Guide · ABN and ACN

How to find your ABN or ACN

Search ABN Lookup at abr.business.gov.au by your business name, ABN or ACN. It is free, needs no login, and shows the eleven-digit ABN, the nine-digit ACN for a company, whether the ABN is active and whether the business is registered for GST. Your ABN is also on every invoice you have issued and on your ATO activity statements.

The one-minute version

1
Go to abr.business.gov.au — ABN Lookup, run by the Australian Business Register.No login, no cost. It is the public register and it is what your customers and suppliers see when they check you.
2
Type your business name, trading name or, if you have it, your ACN.Names match loosely, so a common name may return several entities. Yours is the one with your state and the right entity type.
3
Read the record: ABN, entity name and type, status, GST registration, business names, and the ACN if the entity is a company.If it says cancelled, read on.

Where else your ABN already is

On every invoice and quote you have issued, because an ABN is required on a tax invoice. On your activity statements and any ATO letter. In your accounting software's company settings. On your business bank account paperwork. In Online services for business, under Profile, where the ATO shows the ABN, ACN and TFN together. If you have issued an invoice in the last year, the fastest route is often the last one you sent.

ABN, ACN and TFN, and why they get confused

Number	Issued by	Identifies	Public?
ABN — 11 digits	Australian Business Register (ATO)	A business, in any structure, for tax, GST and invoicing	Yes — ABN Lookup
ACN — 9 digits	ASIC, on registration	A company, as a legal entity	Yes — ASIC register and ABN Lookup
TFN — 8 or 9 digits	ATO	A taxpayer — the company, trust or person	No — confidential, never searchable

A company's ABN is almost always its ACN with two check digits in front, which is why the two look related. A sole trader's ABN is unrelated to any other number and sits alongside their personal TFN.

If your ABN has been cancelled

The Registrar cancels ABNs that appear inactive — no activity statements lodged, no business income in a tax return, no sign of trading. If you are still in business, apply to reinstate it through the ABR, and do it before the next invoice: a customer paying an invoice with no valid ABN on it is required to withhold tax at the top rate, and your GST registration goes with the ABN. A cancelled ABN is also, in practice, a flag that lodgements have fallen behind, and the ATO's next letter is usually about that. What to do when returns are behind and when the debt is already there are covered on their own pages.

What a lender needs from you

At HomeSec, an active ABN and a genuine business purpose are two of the four things we ask for — the other two are Australian real property with enough equity in it and a credible way the loan is repaid. We do not ask for financial statements, tax returns or BAS, so an ABN that is active and a purpose that is real are most of the eligibility conversation.

If the number was not the whole problem

People look up their ABN when a form asks for it — a new supplier, a grant, a lender — and quite often because they are trying to find out whether the ATO has cancelled it, which is usually a sign of a bigger conversation with the ATO to come.

If you are reading this because money is tight, it may be that what you actually need is fast business finance — and HomeSec can lend with very few qualification criteria. All you need is sufficient equity in real estate and a business purpose: no financials, no valuation, no credit score threshold, funded in as little as 24 hours from a clean, complete scenario. Best of all, the first six months can come with no requirement to make any payment.

That's the HomeSec Advantage.

Questions people ask alongside this one

How many digits is an ABN?

Eleven. An ACN is nine. For a company, the ABN is usually the ACN with two check digits in front of it — so if you know one you can often recognise the other.

Can I look up an ABN by business name?

Yes. ABN Lookup at abr.business.gov.au searches by name as well as by number, free and without a login. It shows the entity's legal name, its type, whether the ABN is active or cancelled, whether it is registered for GST and from when, and any business names registered against it.

Is my ABN public?

Yes. An ABN is a public identifier, meant to appear on invoices, quotes and websites. Anyone can look it up. Your TFN is the confidential one, and the two are often confused.

What is the difference between an ABN and an ACN?

An ACN is issued by ASIC when a company is registered and identifies the company as a legal entity. An ABN is issued by the Australian Business Register and identifies a business — any structure, not only a company — for tax, GST and invoicing. A company will have both; a sole trader has an ABN only.

My ABN is showing as cancelled. What does that mean?

The Registrar cancelled it, usually because the business appeared to have stopped trading — no activity statements lodged, no income reported. If you are still trading you can apply to have it reinstated through the ABR, and it is worth doing promptly, because a cancelled ABN means customers may withhold tax from your invoices and your GST registration lapses with it.

Do I need an ABN to apply for a business loan?

For a loan from HomeSec, yes — an active ABN and a genuine business purpose are two of the four things we need, alongside Australian real property and a credible exit. You do not need financial statements, tax returns or BAS.

Where do I find my ACN?

On your certificate of registration, on ASIC correspondence, and on ABN Lookup — search the company name and the ACN is shown next to the ABN. ASIC's own company register at asic.gov.au also shows it, with the current officeholders.

Can I have more than one ABN?

One per entity. A sole trader has one ABN for every business they run under their own name. A company has its own. If you run a business through a company and another as a sole trader, that is two entities and two ABNs.

Sixty seconds, no documents

See if you qualify in sixty seconds

Three short questions, no credit check to apply and no financial statements. A Lending Manager reads it and calls you back with a real answer — not a call centre, not an algorithm.

That's the HomeSec Advantage.

See if you qualify Call 1300 93 83 87Mon–Fri, 8:30am – 5:30pm Melbourne time

Other things business owners look up

Find your director ID Find your company's TFN Find your ATO payment reference If your ABN is cancelled Set up an ATO payment plan What a caveat on a title means What LVR means, with examples Get a copy of your rates notice Get a mortgage payout figure Do you qualify?Do you need financials?How long it takes Secured vs unsecured No credit check, honestly Check if a company is in liquidation What a business is worth Small business restructuring Every guide

Reviewed by Catriona Anderson, General Manager