How many digits does a KVK number have?

A KVK number has 8 digits. An establishment number, which points to a specific location, has 12 digits.

Is a KVK number public?

Yes. Data in the trade register, including the KVK number, is public by law. You don't need the company's permission to look it up.

Can I look up a company without knowing its KVK number?

Yes. You can search by company name or by address; the KVK number comes back as part of the search result.

Guide

Looking up a KVK number

The KVK number is the key to every Dutch company. This guide explains what the number is, how to look it up by name or address, and how to fetch it automatically through an API.

What is a KVK number?

A KVK number is the unique 8-digit identifier the Dutch Chamber of Commerce assigns to every business that registers in the Handelsregister (trade register). It identifies the business as a whole, regardless of how many locations or trade names it has.

Every business, from a sole proprietorship to a multinational, gets exactly one KVK number on registration. That number generally stays the same for the life of the business, which makes it a reliable key to attach company data to.

Looking up a KVK number by name or address

Know the company name? Then you can find the KVK number by searching the trade register by name. Because many businesses operate under a trade name that differs from their legal name, it helps when the search also covers trade names and tolerates typos.

Only have the address? You can still find the matching business, because every registration is tied to a visiting and postal address. Searching by postal code and house number returns the business or businesses at that address.

Looking up a KVK number through the API

If you look up businesses regularly or in bulk, doing it by hand doesn't scale. With the Companize API you do it programmatically: search by name first to find the KVK number, then use that number to fetch the full company profile as JSON.

A typical flow is two steps: a search call (`GET /v1/companies?q=<name>`) returns ranked results with KVK numbers, and a lookup call (`GET /v1/companies/<kvk_number>`) returns the complete profile: legal form, status, trade names, SBI codes, addresses and establishments.

What do you use a looked-up KVK number for?

Once you have the KVK number, you use it as a stable reference in your own systems. Common uses are enriching a CRM, verifying business customers during onboarding (KYC), running credit checks, and keeping company data automatically up to date.

Frequently asked questions

How many digits does a KVK number have?: A KVK number has 8 digits. An establishment number, which points to a specific location, has 12 digits.
Is a KVK number public?: Yes. Data in the trade register, including the KVK number, is public by law. You don't need the company's permission to look it up.
Can I look up a company without knowing its KVK number?: Yes. You can search by company name or by address; the KVK number comes back as part of the search result.

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