How to verify a GSTIN
Checking that a GSTIN is real, active, and belongs to the business you are dealing with — and what verification cannot tell you.
Verifying a GSTIN answers three questions: does this number exist, is it currently active, and does it belong to the business in front of you.
What to check
- Format — 15 characters, positions 3–12 are a valid PAN, position 14 is
Z, and the checksum resolves. A malformed number can be rejected before any lookup. - Existence and status — the GST portal exposes taxpayer search. Status should be Active; Suspended or Cancelled is a stop sign.
- Legal name — must match the entity you are contracting with, allowing for trade name versus registered name.
- State — the first two digits should match where the business claims to operate. A supplier invoicing you from a state they are not registered in is a real problem.
- Registration date — a GSTIN registered last week, on a large order, deserves more scrutiny than one registered in 2019.
What verification does not prove
That the business is solvent. That it can deliver. That the person emailing you is authorised to bind it. GSTIN verification establishes registration, which is a floor, not a recommendation.
What people get wrong
Checking once and never again. Status changes. For an ongoing supplier relationship, a periodic recheck costs nothing.
Verifying the number but not the name. A valid GSTIN belonging to someone else is the most common form of this failure.
Treating it as the whole of KYC. GSTIN is one signal. PAN, CIN where applicable, bank details and authorised-signatory evidence are separate checks.
On Bidancer
Every business completes verification before it can transact, so this work is done once at the platform level rather than repeated by every counterparty. That is what "verified-only" means in practice.