Certified Entity Data Fields

To view the complete list of Certified Entity data fields, refer to the section on the right side of this page.

Certified Entity Unique ID

Field name	Certified Entity Unique ID
Description	A unique identifier that is used as a reference or a tracking number to look up Certified Entity records in the IAF CertSearch database.
IAF MD 28 Requirement	Mandatory
Input field: Excel	Certified Entity Unique ID
Input field: XML	<certified_entity_unique_id></certified_entity_unique_id>
Input field: Manual Entry	Unique ID
Character Limit	45
Has System Validation	✅
Conditions	Cannot be left empty, else an error: Missing Required Field is triggered. Can only include the following special characters: @ # - + = \ / : ; , ~_ . a Can accept local languages such as: Latin-based alphabets (e.g., English, French, Spanish) Non-Latin alphabets (e.g., Cyrillic for Russian, Greek, Hebrew, Arabic) Logographic systems (e.g., Chinese, Japanese, Korean)
Sample Data	UNIQUEID-COMPANY01

Certified Entity Name

Field name	Certified Entity Name
Description	Legal business name stated in the official national incorporation register.
IAF MD 28 Requirement	Mandatory
Input field: Excel	Certified Entity Name
Input field: XML	<certified_entity_name></certified_entity_name>
Input Field: Manual	Company Name
Character Limit	300
Has System Validation	✅
Conditions	Cannot be left empty, else an error: Missing Required Field is triggered.
Sample Data	Test Food And Logistics Inc.

Certified Entity Trading Name

Field name	Certified Entity Trading Name
Description	A trade name, trading name, or business name is a pseudonym frequently used by companies to operate under a name different from their registered, legal name.
IAF MD 28 Requirement	Voluntary
Input field: Excel	Certified Entity Trading Name
Input field: XML	<certified_entity_trading_name></certified_entity_trading_name>
Input field: Manual	Company Trading Name
Character Limit	500
Has System Validation	❌
Conditions	Can be left empty
Sample Data	Test Food And Logistics Inc.

Certified Entity English Name

Field name	Certified Entity English Name
Description	English name of the Certified Entity, individual, product, or service granted certification.
IAF MD 28 Requirement	Voluntary
Input field: Excel	Certified Entity English Name
Input field: XML	<certified_entity_english_name></certified_entity_english_name>
Input field: Manual	Company English Name
Character Limit	500
Has System Validation	❌
Conditions	Can be left empty
Sample Data	Test Food And Logistics Inc.

Certified Entity Address

Description	A business registered address is the official location for receiving legal and government documents. It must be a physical address and be publicly listed.
IAF MD 28 Requirement	Mandatory

To add the Certified Entity registered address, you may input through the following options:

• Recommended: Multi-line address fields, where you can individually input the street, city, state, and zipcode/postcode in a separate input field.

• Alternative: Single-line address field, where you can input the address into one input field.

Multi-line address fields

Country/Economy

Field name	Business Registered Country/Economy
Description	Country/Economy where the registered entity is located.
Input Field: Excel	Business Registered Country/Economy
Input Field: XML	<business_registered_country><business_registered_country>
Input Field: Manual	Country
Character Limit	N/A
Has System Validation	✅
Conditions	Cannot be left empty Data value should be coming from: Countries If the value does not belong to the Countries list, Data Mapping is required,
Sample Data	United States

Street

Field name	Business Registered Street
Description	Street where the registered entity is located.
Input Field: Excel	Business Registered Street
Input Field: XML	<business_registered_street></business_registered_street>
Input Field: Manual	Bldg No. / Floor No. / Street
Character Limit	500
Has System Validation	✅
Conditions	Can be left empty only when either the City OR the Full Address has value.
Sample Data	Suite 100, #3601 E Algonquin Road

City

Field name	Business Registered City
Description	City where the registered entity is located.
Input Field: Excel	Business Registered City
Input Field: XML	<business_registered_city></business_registered_city>
Input Field: Manual	City
Character Limit	100
Has System Validation	✅
Conditions	Can be left empty only when either the Street OR the Full Address has value.
Sample Data	Rolling Meadows

State

Field name	Business Registered Zipcode/Postcode
Description	State where the registered entity is located.
Input Field: Excel	Zipcode/Postcode
Input Field: XML	<business_registered_zip_code></business_registered_zip_code>
Input Field: Manual	Zipcode/Postcode
Character Limit	100
Has System Validation	✅
Conditions	Can be left empty
Sample Data	Illinois

Zipcode/Postcode

Field name	Business Registered Zipcode/Postcode
Description	Zipcode/Postcode where the registered entity is located.
Input Field: Excel	Business Registered Zipcode/Postcode
Input Field: XML	<business_registered_state></business_registered_state>
Input Field: Manual	Business Registered Postcode / Zipcode
Character Limit	250
Has System Validation	✅
Conditions	Can be left empty
Sample Data	60008

Single-line address field

Country/Economy

Field name	Business Registered Country/Economy
Description	Country/Economy where the registered entity is located.
Input Field: Excel	Business Registered Country/Economy
Input Field: XML	<business_registered_country><business_registered_country>
Input Field: Manual	Country
Character Limit	N/A
Has System Validation	✅
Conditions	Cannot be left empty Data value should be coming from: Countries If the value does not belong to the Countries list, Data Mapping is required,
Sample Data	United States

Full Address

Field name	Business Registered Full Address
Description	Address where the registered entity is located.
Input Field: Excel	Business Registered Full Address
Input Field: XML	<business_registered_full_address><business_registered_full_address>
Input Field: Manual	Business Registered Full Address
Character Limit	500
Has System Validation	✅
Conditions	Can be left empty when Street AND City has value.
Sample Data	Suite 100, #3601 E Algonquin Road, Rolling Meadows, Illinois 60018

Confidential Certified Entity

Field name	Confidential Certified Entity
Description	Indicator of whether the certified entity's information is confidential.
IAF MD 28 Requirement	Voluntary
Input Field: Excel	Confidential Certified Entity
Input Field: XML	<certified_entity_website></certified_entity_website>
Input Field: Manual	Confidentiality
Character Limit	N/A
Has System Validation	✅
Conditions	if left empty, entity is not confidential value should be Yes or No only Not case sensitive

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Legal Identifiers

While legal identifiers are optional fields, providing them can significantly enhance the accuracy of your data, particularly when identifying and updating existing Certified Entity records.

Tax ID

Field name	Tax ID
Description	A unique identifier issued by tax authorities to businesses and individuals for tax reporting purposes.
IAF MD 28 Requirement	Voluntary
Input Field: Excel	Tax ID
Input Field: XML	<tax_id></tax_id>
Input Field: Manual	Tax ID
Character Limit	N/A
Has System Validation	✅
Conditions	Can be left empty

VAT

Field name	VAT
Description	A unique identifier assigned to businesses for tracking Value Added Tax (VAT) transactions within a country or across borders
IAF MD 28 Requirement	Voluntary
Input Field: Excel	VAT
Input Field: XML	<vat></vat>
Input Field: Manual	VAT
Character Limit	N/A
Has System Validation	✅
Conditions	Can be left empty

Company ID Number

Field name	Company ID Number
Description	A unique identifier assigned to a company by a government or regulatory body for official registration and tracking purposes.
Data IAF MD 28 Requirement	Voluntary
Input Field: Excel	Company ID Number
Input Field: XML	<company_id_number></company_id_number>
Input Field: Manual	Company ID Number
Character Limit	N/A
Has System Validation	✅
Conditions	Can be left empty

Business Registration Number

Field name	Business Registration Number
Description	A unique number assigned to a business upon registration with a government authority, used for legal and administrative purposes.
IAF MD 28 Requirement	Voluntary
Input Field: Excel	Business Registration Number
Input Field: XML	<business_registration_number></business_registration_number>
Input Field: Manual	Business Registration Number
Character Limit	N/A
Has System Validation	✅
Conditions	Can be left empty

DUNS Number

Field name	DUNS Number
Description	A unique nine-digit identifier assigned to businesses by Dun & Bradstreet, used to track a company's credit and financial information globally
IAF MD 28 Requirement	Voluntary
Input Field: Excel	DUNS Number
Input Field: XML	<duns_number></duns_number>
Input Field: Manual	DUNS Number
Character Limit	N/A
Has System Validation	✅
Conditions	Can be left empty