# Is there a way to identify a business by its street address?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-identify-a-business-by-its-street-address/486233>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [February 17, 2009, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-identify-a-business-by-its-street-address/486233 "2009-02-17T04:22:44Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Crocodiles\_And\_Boulevards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ee7513/32.png) [@Crocodiles\_And\_Boulevards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crocodiles_And_Boulevards)\
**Post date:** [February 17, 2009, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-identify-a-business-by-its-street-address/486233/1 "2009-02-17T04:22:44Z")

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I’m trying to figure out what business is located at a certain address. Just googling it doesn’t give me anything. Is there some kind of online resource that has a searchable database of businesses by address?

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**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\
**Post date:** [February 17, 2009, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-identify-a-business-by-its-street-address/486233/2 "2009-02-17T04:32:58Z")

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Washington has [this page](https://fortress.wa.gov/dol/dolprod/bpdLicenseQuery/), where you can search on an address. You could look on your state’s Department of Licensing, Department of Revenue, Secretary of State Business Lookup, etc.

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**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\
**Post date:** [February 17, 2009, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-identify-a-business-by-its-street-address/486233/3 "2009-02-17T04:42:38Z")

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Is it on a main street in a city? Use Street View in Google Maps.

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**Author:** ![Ruby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/13edae/32.png) [@Ruby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby)\
**Post date:** [February 17, 2009, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-identify-a-business-by-its-street-address/486233/4 "2009-02-17T04:47:44Z")

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You may find some luck using a [reverse directory](http://www.reversephonedirectory.com/). There are others out there with a quick Google check if that one doesn’t provide any results.

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**Author:** ![NinjaChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@NinjaChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinjaChick)\
**Post date:** [February 17, 2009, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-identify-a-business-by-its-street-address/486233/5 "2009-02-17T05:21:10Z")

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Did you try plugging it into Google Maps specifically? Even if it’s not in a city with Street View, often you can get “At this address” in the sidebar.

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**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\
**Post date:** [February 17, 2009, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-identify-a-business-by-its-street-address/486233/6 "2009-02-17T05:26:39Z")

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Yeah, **NinjaChick’s** right: Google maps will allow you to enter the street address and come back with what’s there.

Q