How to verify business and research buyers

If you sell only to businesses and research organizations, you need a way to tell them apart from individual consumers. No single check proves a buyer is who they say. What works for most small suppliers is a set of practical signals, checked in proportion to the order, with a record of what you looked at.

This guide covers the signals that are usually available, how much weight to give each one, and how to keep the process fair and consistent.

Start with a written buyer profile

Before you check anyone, write down who you sell to. For example: universities and research institutes, contract research organizations, and registered companies with a laboratory. Then write down what you accept as evidence for each type. A written profile lets you apply the same standard to every order and explain a decision later.

Signals you can check

Business or institutional email domain

An address on the organization's own domain is a useful signal. Check that the domain belongs to the organization named on the order and leads to a working website. A free webmail address does not prove the buyer is a consumer, since some small companies use them, but it means the other signals deserve a closer look.

Organization name and the buyer's role

Ask for the organization's legal name, the buyer's role, and a department or lab where relevant. Check that the organization exists and that the role makes sense for the purchase.

Tax and registration details

For US companies, two kinds of detail are commonly available. The IRS describes an Employer Identification Number (EIN) as a federal tax ID number for businesses, tax-exempt organizations and other entities. The SBA explains that LLCs, corporations, partnerships and nonprofit corporations will probably need to register with any state where they conduct business, and that most states handle this through the Secretary of State's office or a similar business agency.

Ask for the legal entity name and state of registration, and check that they match the order. Treat a tax number on its own as a detail to record, not as proof: a number you have not checked is still only a claim. Do not collect more information than you need for the decision.

Ship-to address

A delivery address at a business, campus or research facility supports the buyer's account. A residential address does not automatically rule a buyer out, but if your profile says you ship only to business addresses, apply that rule every time. Check that the ship-to organization matches the buyer's organization.

Order history and messages

A returning buyer with consistent details needs less checking than a new one. Order notes, emails or support messages that mention personal use are a strong sign that the order does not fit your profile.

Checks in proportion to the order

Not every order needs the same depth of checking. A proportionate approach might look like this:

• Every order: buyer type, organization name, ship-to address and a signed research-use statement.
• New buyers: check the email domain and organization, and confirm registration details for companies.
• Orders that do not match the profile: hold the order and ask for more information before you capture payment. See reviewing orders that look like consumer purchases.
• Changes on an existing account: a new ship-to address or a new organization name gets the same check as a new buyer.

Decide your tiers in writing and apply them to everyone. Inconsistent checking is hard to defend, and it is unfair to the buyers who get the stricter treatment.

When a buyer cannot provide the details

Some genuine buyers will not have everything you ask for straight away: a new company still waiting on paperwork, or a researcher ordering through a central purchasing office. Decide in advance what you will accept instead, such as a purchase order from the institution or a delivery address at the lab. If the buyer still cannot meet your standard, decline the order politely and cancel the payment rather than making an exception you would not make for everyone.

Export screening for international buyers

If you ship outside the US, export rules may apply. The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) explains that whether a license is required can depend on the item's classification, its destination, the end user and the end use. The International Trade Administration publishes a Consolidated Screening List that combines restricted party lists from the Departments of Commerce, State and the Treasury, and advises that a potential match calls for additional due diligence before proceeding.

Whether and how these rules apply to your products is a question for a qualified lawyer. Shipping restrictions by destination covers how to keep your policy, checkout and fulfillment aligned once you have decided.

Record what you checked

A check you cannot show later is hard to rely on. For each buyer, keep:

• the details the buyer gave, and when
• what you checked and what you found
• who on your team made the decision, and why
• the research-use statement the buyer signed, and its version

For more on how this differs from the formal programs banks run, see know-your-customer basics for B2B suppliers.

What verification cannot do

These checks reduce the chance of selling to someone outside your profile. They do not prove what a buyer will do with a product, and they do not replace accurate product pages, honest marketing, or legal advice about who you may sell to. A buyer who is determined to mislead you can sometimes do it.

Claddr checks buyer type, credentials and ship-to against your compliance profile at checkout, stops consumers with a clear message, and stores each check against the order in a tamper-evident audit record.