GST/HST Number Lookup in Canada (2026): How to Verify a Supplier with the CRA Registry

A supplier's invoice shows a GST/HST number and C$3,900 of HST. Before you pay it — and before you claim that tax back — you want to know the number is real. This guide is for business owners, bookkeepers and accounts-payable staff who need to verify Canadian suppliers in 2026. It covers how to use the CRA's free GST/HST Registry, what a result does and doesn't prove, how to check foreign digital sellers on the Simplified GST/HST Registry and Quebec suppliers through Revenu Québec, what an invoice must show at each amount, and what to do when a number doesn't check out. Worked C$ examples show the cost of skipping the check.

Quick answer

Use the CRA's free GST/HST Registry on canada.ca. Enter the first nine digits of the supplier's GST/HST number, the business name shown on the invoice and the transaction date. The registry tells you whether that number was registered on that date — print or save the Search Details screen with the invoice.

• You can't search by name alone — the registry confirms a number you've been given

• Suppliers must give their number on taxable sales of C$100 or more

• Foreign digital sellers (RT9999 numbers) are on the separate Simplified GST/HST Registry

• Check QST numbers with Revenu Québec's validation service

• No number or a failed check? Call the CRA at 1-800-959-5525

Why you should check a GST/HST number

When you pay GST/HST to a supplier, you usually recover it as an input tax credit (ITC) on your own return. That recovery only works if the supplier was actually registered. Tax charged by someone who isn't registered isn't GST/HST in law, so it can't be claimed back, and the CRA can deny the ITC on audit — even years later, and even if you paid the full amount in good faith.

The checks matter most in a few situations: a new supplier you haven't used before, a subcontractor in construction or renovation, a large one-off purchase, a supplier whose invoices look home-made, and any vendor that asks to be paid in cash or to a personal account. A registered business can also be harmed when a fraudster uses its number on fake invoices, so keeping your own number accurate on your invoices protects your customers' claims.

Individuals have a reason to check too. If a contractor charges you 13% HST on a C$30,000 kitchen renovation in Ontario, that's C$3,900. If the contractor isn't registered, it has no right to collect that amount — and you're entitled to ask why it's on the bill.

How to use the CRA GST/HST Registry

The registry is a free public tool on canada.ca with no sign-in. It asks for three pieces of information, and you need all three.

Check a GST/HST number in five steps

1. 1

   Get the number from the supplier

   Take it from the invoice, receipt, contract or quote. A full GST/HST number looks like 123456789 RT0001.

2. 2

   Open the GST/HST Registry

   Go to the CRA's Confirming a GST/HST account number page and start the registry.

   Open the GST/HST Registry page
3. 3

   Enter the first nine digits only

   Type the nine-digit Business Number part — no 'RT' and no 0001.

4. 4

   Enter the business name and transaction date

   Use the legal, operating or trading name shown on the invoice or the supplier's sign, and the date on the invoice or receipt.

   Tip: No match? Try the legal name if you used the trade name, or vice versa.

5. 5

   Print or save the Search Details screen

   Keep it with the invoice as evidence that you checked before claiming the ITC.

What a result tells you

A positive result confirms that the number you entered was registered for GST/HST on the transaction date you entered, under a name matching what you typed. It's evidence you can show an auditor that you took a reasonable step to verify the supplier.

It doesn't tell you everything. It doesn't confirm that the rate on the invoice is right, that the goods or services were taxable, that the person who gave you the invoice is really that business, or that the supplier is filing its returns and remitting the tax it collects. If the invoice comes from an unfamiliar person using a well-known company's name and number, compare the remittance details and contact information against what you independently know about that company before paying.

When a lookup fails

A "no match" usually comes down to one of four things:

1. Extra characters. Enter only the nine digits.
2. Name differences. The registry may hold the legal name ("1234567 Ontario Inc.") while the invoice shows a trade name ("Maple Leaf Renos"). Try both, and if neither works, ask the supplier for the exact name it gave the CRA.
3. The date. A business that registered after the invoice date, or whose registration was cancelled before it, won't show as registered for that date.
4. No registration at all. A small supplier under C$30,000 doesn't have to register — but then it mustn't charge GST/HST.

If the supplier didn't give you a number, or you still can't confirm it, the CRA asks you to call Business Enquiries at 1-800-959-5525 (Monday to Friday, 8 am to 8 pm ET).

What must be on the invoice: the C$100 and C$500 tiers

Verifying the number only helps if the invoice itself supports your claim. The CRA sets out the information you need, rising with the amount of the purchase. "Amount" means the total paid or payable for the supply, including tax.

Two practical points follow. First, a till receipt for C$45 of office supplies doesn't need a registration number to support an ITC, so there's nothing to look up. Second, from C$100 up, the number is required — an invoice without one doesn't support your claim, however genuine the purchase. Ask the supplier for a corrected invoice rather than claiming without it.

If you're the supplier, put your full GST/HST number on every invoice, show the tax as a separate amount or state that the price includes it, and include the buyer's name and payment terms on larger bills. Our invoice generator lays these out for you, and the HST calculation guide explains how to work out the tax on mixed invoices.

Foreign digital sellers: the Simplified GST/HST Registry

Since 1 July 2021, foreign businesses selling digital products and services to Canadian consumers — software subscriptions, streaming, apps, online courses — and platforms that facilitate those sales have been registering under a simplified regime. Their numbers end in RT9999 and aren't on the regular registry. Instead, the CRA publishes a Simplified GST/HST Registry listing each business's legal and trade names, its number, and its registration and de-registration dates; the CRA's page shows the list was last updated on 6 October 2026.

Simplified registrants only collect tax from consumers. If you're a Canadian business registered under the normal rules, give the seller your GST/HST number — usually in your account or billing settings — so it treats you as a business and doesn't charge tax. If you don't and you're charged, you can't claim that tax as an ITC or a rebate. The fix is to ask the seller for a refund or credit of the tax, showing that you were registered when the sale was made.

Example. A Saskatoon design studio pays C$1,200 a year for a foreign design-software subscription and never entered its GST/HST number, so it's charged 5% GST — C$60 — that it can't recover. Entering the number in the billing settings stops the charge from the next renewal; for past charges, the studio has to ask the vendor.

Quebec suppliers: checking a QST number

Businesses in Quebec charge the QST alongside the GST, and their QST number is separate from their GST/HST number. If you're registered for QST and want to claim input tax refunds, check QST numbers with Revenu Québec, not the CRA. The CRA's own registry page points you there.

Revenu Québec offers a free online service to validate a QST registration number, plus an API for businesses that check many suppliers. A standard QST number is ten digits, the letters TQ and four more digits — for example 1234567890 TQ0001. The result shows the registration status, the date that status took effect and the business name (and commercial name, if any).

Two formats behave differently. A nine-digit number without TQ that matches the GST/HST number belongs to a selected listed financial institution; Revenu Québec's tools can't validate it, and you contact the CRA instead. A number starting with NR belongs to a supplier outside Quebec registered under the specified QST system, which is designed for sales to consumers — you can't claim input tax refunds on purchases from those suppliers, so a Quebec business buyer should give its own QST number to avoid being charged.

Worked examples: what the lookup saves

Example 1 — renovation subcontractor, Ontario. A general contractor receives a C$22,600 invoice from a new drywall subcontractor: C$20,000 plus C$2,600 HST, with a GST/HST number. The bookkeeper runs the registry check: no match under either name. A call to the subcontractor reveals the registration was applied for but not yet effective on the invoice date. The contractor pays C$20,000 now and the HST once a corrected invoice dated on or after the effective date arrives — avoiding a C$2,600 ITC that would have been denied on audit, plus interest.

Example 2 — office lease, Alberta. A landlord's annual invoice shows rent of C$36,000 plus C$1,800 GST. The lookup confirms the number, the bookkeeper saves the Search Details page with the lease file, and the C$1,800 is claimed as an ITC with documentation ready for any review.

Example 3 — small purchase, Nova Scotia. A C$64.40 receipt for printer ink (including 14% HST) has the store's name, date and total but no registration number. Because it's under C$100, the receipt supports the C$7.91 ITC as it stands. No lookup needed.

Supplier verification checklist

0/7

• Collect the full GST/HST number before the first payment
• Run the GST/HST Registry with the nine digits, the invoice name and the invoice date
• Save the Search Details screen in the supplier file
• Check the invoice has the details required for its amount
• For Quebec suppliers, validate the QST number with Revenu Québec
• For foreign software vendors, enter your GST/HST number in their billing settings
• Re-check suppliers you haven't used for a year

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If a supplier charged GST/HST without being registered

Sometimes the check confirms your suspicion: the business isn't registered and never was. Stop and deal with it before paying. A person who isn't registered has no right to collect GST/HST, so the amount shown as tax is simply an overcharge. Ask the supplier for a corrected invoice without tax and pay only the pre-tax amount. If you've already paid, ask for the tax portion back in writing and keep the correspondence.

Don't claim the amount as an input tax credit in the meantime. Claiming it and hoping no one notices is the worst outcome: the CRA can deny the ITC on reassessment, add interest from the original due date, and in some cases apply penalties, while the supplier may have disappeared. If the amount is large or the supplier insists it is registered, ask for its CRA registration confirmation letter or a screenshot of its account, then run the registry check again with the exact name shown there.

There's an important difference between "not registered" and "registered late". A business that crossed the C$30,000 threshold and was required to register may have a valid number with an effective date earlier than the day it applied. In that case a re-check with the correct date can turn a failed lookup into a valid one, and the invoice stands.

Lookup result — what to do next

Result	Likely reason	Your next step
Registered on the date	Valid number	Save Search Details; claim the ITC
No match	Wrong name or extra characters	Re-try with nine digits and the legal name
Not registered on that date	Registered later or cancelled earlier	Ask for a corrected invoice; check the effective date
Never registered	Small supplier or misuse	Pay pre-tax amount only; no ITC; call 1-800-959-5525 if suspicious

Registered on the date

Likely reason

Valid number

Your next step

Save Search Details; claim the ITC

No match

Likely reason

Wrong name or extra characters

Your next step

Re-try with nine digits and the legal name

Not registered on that date

Likely reason

Registered later or cancelled earlier

Your next step

Ask for a corrected invoice; check the effective date

Never registered

Likely reason

Small supplier or misuse

Your next step

Pay pre-tax amount only; no ITC; call 1-800-959-5525 if suspicious

Building lookups into your accounts-payable routine

For a business that pays a handful of suppliers, checking each one once is enough. For a business that onboards new vendors every week, it helps to make the lookup part of the vendor set-up form: nobody gets added to the payment system until the number has been checked and the Search Details page saved. The CRA's registry is designed for one check at a time, so large buyers typically schedule re-checks of active suppliers once a year, and again whenever a supplier's name, banking details or address changes — the same moments when invoice fraud tends to appear.

Keep the evidence where an auditor would look for it. A simple approach is to save the registry result as a PDF named with the supplier and date in the same folder as the first invoice. If the CRA later questions an ITC, you can show that you verified the number at the time, which is what a reasonable business is expected to do.

If someone is using your GST/HST number

If customers tell you they've received invoices carrying your number from a business you don't recognize, treat it as possible identity theft. Contact the CRA through Business Enquiries at 1-800-959-5525, review the activity in My Business Account, and warn the customers involved. Keep copies of the suspicious invoices. Your own records and returns aren't affected by someone else's misuse, but reporting it early helps the CRA and protects your customers' input tax credit claims.

Keeping your own number lookup-ready

Verification works both ways. Your customers will look you up, and a mismatch slows down their payments. Make sure the name on your invoices matches either your legal name or the operating name the CRA has on file; if you trade under a new name, update it through My Business Account. Print your full number, including RT0001, on every invoice and receipt, and if you cancel your registration, stop charging GST/HST from the cancellation date.

If you haven't registered yet and you're close to the C$30,000 threshold, our GST registration guide explains when you must apply and how to do it online.

Official links

• CRA — GST/HST Registry (Confirming a GST/HST account number)Free lookup
• CRA — Simplified GST/HST RegistryForeign digital sellers (RT9999)
• Revenu Québec — Validate a QST registration numberQST numbers
• CRA — RC4022, invoice requirements for ITCsC$100 and C$500 tiers

What to do next

Add a registry check to your new-supplier routine and keep the saved result with the first invoice. Use our Canada GST/HST calculator to confirm the tax on a supplier's invoice matches the right provincial rate — our rates by province page shows which one applies — and if you need to speak to the CRA, our list of CRA business contact numbers shows which line to call.

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

Frequently asked questions

How do I look up a GST/HST number in Canada?

Use the CRA's free GST/HST Registry on canada.ca. Enter the first nine digits of the supplier's GST/HST number (no letters), the business name exactly as it appears on the invoice or sign, and the transaction date. The registry tells you whether that number was registered on that date. Print or save the result with the invoice.

Can I search the GST/HST Registry by business name only?

No. The registry confirms a number a supplier has given you; it isn't a directory. You need the account number, the business name and the transaction date. If a supplier won't give you a number, call the CRA Business Enquiries line at 1-800-959-5525 to confirm whether it is registered.

What does it mean if the GST/HST number isn't found?

Either the details don't match the CRA's records or the business wasn't registered on that date. Check that you entered only the nine digits, try the legal name and the operating name, and confirm the date. If it still fails, ask the supplier for the exact name it gave the CRA. If it's genuinely unregistered, it shouldn't be charging GST/HST and you can't claim the tax as an input tax credit.

How do I verify a QST number?

Use Revenu Québec's online service to validate a QST registration number. A standard QST number is ten digits followed by TQ and four digits. The result shows the status, its effective date and the business name. Numbers starting with NR belong to suppliers outside Quebec registered under the specified QST system, and you can't claim input tax refunds on purchases from them.

What must be on an invoice to claim GST/HST back?

Under C$100: the supplier's name, the date and the total. From C$100: also the supplier's GST/HST number and the tax charged or a statement that the total includes it. From C$500: also your name, the payment terms and a description of each item.

Is the GST/HST Registry free?

Yes. The CRA's GST/HST Registry and the Simplified GST/HST Registry are free and need no login. Revenu Québec's QST validation service is also free. Third-party sites that charge for 'GST number search' simply query the same public tools.

Sources & verification

Figures on this page were checked against the sources below when it was last reviewed on 11 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.Confirming a GST/HST account number (GST/HST Registry) — Canada Revenue Agency · accessed 11 October 2026
2. 2.Confirming a simplified GST/HST account number — Canada Revenue Agency · accessed 11 October 2026
3. 3.RC4022 General Information for GST/HST Registrants — Canada Revenue Agency · accessed 11 October 2026
4. 4.Validate a QST Registration Number — Revenu Québec · accessed 11 October 2026
5. 5.Application Programming Interface (API) Used to Validate a QST Registration Number — Revenu Québec · accessed 11 October 2026
6. 6.FAQ – Application of the GST/HST in relation to electronic commerce supplies — Canada Revenue Agency · accessed 11 October 2026
7. 7.GST/HST Registry — TaxTips.ca · accessed 11 October 2026