An Amsterdam data firm has opened its registry search to everyone at no cost, and Canadian investors, buyers and business owners should understand what it can confirm about a company and what it cannot.
A free company lookup run by Amsterdam-based data provider CompanyData.com now lets anyone search 375,880,144 registered businesses across more than 190 countries, according to figures the firm published in October 2026. The tool needs no account. It returns the record a company has filed with its government registry, not the version found in its marketing.
For Canadian readers who follow company results, check a supplier before signing, or try to work out who is behind an unfamiliar business, the launch adds one more option to a growing set of verification tools. It does not replace the official filings where Canadian public companies report their earnings, and the company says plainly that it cannot guarantee its data is accurate.
What the 375 Million-Record Registry Search Returns
The tool works like a search engine pointed only at business registers. A user types a company name or a registration number, can narrow the search by country or by US state, and then opens a result to see the full record.
According to CompanyData.com, a record can include:
- Identity details: legal name, entity type and registration number.
- Location: the registered address.
- Activity: industry classification codes.
- History and standing: founding year and whether the business is active or dissolved.
- Size indicators: employee and revenue figures, but only where they are available.
The firm says the records come from official government trade registers wherever those exist. It argues that this is what sets a registry lookup apart from a general web search. A search engine shows how a company presents itself, while a registry shows how the company is legally recorded.
Why a Free Company Lookup Matters for Fraud Checks
CompanyData.com calls a basic existence check the fastest fraud screen available, and that matches standard advice on due diligence. A business that cannot be found on any register, or that appears there as dissolved, deserves closer questions before anyone sends money or signs a contract.
Beyond existence, the company says its records help answer the questions that come up in almost every deal. These include whether the firm is still operating, what legal form it takes, how old it is, where it is actually registered, what it does, and roughly how big it is.
The firm lists four main uses:
- Due diligence: checking a supplier or partner before a contract is signed.
- Sales prospecting: finding and filling out company records for outreach.
- KYB and compliance: confirming that a business is legitimately registered. KYB stands for “know your business.”
- Market research: browsing companies by country, industry or region.
Supplier checks have become more pressing as Canadian firms reroute their sourcing. Our look at how companies are redesigning global supply chains in 2026 describes the pressure on businesses to bring in new partners in unfamiliar markets. In that setting, a quick registry check is a low-cost first step.
The Country Counts Behind the Database
The company also published live counts of registered businesses for its largest markets. It says these figures were measured in October 2026 and refresh automatically.
| Country | Registered businesses |
|---|---|
| China | 80,183,872 |
| United States | 63,869,921 |
| India | 38,736,364 |
| Brazil | 28,850,580 |
| France | 14,371,761 |
| United Kingdom | 8,835,840 |
| Australia | 8,589,731 |
| South Africa | 7,696,196 |
| Italy | 7,023,261 |
| Japan | 6,806,422 |
| Germany | 6,789,614 |
| Poland | 6,319,553 |
Canada does not appear in the published top-12 list, and the firm has not stated a Canadian count. Its site does list a dedicated Canada business registry search tool and a separate Canadian business data product. The depth of Canadian coverage, however, is not specified.
Where Canadian Earnings Figures Actually Come From
Readers following company earnings and results should know the difference between a registry record and a financial report. A revenue field in a lookup tool is an estimate or a compiled figure, and CompanyData.com says these figures appear only “where available.” It is not the same as audited results.
General context: In Canada, publicly listed companies file their quarterly and annual financial statements, management’s discussion and analysis, and material news through the securities regulators’ SEDAR+ system. Corporate registration details sit with Corporations Canada for federally incorporated businesses and with provincial registries for others. For reported earnings, those official filings remain the primary source.
The two kinds of source answer different questions. A registry search tells you whether a company exists and how it is legally set up. An earnings filing tells you how the business performed. Private companies, which make up most Canadian firms, generally do not publish detailed results at all. For them, any revenue number in a third-party database should be treated as a rough indicator.
This matters when the wider economy shifts. Readers tracking how Bank of Canada interest rate decisions reach mortgages, savings and credit often turn next to company results to see how borrowing costs are affecting corporate performance. That analysis should rest on filed financial statements, not on database estimates.
Specialised Searches: Revenue, VAT, SIC Codes and Owners
Alongside the main search box, the firm offers a set of narrower free tools that it says draw on the same data, also with no sign-up. These include:
- Registry searches: a Canada business registry search, UK Companies House lookups, Australian ABN lookups, US SEC EDGAR company searches, and state-level business searches for 50 US states, including California, Delaware, Texas and New York.
- Financial and tax fields: a company revenue lookup and a VAT number lookup.
- Industry classification: NACE and SIC code lookups, the standard systems used to sort businesses by sector.
- People and risk: a business owner and CEO search, and an OFAC sanctions list search, which checks the US Treasury’s sanctions list.
A sanctions check and an ownership search are standard steps in compliance work. Canadian companies dealing with foreign counterparties may find the combination useful as a starting screen. Formal compliance obligations, though, still depend on authoritative government lists and professional advice.
How CompanyData.com Makes Money From a Free Tool
The free lookup sits at the front of a paid data business. CompanyData.com sells bulk company databases, B2B email and mailing lists, CRM data enrichment and cleansing, and data licensing. It also sells a company data API that returns the same records as structured data, so firms can process entire lists at once instead of searching one name at a time.
The company’s figures for API access vary across its own pages. Its lookup page says each new API key starts with 500 free lookups, while a banner on the same site advertises 150 free calls. Anyone planning to rely on the free allowance should confirm the current terms directly.
The firm is headquartered in Amsterdam and has offices in Berlin and in Dubai Silicon Oasis in the United Arab Emirates. Its stated office hours are Monday to Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Central European Time. That is early morning on the Pacific coast and mid-morning to early afternoon in Toronto, which may matter for Canadian businesses contacting its sales team.
The Accuracy Caveat Users Should Not Skip
CompanyData.com states on its site that it aims for accuracy but cannot guarantee the accuracy, completeness or timeliness of its data. This disclaimer is common among data aggregators. It matters most for the fields readers are most likely to act on, such as revenue, employee counts and company status.
Registries update at different speeds, and a business dissolved last month may still appear as active in a compiled database. Revenue figures for private firms are often estimates. Anyone making an investment, lending or contract decision should treat a lookup result as a lead to verify, not as a final answer. Check it against the original government register or audited filings, and seek professional advice where money is at stake.
Used that way, a free registry search can save time. It can quickly rule out a company that does not exist and point users toward the official records that hold the real answers. For Canadians trying to tell what a company actually offers versus what it claims, the registry view is a useful counterweight to marketing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the company lookup really free?
Yes. CompanyData.com says the search tool is free and needs no sign-up. Bulk downloads and higher-volume API access are paid products.
Can I use it to see a Canadian company’s quarterly earnings?
No. The tool shows registry details and, where available, compiled revenue figures. Reported earnings for listed Canadian companies are filed through SEDAR+.
How many Canadian businesses does it cover?
Not specified. The firm lists a Canada registry search but has not published a Canadian business count.
How current is the data?
The company says its country counts were measured in October 2026 and refresh automatically. It does not guarantee that individual records are up to date.
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