GST Data Sources & Methodology

CheckYourGST lets you look up a 15-character GSTIN and see the GST registration information recorded against that number — legal name, trade name, registration status, taxpayer type, constitution of business, registration date, state and jurisdiction, city and the principal place of business. Alongside the lookup we publish reference material we compile ourselves: GST state codes, an explanation of the GSTIN structure, HSN and SAC code lookups, GST rate references, a GST calculator and a library of written guides.

Two different kinds of information sit on this site, and it is worth keeping them apart. Registration data about a specific taxpayer is retrieved from a data provider and is only as current as that provider's copy. Reference and educational material is written by us from published government material and is not taxpayer-specific.

GSTIN registration details are retrieved through a licensed commercial GST data provider, which sources registration data from the Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) public taxpayer search. We do not scrape the GST portal, and we never create, estimate or complete GST records ourselves.

Reference content — state codes, GSTIN structure, HSN and SAC classifications and rate references — is compiled from publicly published government notifications and CBIC material. Where a specific rate or classification record has a published source, that source is shown on the record itself, and records we have not been able to attribute to a source are not published as verified.

For security reasons we do not publish provider credentials, API keys or details of our internal infrastructure. Lookups are made from our servers; your browser never holds any provider credential.

1. Format and checksum check. The number you type is validated locally against the GSTIN structure, including its check character. An impossible number never triggers a lookup.
2. Stored-copy check. We look for a recent stored record for that GSTIN.
3. Provider lookup. If we hold nothing recent, we request the registration details from the data provider.
4. Normalisation for display. Names, addresses and status values are tidied for readability only. Nothing is added.
5. Display with provenance. The result is shown together with its source and the time it was last checked.

Retrieved records are stored so that repeat lookups of the same GSTIN are fast and do not place unnecessary load on the provider. When a result is served from that stored copy it is labelled as such. Caching is the reason two people checking the same number minutes apart see the same answer, and the reason a change made at the source a few minutes ago may not appear immediately.

Stored records are refreshed automatically once they age past our freshness window and the number is requested again. You can also force a fresh lookup at any time using the re-check action on a result page, which bypasses the stored copy and asks the provider again. Where a re-check returns different information, the newer response replaces the stored one.

Every result carries a "last checked" timestamp. That timestamp is the moment we retrieved the information from the provider — not the moment the taxpayer's registration was last changed, and not the moment you loaded the page. Read it as: this is what the source said at this time.

The provider does not return every field for every registration. Trade name, nature of business, jurisdiction detail and address components are frequently blank for smaller or older registrations. We display an unavailable field as blank or "—" rather than filling it in.

Registration data does not include, and we never show:

• Turnover, revenue, sales or purchase figures
• Return filing history or tax paid
• Bank account details
• Personal contact numbers or email addresses of the taxpayer
• Directors', partners' or proprietors' personal identifiers
• Ratings, reviews, scores or creditworthiness of any kind

Name-based search is also limited: it matches businesses already recorded in our own directory, and is not a live name lookup against the government register. That limitation is explained on the search-by-name page.

A registration is a living record. Businesses register, amend their trade name or address, add registrations in other states, surrender registrations, and have registrations suspended or cancelled by the department. Any of those events changes what a lookup returns. If a result today differs from one you took last quarter, the most likely explanation is simply that something changed at the source in between.

There are three ordinary reasons for a difference:

• Timing. A very recent change may not have propagated to the data we receive.
• Completeness. The provider may return fewer fields than the portal displays for that registration.
• Caching. You may be looking at a stored copy; re-check to force a fresh retrieval.

Where it matters — input tax credit, vendor onboarding, contract execution — verify the GSTIN directly on the official GST portal at gst.gov.in under "Search Taxpayer", cross-check against the supplier's invoice, PAN and registration certificate, and consult a qualified tax professional if required. The official record prevails over anything shown here.

If something shown here is wrong or out of date, tell us through the contact page with the GSTIN and a description of what is incorrect. Result pages also carry a report action that sends the same information to us directly. Business owners can claim their listing to manage how it appears. We correct or remove records we cannot substantiate, and we act on removal requests from the registered party.

CheckYourGST is an independent GST information and verification platform. It is not the official GST portal and is not affiliated with GSTN or any government body.

We do not guarantee that information is complete, current or error-free, and we do not guarantee the availability of the underlying data provider. CheckYourGST is an information and utility service. It is not tax, legal, accounting or financial advice, it is not a compliance certification, and it is not a substitute for verification against official sources. See our disclaimer and terms.

CheckYourGST is an independent, privately operated platform. It is not GSTN, not the Government of India, not an official government portal, and not an official GST department website. We have no affiliation with, endorsement from, or authority delegated by any government body, and nothing on this site should be read as implying otherwise. Who we are and why we built this is set out on our about page.