Middesk Business Verification
Middesk offers business identity verification.
As a Unit21 KYB partner, Middesk verifies the legitimacy of a business. Middesk takes a limited set of inputs and generates a complete and up-to-date report that can be used to automate any number of workflows.
Requirements
In order to use business identity, you must:
- Have a
MIDDESK_API_KEY
in your Verification Service API Keys - Have a
MIDDESK_API_URL
You can run Business Verification using our Dashboard:


The business entity information below is required for KYB:
Middesk Property | Unit21 Fields | Required |
---|---|---|
Business Name |
| YES |
Business Addresses |
| YES |
Taxpayer Identification Number |
| |
Website |
| |
Phone Number |
| |
People |
|
If an alert is generated via the workflow, you will receive the Middesk response in the alert.


Sample Middesk Response (Successful):
The Identity product is a single resource through which to retrieve the core details about any registered business entity. The product bundles together the following reports:
Report | Description |
---|---|
Name / TIN Verification | Verifies that the submitted Business name and Tax ID match. |
Secretary of State Filing Retrieval | Searches all 50 Secretary of States and D.C. to uncover state registrations and "footprint" of a Business. Based on state availability, each record may provide a rich dataset including entity name, registration date, entity type, registered addresses, and corporate officers. |
Detailed Address Analysis | Aggregates all known addresses retrieved from both state filings and web presence, displaying them with both street and satellite images. Assesses deliverability and type (eg, P.O. Box, commercial, residential) of each address. |
Business Names | Collection of all developed business name linked to a business with matching of submitted name |
Officers | All listed officers found in the business Secretary of State Filings with associated role |
Web Presence / Validation | Searches for Business across popular search engines to display most relevant results and all social profiles. Validates submitted web address to extract relevant business details. |
Consolidated OFAC Screening | Searches government watchlists to determine Business sanctions status, applying advanced identity matching logic to reduce false positives. |
There are 3 possible results for KYB:
REJECTED
ACCEPTED
IN_REVIEW
The results will appear in the response as well as the header of the alert:


Understanding the Raw Response
You can view the raw response in the alert:


{
"addresses": [
{
"address_line1": "577 Howard St",
"address_line2": null,
"business_id": "f3e66d8e-4e85-48fb-82d9-6d0a8911c2b6",
"city": "San Francisco",
"cmra": null,
"created_at": "2021-11-30T20:48:15.395Z",
"deliverability_analysis": null,
"deliverable": null,
"full_address": "577 Howard St, San Francisco, CA 94105",
"labels": [],
"latitude": 40.52,
"longitude": 30.4,
"object": "address",
"postal_code": "94105",
"property_type": null,
"registered_agent_name": null,
"sources": [
{
"id": "a37c061b-7b26-4680-b21d-8b3861139a32",
"metadata": {
"file_number": "FN-XXXXXXX",
"jurisdiction": "DOMESTIC",
"state": "CA",
"status": "active"
},
"type": "registration"
}
],
"state": "CA",
"street_view_available": null,
"submitted": true,
"updated_at": "2021-11-30T20:48:24.266Z"
}
],
"assignee_id": "376e4ae0-8480-46de-9fec-c6273d9f53cf",
"bankruptcies": [],
"business_batch_id": null,
"certifications": [],
"created_at": "2021-11-30T20:48:15.364Z",
"documents": [
{
"content_type": "application/pdf",
"created_at": "2021-11-30T20:48:25.084Z",
"document_type": "Registration",
"download_url": "https://storage.googleapis.com/middesk-sandbox/qgyoeo9o6w0ld1urzy63z6xoo8az?GoogleAccessId=middesk-api%40project-middesk.iam.gserviceaccount.com&Expires=1638305605&Signature=hL6So5XG%2B6DtEmYGQ4uDRz40uVt6vI9O89bA%2FAmSe%2BUIQMQE0MeaxXR3%2F3jhXSsDgwX7SjTTL7Xs7S61ehMLSOCWbnA%2FSlOtAkoWelk5PHo1Xt67lXpM0DsBWCo%2F4beRwMrnTCBmzlUs5i7X6lfqzbrWVqiGlGBDZNdDklqMWjWPwcxiV1y7X%2Bs%2B173BQw1Ax04DoOQwJVXFrIRSz6bMsaZPZ4C5AjBYCkYcK8s%2FHB4dQvc%2BV9D5rgGxolQvrMpGXkhsC3M01rfzwOYLNQS4cbyRKt09nwVuBnCTT0vVJXtp446d0lWynnvMTxi%2Fk81L4cZuim2t60TFMlW74gLM0g%3D%3D&response-content-disposition=inline%3B+filename%3D%22202016910451_REGISTRATION_2020-06-16%22%3B+filename%2A%3DUTF-8%27%27202016910451_REGISTRATION_2020-06-16&response-content-type=application%2Fpdf",
"filename": "202016910451_REGISTRATION_2020-06-16",
"filing_date": "2020-06-16T00:00:00.000Z",
"id": "b375b3be-271a-4c30-a250-d6be50af8780",
"object": "document",
"size": 70011,
"source": {
"id": "a37c061b-7b26-4680-b21d-8b3861139a32",
"metadata": {
"state": "CA",
"status": "active"
},
"type": "registration"
}
}
],
"external_id": "on-demand:1:1:134027:19f0c311-7c81-4409-8542-a7e8f0a08824",
"fmcsa_registrations": [],
"formation": {
"created_at": "2021-11-30T20:48:24.526Z",
"entity_type": "LLC",
"formation_date": "2020-02-24",
"formation_state": "CA",
"updated_at": "2021-11-30T20:48:24.526Z"
},
"id": "f3e66d8e-4e85-48fb-82d9-6d0a8911c2b6",
"industry_classification": null,
"name": "Middesk Inc",
"names": [
{
"business_id": "f3e66d8e-4e85-48fb-82d9-6d0a8911c2b6",
"id": "bb6896fe-1b3f-43d5-a184-c73ed69e5591",
"name": "Middesk Inc",
"object": "name",
"sources": [
{
"id": "a37c061b-7b26-4680-b21d-8b3861139a32",
"metadata": {
"file_number": "FN-XXXXXXX",
"jurisdiction": "DOMESTIC",
"state": "CA",
"status": "active"
},
"type": "registration"
}
],
"submitted": true
}
],
"object": "business",
"officers": [],
"orders": [
{
"completed_at": "2021-11-30T20:48:25.112Z",
"created_at": "2021-11-30T20:48:15.409Z",
"id": "88b40cb8-32f9-4d97-a84d-9bd278273807",
"object": "order",
"product": "documents",
"status": "completed",
"updated_at": "2021-11-30T20:48:25.112Z"
},
{
"completed_at": "2021-11-30T20:48:24.861Z",
"created_at": "2021-11-30T20:48:15.402Z",
"id": "9517cd06-9962-4007-8d74-2d6518a1b4b8",
"object": "order",
"product": "identity",
"status": "completed",
"updated_at": "2021-11-30T20:48:24.861Z"
}
],
"people": [],
"phone_numbers": [],
"profiles": [],
"registrations": [
{
"addresses": [
"577 HOWARD ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94105"
],
"business_id": "f3e66d8e-4e85-48fb-82d9-6d0a8911c2b6",
"entity_type": "LLC",
"file_number": "FN-XXXXXXX",
"id": "a37c061b-7b26-4680-b21d-8b3861139a32",
"jurisdiction": "DOMESTIC",
"name": "Middesk Inc",
"object": "registration",
"officers": [],
"registered_agent": {},
"registration_date": "2020-02-24",
"source": "https://businesssearch.sos.ca.gov/CBS/SearchResults?filing=False&SearchType=NUMBER&SearchCriteria=FN-XXXXXXX",
"state": "CA",
"status": "active"
}
],
"requester": {
"id": "aac0f4dd-d0df-45a3-be7a-8d93f9d273aa",
"name": "Unit21",
"requested_at": "2021-11-30T20:48:15.402Z",
"type": "account"
},
"review": {
"assignee": {
"email": "[email protected]",
"id": "376e4ae0-8480-46de-9fec-c6273d9f53cf",
"image_url": "https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/a-/AOh14GgRuBuGNf557Xo97gq2WCmUZk8RI3iu5euV6l28VA=s96-c",
"last_login_at": "2021-10-21T20:59:54.124Z",
"name": "Priya Chandrasekaran",
"object": "user",
"roles": [
"admin",
"member"
]
},
"completed_at": null,
"created_at": "2021-11-30T20:48:24.719Z",
"id": "819102c9-c93b-4864-a402-ece1da28dbf4",
"object": "review",
"tasks": [
{
"category": "name",
"key": "name",
"label": "Business Name",
"message": "Match identified to the submitted Business Name",
"name": "name",
"status": "success",
"sub_label": "Verified"
},
{
"category": "address",
"key": "address_verification",
"label": "Office Address",
"message": "Match identified to the submitted Office Address",
"name": "address",
"status": "success",
"sub_label": "Verified"
},
{
"category": "address",
"key": "address_property_type",
"label": "Office Address",
"message": "Submitted Office Address is a Commercial property",
"name": "address",
"status": "success",
"sub_label": "Commercial"
},
{
"category": "sos",
"key": "sos_match",
"label": "SOS Filings",
"message": "The business is Active in the state of the submitted Office Address",
"name": "sos",
"status": "success",
"sub_label": "Submitted Active"
},
{
"category": "sos",
"key": "sos_active",
"label": "SOS Filings",
"message": "1 of 1 filings are Active",
"name": "sos",
"status": "success",
"sub_label": "Active"
},
{
"category": "sos",
"key": "sos_domestic",
"label": "SOS Filings",
"message": "Active domestic filing found",
"name": "sos",
"status": "success",
"sub_label": "Domestic Active"
},
{
"category": "watchlist",
"key": "watchlist",
"label": "Watchlist",
"message": "No Watchlist hits were identified",
"name": "watchlist",
"status": "success",
"sub_label": "No Hits"
},
{
"category": "bankruptcies",
"key": "bankruptcies",
"label": "Bankruptcies",
"message": "The business has no bankruptcy filings",
"name": "bankruptcies",
"status": "success",
"sub_label": "None Found"
}
],
"updated_at": "2021-11-30T20:48:24.719Z"
},
"status": "in_review",
"subscription": null,
"summary": [
{
"message": "In business for more than a year",
"name": "Years in business",
"status": "success"
},
{
"message": "1 registration(s) found",
"name": "Sos",
"status": "success"
},
{
"message": "No watchlist hits",
"name": "Watchlist",
"status": "success"
},
{
"message": "Address verified",
"name": "Address",
"status": "success"
}
],
"tags": [],
"tax_exempt_organization": null,
"tin": null,
"updated_at": "2021-11-30T20:48:25.130Z",
"watchlist": {
"agencies": [
{
"abbr": "OFAC",
"name": "Office of Foreign Assets Control",
"org": "U.S. Department of Treasury"
},
{
"abbr": "BIS",
"name": "Bureau of Industry and Security",
"org": "U.S. Department of Commerce"
},
{
"abbr": "DDTC",
"name": "Directorate of Defense Trade Controls",
"org": "U.S. Department of State"
},
{
"abbr": "ISN",
"name": "Bureau of International Security and Non-Proliferation",
"org": "U.S. Department of State"
}
],
"hit_count": 0,
"id": "4f8d6f53-2135-49c6-b890-465bf428f724",
"lists": [
{
"abbr": "DPL",
"agency": "Bureau of Industry and Security",
"agency_abbr": "BIS",
"object": "watchlist_source",
"organization": "U.S. Department of Commerce",
"results": [],
"title": "Denied Persons List"
},
{
"abbr": "DTC",
"agency": "Directorate of Defense Trade Controls",
"agency_abbr": "DDTC",
"object": "watchlist_source",
"organization": "U.S. Department of State",
"results": [],
"title": "AECA/ITAR Debarred"
},
{
"abbr": "EL",
"agency": "Bureau of Industry and Security",
"agency_abbr": "BIS",
"object": "watchlist_source",
"organization": "U.S. Department of Commerce",
"results": [],
"title": "Entity List"
},
{
"abbr": "SDN",
"agency": "Office of Foreign Assets Control",
"agency_abbr": "OFAC",
"object": "watchlist_source",
"organization": "U.S. Department of Treasury",
"results": [],
"title": "Specially Designated Nationals"
},
{
"abbr": "FSE",
"agency": "Office of Foreign Assets Control",
"agency_abbr": "OFAC",
"object": "watchlist_source",
"organization": "U.S. Department of Treasury",
"results": [],
"title": "Foreign Sanctions Evaders"
},
{
"abbr": "ISN",
"agency": "Bureau of International Security and Non-Proliferation",
"agency_abbr": "ISN",
"object": "watchlist_source",
"organization": "U.S. Department of State",
"results": [],
"title": "Nonproliferation Sanctions"
},
{
"abbr": "PLC",
"agency": "Office of Foreign Assets Control",
"agency_abbr": "OFAC",
"object": "watchlist_source",
"organization": "U.S. Department of Treasury",
"results": [],
"title": "Palestinian Legislative Council"
},
{
"abbr": "SSI",
"agency": "Office of Foreign Assets Control",
"agency_abbr": "OFAC",
"object": "watchlist_source",
"organization": "U.S. Department of Treasury",
"results": [],
"title": "Sectoral Sanctions Identifications"
},
{
"abbr": "UVL",
"agency": "Bureau of Industry and Security",
"agency_abbr": "BIS",
"object": "watchlist_source",
"organization": "U.S. Department of Commerce",
"results": [],
"title": "Unverified List"
},
{
"abbr": "CAP",
"agency": "Office of Foreign Assets Control",
"agency_abbr": "OFAC",
"object": "watchlist_source",
"organization": "U.S. Department of Treasury",
"results": [],
"title": "Capta List"
},
{
"abbr": "MEU",
"agency": "Bureau of Industry and Security",
"agency_abbr": "BIS",
"object": "watchlist_source",
"organization": "U.S. Department of Commerce",
"results": [],
"title": "Military End User"
},
{
"abbr": "NS-MBS",
"agency": "Office of Foreign Assets Control",
"agency_abbr": "OFAC",
"object": "watchlist_source",
"organization": "U.S. Department of Treasury",
"results": [],
"title": "Non-SDN Menu-Based Sanctions"
},
{
"abbr": "NS-ISA",
"agency": "Office of Foreign Assets Control",
"agency_abbr": "OFAC",
"object": "watchlist_source",
"organization": "U.S. Department of Treasury",
"results": [],
"title": "Non-SDN Iranian Sanctions"
},
{
"abbr": "NS-CCMC",
"agency": "Office of Foreign Assets Control",
"agency_abbr": "OFAC",
"object": "watchlist_source",
"organization": "U.S. Department of Treasury",
"results": [],
"title": "Non-SDN Communist Military Companies Sanctions"
}
],
"object": "watchlist",
"people": []
},
"website": null
}
Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN)
A Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) is a unique identification number used by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in the administration of tax laws.
Middesk will verify that the EIN is valid and that it matches the name passed to Middesk.
Formation
Businesses are formed or incorporated at the beginning of their existence.
Understanding the formation of an entity is key to evaluating the risk profile of a business. Middesk evaluates the Business in all U.S. markets to determine the entity's footprint, including its domestic and all foreign jurisdictions.
Secretary of State Filing
Determining the state registration for businesses is a critical part of due diligence, as the actual status of that business is commonly determined at the state level. Additionally, the IRS does not maintain accurate records on the status of a business entity. As such, EIN verification alone does not signal if a business is active or defunct.
Business Name
Understanding names associated with a business is an important part of the due diligence process, if only because a business may register as your customer or partner with their DBA. However, when uncovering the critical details about a business, such as its litigation history, information is almost always filed under the entity's legal name.
Office Address
When running a Business report, Middesk retrieves address information from bona fide sources such as the IRS, Secretary of State, and other regulatory bodies that require address filings. At the same time, Middesk flags other details about retrieved addresses, including whether the address is a commercial or residential location, if the address is a virtual or mailbox location, and if the address is deliverable or not.
People
While there is no single source to capture all officer information for private companies in the US, Middesk provides an aggregate list of individuals and corporations associated with each business based on data acquired from a variety of sources.
Website
Middesk identifies a website's core pages like Home and Contact, and extracts key terms, entities, and data points. Should the website not have this set of core pages, Middesk flags this gap.
Watchlist
Middesk supports the following sanctions lists:
List | Organization |
---|---|
Entity List (EL) | Bureau of Industry and Security |
Denied Persons List (DPL) | Bureau of Industry and Security |
Military End User (MEU) | Bureau of Industry and Security |
Unverified List (UVL) | Bureau of Industry and Security |
ITAR Debarred (DTC) | State Department |
Nonproliferation Sanctions (ISN) | State Department |
Capta List (CAP) | Treasury Department |
Foreign Sanctions Evaders (FSE) | Treasury Department |
Non-SDN Menu-Based Sanctions (NS-MBS) | Treasury Department |
Non-SDN Iranian Sanctions (NS-ISA) | Treasury Department |
Palestinian Legislative Council List (PLC) | Treasury Department |
Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) | Treasury Department |
Sectoral Sanctions Identifications List (SSI) | Treasury Department |
Updated 8 months ago