Verify an ABN before you pay.

An active ABN means the tradie is registered with the ATO, has the right to invoice, and is recognised as a real business. Cancelled or never-registered ABNs are a red flag — you may not be able to claim GST credits, the tradie probably isn't paying tax, and dispute resolution gets harder. The check takes 5 seconds and stops a bad day before it starts.

Tradies with a GST turnover above $75k/year must register for GST. If 'GST registered' shows Yes, the tradie should be charging 10% GST on every quote and providing a tax invoice — and you may be able to claim that GST back if you're a business buyer. If No, they're below the threshold and shouldn't add GST to their prices.

Don't pay yet. The tradie may have closed the business, lapsed on registration, or be operating without authority. Ask why — sometimes it's a transition between business structures, sometimes it's a real warning. Check the ATO's full ABN status guide if unsure.

The lookup hits the official Australian Business Register API in real time, so it reflects what the ABR currently has on file. Status changes from the ATO are not always visible the same minute — the ABR's own sync window from the ATO is typically same-day, but in rare cases can take longer. For a moment-of-truth check before paying a deposit, allow a small lag.

An ABN (11 digits) identifies any Australian business — sole trader, partnership, company, trust. An ACN (9 digits) is issued only to companies registered with ASIC. Companies have both an ABN and ACN; sole traders and partnerships have only an ABN.

No. The lookup is rate-limited per IP (10/hour) but we don't log or persist any ABN you submit. The ABR call happens server-side to bypass JSONP/CORS quirks; nothing about your check lands in our database.