# BRD-022 — A DUNS number is not a US business registration number

> A DUNS number must not be submitted as the US business registration number.

- **Rule ID:** BRD-022
- **Layer:** Brand (`BRAND`)
- **Checks:** `brand.ein`
- **Severity:** BLOCKING — Breaking this rule gets the submission rejected outright.
- **When it bites:** Gates approval — get this wrong and registration is refused
- **How it is detected:** Deterministic (settled in code from the submitted values)
- **Fix type:** Fix the field — a better value in the form clears it
- **Required by:** TCR, AWS
- **Applies:** Applies when the brand is NOT a sole proprietor.
- **Canonical URL:** https://ekas.io/rules/10dlc/brand/brd-022/

## Why this rule exists

DUNS is a commercial identifier issued by a credit bureau, and the registry checks against tax records — so a DUNS number is nine digits that match nothing. It reaches the field honestly, because procurement and vendor-onboarding systems ask for DUNS constantly and it feels like the same class of thing.

## How to fix it

Replace it with the EIN from your IRS letter. Keep the DUNS number for the systems that want it — it is simply not what this field verifies against. Done when the value is the nine-digit EIN in hyphenated form.

## Example of a compliant value

```text
ein: 12-3456789 — the IRS EIN, not the nine-digit D-U-N-S
```

## Notes

Only the shape is checkable here: an unhyphenated nine-digit US identifier is the DUNS signature, since a real EIN should carry the hyphen (BRD-020). Confirming a value IS a DUNS number needs the D&B register, which is EXTERNAL_DATA and out of reach pre-submission.