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How to Obtain a D-U-N-S Number for Your Company at No Cost?
If you already have a Google Play Console account, you'll soon be required to obtain a D-U-N-S number from DUN & BRADSTREET and provide it to Google.
For new Google Play Console accounts, having a D-U-N-S number is mandatory, and you can't complete the registration process without it.
Initially, I visited the DUN & BRADSTREET website to understand how to acquire this number. In the United States, the process to get the number appears straightforward. However, for companies based in other countries, like France, the process directs you to a local partner, Altares.
Upon contacting Altares, they claim that obtaining the number is free, but there is an administrative fee required to access it, which I find crazy.
It's advertised as free, yet there's a fee involved. So, you end up paying for a number that a third party (Google, which already takes a significant portion of your revenue) requires, and not you personally.
Have you had a similar experience? Did you manage to get your company's D-U-N-S number without any cost?
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Is this like when you register a microenterprise here and then receive 7 different letters from different companies for a "registration fee" that does not exist 😅
I unfortunately cannot help you but again, I'm going to have to go through this process in a few months and you're doing it ahead of me so I can only say a big, big, big merci ! Hopefully there's an EU solution that doesn't charge...
Haha, I also encountered those scam letters a few years back :D
Thankfully, nowadays when setting up a new company, there's a complimentary choice to declare that your data shouldn't be used for commercial solicitation. It might be a bit premature to say, but this choice appears to be effective.
It's amazing to see the gradual yet significant improvements in the French government's online services over the recent years."
No idea what this is, but I just wanted to say that I hate when things are advertised as free and then they try to sneak in a payment. Incredibly annoying.
I had a company reach out to me literally called The Free Website Company who let me know that they would build me a free website. When I inquired further, they snuck in “oh yeah, the website is free - but to host it you need to pay for a bluehost subscription so we get paid our commission” - guess it’s not free then now is it?
I got this for my previous company but through the Apple Developer route in Dec 2022. It was an easier process since they are somehow connected. So i think we could essentially use the DUNS made through the iOS process on Google.
My friend is currently struggling with this too. So they are going through the Google Play route I'm in KE 🇰🇪.
Thanks, that's interesting to know. Unfortunately, I do not have an Apple Developper account and the fee to create an Apple Developer is much higher than what they request to get a D-U-N-S but it's good to know. Hope Google will provide a better flow in a near future.
What a racket from DUN & BRADSTREET. They assign a private number based on public government numbers, and request a fee to get this number from customer of their clients. Free money falling from the sky, continuously and encouraged by the giants.
For reference, you can get your company DUNS number for free with a free Apple ID and opening the next page:
developer.apple.com/enroll/du…