GST Verification: Check GSTIN Status, Legal Name & Filing Record
You get an invoice. It has a GSTIN printed on it. Is that number real? Is it still active? Has that vendor actually been filing their returns? These aren't rhetorical questions. Get any one of them wrong and you could lose Input Tax Credit you were counting on, or worse, end up dealing with a supplier whose registration was cancelled weeks before they billed you.
LegalDev's GST verification tool answers all of this in one search. Enter a GSTIN, or a PAN if you want to see every registration linked to it, and get back live status, legal name, and recent filing activity, straight from government records, at no cost.
Key Takeaways
Enter a 15-digit GSTIN, or a 10-digit PAN to see every GSTIN linked to it.
The tool is completely free, with no search limit, no login and no subscription.
A cancelled or fake GSTIN on an invoice can cost you Input Tax Credit, so verify before you pay.
A vendor's status can change, so check before every invoice or on a fixed schedule.
What You Get From One Search
Four things that make the check quick and reliable.
Live data
Not a cached snapshot. If a GSTIN was cancelled yesterday, it shows as cancelled today.
No search limit
Check one vendor or run fifty lookups for a bulk reconciliation. There is no cap.
Two ways to search
Look up a specific GSTIN, or enter a PAN to pull up every GSTIN registered under it, across every state.
Plain-language status
Active, Cancelled or Suspended, clearly labelled and not buried in raw data.
How to Verify a GST Number: 3 Steps
The whole check takes under a minute.
1
Enter the number
Type a 15-digit GSTIN, or a 10-digit PAN for the full list of GSTINs linked to it.
2
Click Verify Now
The tool fetches the record from government data.
3
Review the result
See the legal name, registration date, current status, and recent GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B filing activity, all in one place.
Reading a GSTIN: What Each Digit Means
A GSTIN isn't a random string. Every block of digits carries specific meaning. Knowing the structure helps you spot an obviously fake number before you even run a search.
| Position |
What It Represents |
What It Tells You |
| Digits 1–2 | State code | Where the business is registered (e.g., 27 = Maharashtra, 07 = Delhi, 08 = Rajasthan) |
| Digits 3–12 | PAN | The 10-character Permanent Account Number of the registered entity |
| Digit 13 | Registration count | Number of GST registrations under this PAN within the same state |
| Digit 14 | Fixed character | Set by the department, almost always "Z" |
| Digit 15 | Check digit | System-generated, catches errors elsewhere in the number |
If the PAN embedded in digits 3–12 doesn't match the PAN shown elsewhere on the invoice, flag it before payment goes out, not after.
What Each GST Status Means
What to do with an invoice depends on the supplier's status.
| Status |
Meaning |
| Active | The registration is valid right now. You can accept the invoice, and the tax charged is eligible for Input Tax Credit, provided the supplier has filed their returns on their end too. |
| Cancelled | The registration has ended, either voluntarily or by an officer for non-compliance. Any invoice dated after cancellation won't support an ITC claim, regardless of how correctly it's otherwise filled out. |
| Suspended | Temporarily on hold, usually due to an overdue return or a pending cancellation proceeding. Treat this as a warning sign: hold off on new payments and ITC claims until it returns to Active. |
| Provisional / Migrated | Legacy registrations carried over from the pre-GST system, or awaiting final document approval. Rare today but still occasionally seen in older records. |
Why Verify Before You Pay an Invoice
Three reasons this check pays for itself.
It Protects Your Input Tax Credit
Under Section 16 of the CGST Act, ITC can only be claimed when several conditions are met together: a valid tax invoice, actual receipt of goods or services, and the supplier's outward supply correctly reflected in their GSTR-1 so it appears in your GSTR-2B. Since the 2022 amendment to Section 16(2), that GSTR-2B match is mandatory. If the invoice doesn't show up there, the credit isn't usable no matter what the paper invoice says.
A cancelled GSTIN can't file a valid GSTR-1 going forward, which breaks this chain immediately. There's also a hard deadline under Section 16(4): ITC on any invoice must be claimed by 30th November following the end of that financial year, or the date you file your annual return, whichever is earlier. Verifying the GSTIN before booking the invoice is far cheaper than discovering a cancellation only after that window has closed.
It Catches Fake or Misused GST Numbers
Some invoices carry a GSTIN that was never actually issued. Others use a real number belonging to a completely different business. Either way, that's tax you've paid on paper with no real path to reaching the government. A search here surfaces "No Record Found," a PAN mismatch, or a name mismatch, any of which is reason enough to hold the invoice back until the supplier explains it.
It Speeds Up Vendor Onboarding
Before adding a new vendor to your approved list or releasing a first payment, pull their legal name, registered address, and business type (proprietorship, partnership, LLP, private limited) in one search. It saves the back-and-forth of chasing documents over email.
Make Verification a Routine, Not a One-Time Check
A vendor's GST status isn't fixed the day you onboard them. Registrations get cancelled, suspended, and sometimes reinstated. A check done six months ago tells you nothing about where things stand today. Running this check before every invoice gets booked, or on a fixed schedule tied to your GSTR-2B reconciliation, costs far less than unwinding an ITC reversal or responding to a compliance notice later.
GST Verification FAQs
Got questions? Find clear answers from our legal advisory team:
It's the process of confirming a GSTIN is genuine, active, and properly registered under India's GST system. Business owners, accountants, CAs, and procurement teams all use it to guard against ITC fraud and stay compliant during assessments.
Enter the 15-digit GSTIN or 10-digit PAN in the search box on this page and click Verify Now. Results appear instantly, with no login and no cost.
Yes. Enter the 10-digit PAN and the tool returns every GSTIN registered under it across all states, along with each one's current status.
It means the registration is currently valid. You can accept invoices from that vendor and claim ITC on eligible purchases, as long as they've filed their returns correctly.
Search the GSTIN. "No Record Found" means it doesn't exist in government records. If it exists but the legal name doesn't match your vendor, the number is likely being misused. Also confirm the status is Active, since Cancelled is a red flag.
Yes. This tool pulls live results directly from the government GST database, the same data you'd see on the official portal.
A separate GSTIN is required for each state where a business has a physical presence, and sometimes for distinct business verticals within the same state. A PAN-based search lists all of them.
No. It's completely free, with no subscription, no per-search fee and no account needed.
GSTIN verification confirms whether a number exists and is active in the system. Certificate verification goes further: it cross-checks the details on a physical or digital certificate (name, registration date, GSTIN) against live portal data to confirm the certificate itself is genuine.
Make GST Verification Part of Every Transaction
Verifying a GSTIN takes under a minute and costs nothing. The alternative, an ITC reversal, a billing dispute, or a compliance notice months down the line, costs a lot more than a minute. Whether you're checking a single new vendor or building it into your monthly reconciliation routine, this tool is built to make that check effortless.
Apply for GST Registration →