is registered for GST, since only registered businesses can issue valid tax invoices that let you claim.
• When onboarding a contractor — to decide whether you need to withhold under the no-ABN rules.
• Before signing a lease, franchise or large contract — to confirm the legal entity behind the trading brand.
• When a customer asks you for your ABN — to make sure your own record is current, because customers and banks look you up too.
• When a donation is claimed as deductible — the record shows whether a charity is a deductible gift recipient (DGR).

ABN Lookup is free and has no login. It isn't the place to apply for an ABN — for that, see our ABN registration guide — and it can't change anyone's details. It's read-only.

How to check an ABN, step by step

Searching takes under a minute. The key is reading the record properly once it appears.

Checking an ABN on ABN Lookup

1. 1

   Open ABN Lookup

   Go to abr.business.gov.au. Ignore look-alike sites that ask for payment or personal details — the official search is free.

   Open ABN Lookup
2. 2

   Search by ABN, ACN or name

   Type the 11-digit ABN (spaces don't matter), a 9-digit ACN, or a name into the search box. For a name, results list every match with its ABN, state and postcode.

   Tip: Use Advanced search to tick entity, business or trading names and narrow by state or postcode when a name is common.

3. 3

   Open the record

   Click the ABN to see the full record: entity name, ABN status, entity type, GST, main business location, business names and DGR status.

4. 4

   Match it to your paperwork

   Compare the entity name and ABN with the invoice, quote or contract. A business name on the invoice should appear under the same ABN.

5. 5

   Check the history if anything looks odd

   The historical details show earlier names, status changes and GST periods — useful if the ABN was recently reactivated or the name changed.

6. 6

   Keep a record

   Save or print the record (with the date) for your supplier file. It shows you checked before paying.

If you're checking many numbers at once — for example, a supplier list in a spreadsheet — the ABR offers free ABN Lookup web services that let software validate ABNs and pre-fill details. You register, accept the web services agreement and receive an authentication GUID by email. Many accounting and payroll packages already use this behind the scenes, which is why your software can flag a cancelled ABN on a new contact.

What the details on an ABN Lookup record mean

A record is short, but every line answers a different question. The ABR's FAQ confirms the public details that can appear.

A few details trip people up. The entity name is the legal name, which for a sole trader is their personal name — so "Smith Plumbing" may appear as a business name under the entity "John Andrew Smith". For a company, it's the name registered with ASIC, such as "Harbour Joinery Pty Ltd".

Trading names look official but aren't. The ABR stopped collecting and updating trading names in May 2012 when the national Business Names Register started at ASIC. Names collected before then still display as history only. If a business trades under a name that isn't its legal name, it should have a registered business name — our business name registration guide explains the rules.

What you won't see: ABN Lookup deliberately leaves out the street address, phone, email and industry code. In rare cases the ABR also suppresses public details — for example, where publishing them could put a person at risk, such as when a domestic violence order is in place. A suppressed record isn't automatically suspicious, but you'll need other ways to verify that business.

Active vs cancelled

An active ABN means the registration is current. A cancelled ABN has been deactivated — either the holder cancelled it, or the ABR cancelled it because records showed the entity was no longer carrying on a business. The ABR says it may cancel ABNs where that's the case, which is one reason long-dormant sole traders sometimes find their number cancelled. A business can't validly quote a cancelled ABN to avoid no-ABN withholding, so if your new contractor's ABN is cancelled, sort it out before paying.

Timing matters too. ABN Lookup updates from the ABR every hour, and a brand-new ABN appears on the day it becomes active. But the data is only as current as what businesses tell the ABR, so the ABR itself warns it can't guarantee every record is up to date.

How to check if a business is registered for GST

This is the check that matters most at BAS time. In the GST line of the record you'll see either "Registered from" followed by a date, or a statement that the entity isn't currently registered for GST. The historical details can also show earlier GST registration periods.

Why it matters: a business that isn't registered for GST can't charge you GST, and you can't claim a GST credit on what you buy from it. If an unregistered supplier's invoice adds 10% "GST" and you pay it, you're out of pocket — and if you claim it at 1B on your BAS, the ATO can disallow the claim and add interest. The reverse also happens: a supplier whose GST registration started part-way through the year can only charge GST from that date.

Check the dates against the invoice date. If the GST registration began on 1 September 2026 and the invoice is dated 15 August 2026, GST shouldn't have been charged.

Remember the tax invoice rules too. Under the ATO's tax invoice requirements, an invoice for a taxable sale needs to show — among seven details — that it's intended to be a tax invoice, the seller's identity and ABN, the date, a description, the GST amount and which items are taxable. For sales of A$1,000 or more, it must also show the buyer's identity or ABN. You don't need a tax invoice to claim a credit for purchases of A$82.50 or less (including GST), but you still need a record. Our GST in Australia guide has worked examples.

Is the ABN itself valid? The check-digit test

Sometimes the problem isn't fraud — it's a typo. Every ABN has 11 digits: a 9-digit identifier with two leading check digits calculated using a modulus 89 formula. The ABR publishes the method, so you can tell instantly whether a number could be a real ABN at all.

The ABR's ABN check-digit test

Step 1

Subtract 1 from the first digit

Step 2

Multiply each digit by its weight: 10, 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19

Step 3

Add up the 11 results

Step 4

Divide by 89

Step 5

Remainder 0 = valid format

anything else is a typo or fake

Using the ABR's own example, 51 824 753 556 becomes 41 824 753 556 after subtracting 1 from the first digit. Multiplying each digit by its weight and adding gives 534. 534 ÷ 89 = 6 exactly, with no remainder, so the format is valid. Change just the last digit to 51 824 753 557 and the total becomes 553, which leaves a remainder of 19 — not a valid ABN.

Passing the test only proves the number could exist. Plenty of valid numbers belong to someone other than the business sending the invoice, so always finish with a search on ABN Lookup and compare the entity name. Most accounting software and online forms run this check automatically, which is why a mistyped ABN is often rejected before you can save it.

When a supplier doesn't quote an ABN: the 47% rule

If you're carrying on a business and you pay another business for goods or services, the supplier generally needs to quote its ABN — on an invoice, quote, order form, receipt, renewal notice or another document relating to the supply — by the time you pay. If it doesn't, the ATO says you must withhold 47% of the total payment and send it to the ATO. You must also withhold if you have reasonable grounds to believe the ABN quoted is invalid — for example, because it belongs to a different entity.

Here's how that plays out. A Brisbane café pays a handyman A$1,100 to repair shelving. The handyman's invoice has no ABN and he hasn't given it any other way. The café must withhold 47% — A$517 — pay him A$583, and report and pay the A$517 to the ATO. On the café's BAS, the amount goes at W4. The handyman later claims the withheld amount as a credit in his tax return. Most suppliers would rather quote their ABN than wait for that credit, which is why the rule is effective.

There are exceptions. The ATO lists situations where no withholding is needed, including:

• the payment is A$75 or less, excluding GST;
• the supplier is an individual under 18 and the payment doesn't exceed A$350 a week;
• the supplier is an individual and gives a written statement that the supply is part of a private recreational pursuit or hobby, or wholly private or domestic (for example, someone selling their own furniture to a second-hand shop);
• the supplier isn't carrying on an enterprise in Australia and so isn't entitled to an ABN;
• the supply is wholly input-taxed, or the whole payment is exempt income.

Suppliers can use the ATO's Statement by a supplier form (NAT 3346) to set out why they aren't quoting an ABN. Keep it with your records. If the ATO later finds the statement was wrong, you generally won't be penalised if it was reasonable to rely on it — but you can't rely on it if the facts obviously contradict it, such as a regular weekly cleaner who supplies their own equipment. Employees, company directors and labour-hire workers can't use the form at all; they're paid under PAYG withholding instead. See our PAYG withholding guide.

The record's own disclaimer is worth knowing: the Commissioner of Taxation advises that if you use ABN Lookup for information about another entity for tax purposes and it turns out to be wrong, you may be protected from liability in certain circumstances. That's another reason to save a dated copy of what you saw.

Spotting fake invoices with an ABN check

An ABN check catches some fraud but not all of it. The ACCC warns that payment redirection scammers make invoices look genuine by copying logos and ABNs, then change only the bank details. Some hack a real supplier's email; others register an address that differs by a single letter. An ABN that checks out on ABN Lookup tells you the business is real — not that the invoice came from it.

Use the ABN as one of several checks:

1. Name match. The entity name or a linked business name on ABN Lookup should match the invoice. A plumbing invoice under an ABN belonging to a cleaning company in another state is a red flag.
2. Status and GST. A cancelled ABN, or GST charged by an unregistered entity, means stop and ask.
3. Location. The postcode should make sense for a supplier who says they're local.
4. Bank details. If the BSB or account number differs from the last invoice, call the supplier on a number you already have — never one in the email or on the new invoice. The ACCC's advice is to use independently sourced contact details.
5. Pressure. Urgent requests to "update payment details before today's cut-off" are a classic sign of a scam.

If you've paid a fake invoice, contact your bank immediately — the sooner, the better the chance of recovering funds — then report to Scamwatch, and report compromised email systems at cyber.gov.au.

New supplier checklist

0/8

• ABN searched on ABN Lookup (official site)
• Entity name or business name matches the invoice
• ABN status is Active
• GST registration date covers the invoice date (if GST charged)
• Invoice shows ABN, date, description and GST
• Bank details confirmed by phone on a known number
• Dated copy of the ABN record saved
• Statement by a supplier on file if no ABN and an exception applies

Share Print

Checking and updating your own ABN details

Customers, banks and government agencies look you up too, so it's worth searching your own ABN once a year. The ABR says you must update your details within 28 days of becoming aware of a change — a new address, new associates, a change of business activity — or if your business stops operating. Accurate details also help agencies contact and assist businesses after natural disasters.

The fastest way is ABR online services, logging in with a Digital ID such as myID and an authorisation through Relationship Authorisation Manager (RAM). Choose Update ABN record, make the changes and submit; online changes take effect immediately. If you can't use online services, your tax professional can update the details or you can mail a change of registration details form.

Some details can't be changed through the ABR. Your entity type can't be changed — moving from sole trader to company means a new ABN. Business names are updated through ASIC, and the ABR picks up the change automatically. Sole traders' legal names are changed by contacting the ATO, and company names through ASIC. Trading names can no longer be updated at all.

Two newer items are worth checking while you're logged in. The ABR asks businesses to make sure their main business address is a physical street address — not a PO box or their agent's address — with a separate postal address if needed. You can also list up to four additional business activities with their ANZSIC codes, which helps if you've branched out — a winery that added a café and accommodation, for example.

If your ABN was cancelled because you stopped trading and you start again under the same structure, you can generally ask the ABR to reactivate it rather than applying for a new one.

Official links

• ABN Lookup — searchFree, no login
• ABN Lookup — Advanced search
• ABN Lookup — what's on a record (FAQ)
• Format of the ABN (check-digit method)
• ABR — Update your ABN details
• ATO — Statement by a supplier not quoting an ABN
• ATO — Tax invoices
• Scamwatch — report a scam

What to do next

Make an ABN check part of setting up every new supplier, and repeat it whenever bank details change. If you don't have an ABN yet, start with our ABN registration guide. If you're registered for GST, make sure your own invoices carry everything a customer needs to claim — our free invoice generator includes the ABN and GST fields — and see the BAS guide for where GST credits and no-ABN withholding go on your activity statement.

This is general information, not legal or tax advice — confirm on the official source or with a professional.

Frequently asked questions

How do I check if an ABN is valid?

Search the number on ABN Lookup (abr.business.gov.au) — it's free and needs no login. A genuine result shows the entity name, ABN status (active or cancelled, with dates), entity type, GST registration and the state and postcode of the main business location. Make sure the name matches the business you're dealing with; a valid number belonging to someone else is a red flag.

How can I check if a business is registered for GST?

Look up their ABN on ABN Lookup and read the 'Goods & Services Tax (GST)' line. It will say 'Registered from' a date, or that the business isn't currently registered. If they aren't registered, they shouldn't charge you GST and you can't claim a GST credit for that purchase — so query any invoice that adds GST.

Can I look up an ABN by business name?

Yes. Type the name into the ABN Lookup search box, or use Advanced search to choose entity, business or trading names and narrow by state, postcode or entity type. Results list matching names with their ABNs; open the record to check status and GST. Business names are registered with ASIC, so you can cross-check there too.

What happens if a supplier doesn't give me an ABN?

If a business supplier doesn't quote an ABN by the time you pay, you generally must withhold 47% of the payment and send it to the ATO. Exceptions include payments of A$75 or less (excluding GST), hobby or private supplies backed by a written statement, and suppliers not carrying on an enterprise in Australia.

Does ABN Lookup show a business's address or phone number?

No. ABN Lookup shows only public details: names, ABN status, entity type, GST and DGR status, ACN where relevant, and the state and postcode of the main business location. Street address, email, phone and industry code aren't public. For company officeholders and registered office, search ASIC's registers instead.

How do I update my own ABN details?

Log in to ABR online services with your Digital ID (such as myID) and Relationship Authorisation Manager, choose Update ABN record and submit — online changes take effect immediately. You must update within 28 days of a change. Sole traders change their legal name with the ATO, and business names are changed through ASIC.

Sources & verification

Figures on this page were checked against the sources below when it was last reviewed on 7 October 2026. Each rate and limit is stored once with its own official source and review date, and official update channels are monitored daily so changes are picked up. How we verify

1. 1.ABN Lookup — home — Australian Business Register · accessed 7 October 2026
2. 2.ABN Lookup FAQs — Australian Business Register · accessed 7 October 2026
3. 3.ABN holders FAQs — Australian Business Register · accessed 7 October 2026
4. 4.Business names / trading names FAQs — Australian Business Register · accessed 7 October 2026
5. 5.Format of the ABN — Australian Business Register · accessed 7 October 2026
6. 6.ABN Lookup web services — Australian Business Register · accessed 7 October 2026
7. 7.ABN Lookup record — ABN 51 824 753 556 — Australian Business Register · accessed 7 October 2026
8. 8.Update your ABN details — Australian Business Register · accessed 7 October 2026
9. 9.Statement by a supplier not quoting an ABN — Australian Taxation Office · accessed 7 October 2026
10. 10.Tax invoices — Australian Taxation Office · accessed 7 October 2026
11. 11.Beware of fake invoices from scammers impersonating businesses — ACCC / Scamwatch · accessed 7 October 2026