To find a CUSIP number, start with a document you already have: your brokerage statement, a trade confirmation, or your year-end 1099-B all list the nine-character CUSIP next to each security. If you don’t own the security, the SEC’s free EDGAR database will pull it from the company’s filings in a few clicks, and specialized free tools cover bonds and municipal securities.
Check Your Brokerage Documents First
Your monthly or quarterly statement is the most direct source. The CUSIP sits in the holdings summary or detailed asset allocation section, next to each security’s name or ticker. Some brokers print it in a smaller font or tuck it into a secondary column, so you may have to scan past the share count and market value to spot it.
Trade confirmations are just as reliable. Every buy or sell confirmation your broker generates records the CUSIP for that specific instrument, because those documents double as legal records of the transaction and feed cost-basis tracking.
Year-end tax forms pull it all together. Federal regulations require brokers to report the CUSIP on Form 1099-B for each covered security sold during the year, alongside the adjusted basis, gain or loss classification, and sale date.1eCFR. 26 CFR 1.6045-1 – Returns of Information of Brokers and Barter Exchange Transactions When securities move between brokers, the sending firm must provide a written transfer statement within 15 days of settlement that includes the CUSIP, total adjusted basis, and original acquisition date.2Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 1099-B If you’ve ever changed brokerages, that transfer statement is a reliable place to find the identifier.
Search SEC EDGAR for Securities You Don’t Own
EDGAR is the SEC’s free, public filing system for companies reporting under the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.3U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. About EDGAR It is the best free route to a CUSIP when you don’t hold the security.
Company Search
Start at the EDGAR homepage and type the company’s name or ticker into the search bar. Open the company’s filings page and look for an annual report (Form 10-K), a registration statement, or a prospectus. Most 10-K filings show the CUSIP on the cover page, and the “Description of Securities” exhibit almost always includes it. Debt filings such as bond indentures list the CUSIP for each series of notes or bonds issued.
Full-Text Search
EDGAR’s full-text search is more powerful and less well-known. Choose the full-text search option, click “more search options,” and enter the company name along with the word “CUSIP” in the document word or phrase field. The results return filings where the CUSIP actually appears in the text, with the term highlighted. This works especially well when you know the company but aren’t sure which filing contains the number.
The Section 13(f) Securities List
The SEC publishes a quarterly list of all Section 13(f) securities, which institutional investment managers use when filing their holdings reports. The list carries the CUSIP for every security on it and is available as a free PDF or text download.4U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Form 13F Data Sets If you need CUSIPs across many publicly traded equities, downloading this list is faster than pulling filings one at a time. In the text version, characters 1 through 9 are the CUSIP, followed by the issuer name and description.
Free Lookups for Bonds and Municipal Securities
EDGAR doesn’t cover every corner of the market, and two other free portals fill the gaps.
For corporate and government bonds, FINRA’s fixed-income data portal lets you search by CUSIP or security name and returns real-time trade data along with the bond’s identifying details. It is especially useful when you need the CUSIP for a specific bond issue rather than a company’s equity.
For municipal bonds, the MSRB’s EMMA website at emma.msrb.org is the authoritative free source. EMMA provides official trade data, disclosure documents, and CUSIP-linked information for municipal securities. If you’re trying to identify a specific muni bond, start there.
A Note on CUSIP.com
CUSIP Global Services is the organization that actually assigns and maintains the official CUSIP database, operating on behalf of the American Bankers Association.5CUSIP Global Services. CUSIP Global Services The complete database is commercially licensed, though. Institutional subscribers pay for full search and bulk data access, and there is no open search bar on cusip.com that returns results for individuals at no cost. For free lookups, the brokerage documents, EDGAR, FINRA, and EMMA routes above are how most people get there.
Finding CUSIPs for Mutual Funds and ETFs
Mutual funds and ETFs each have their own CUSIP, separate from the CUSIPs of the securities inside them. Your brokerage statement will show the fund’s CUSIP the same way it shows one for a stock or bond.
To see the CUSIPs of the securities inside a fund’s portfolio, look at the fund’s Form N-PORT filing on EDGAR. The SEC requires registered investment companies and exchange-traded funds to file monthly portfolio reports on Form N-PORT, and the instructions specifically require disclosure of the CUSIP for each investment held.6SEC.gov. Form N-PORT Monthly Portfolio Investments Report Instructions This matters if you’re trying to confirm whether a fund holds a particular bond or security.
International Securities: ISIN and CINS
CUSIPs cover the United States and Canada.7American Bankers Association. CUSIP Securities Identification For securities issued elsewhere, the equivalent identifier is the International Securities Identification Number (ISIN), a 12-character code used globally.
The two systems connect. An ISIN for a U.S. or Canadian security embeds the nine-character CUSIP within its longer structure. For foreign securities traded in U.S. markets, the CUSIP International Numbering System (CINS) provides a parallel nine-character identifier that follows the same formatting conventions as a domestic CUSIP.7American Bankers Association. CUSIP Securities Identification If you’re looking up an international security on a U.S. brokerage statement, you may see a CINS number in the field where a domestic CUSIP would normally sit.
If the CUSIP You Have Doesn’t Match
A CUSIP isn’t necessarily permanent. Reverse stock splits, forward stock splits that require a mandatory share exchange, and mergers or reorganizations that create a new legal entity all trigger assignment of a new CUSIP.8CUSIP Global Services. CUSIP Global Services Permanence FAQ A company that redomiciles to a different jurisdiction typically receives new identifiers too, because the legal entity and share structure change.
One helpful change took effect in October 2021. Under the CUSIP Permanence policy, a simple company name change no longer triggers a new CUSIP for equity securities.8CUSIP Global Services. CUSIP Global Services Permanence FAQ Before then, rebranding alone could generate a new identifier.
FINRA publishes a Daily List of OTC equity security changes, including CUSIP changes, symbol and name changes, new issues, and deletions.9FINRA. Daily List – OTC Data If you hold a security that went through a corporate action and your old records show a different CUSIP than your broker’s current statement, that list will usually explain what happened.
Confirming You Have the Right Number
A CUSIP is nine alphanumeric characters.10Investor.gov U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. CUSIP Number The first six identify the issuer, so every security from the same company shares them. Characters seven and eight identify the specific issue, distinguishing common stock from preferred shares or one bond series from another. The ninth is a check digit generated by the Luhn algorithm, which catches transcription errors when the number is entered into a trading or transfer system.
If you are comparing two numbers and the first six characters don’t match, you’re looking at different issuers, not different securities from the same company. If a system rejects a CUSIP you’ve typed in, the check digit is probably the problem; retype the number from the source rather than trying to correct it by eye.