How to Get a CUSIP Number: Application, Fees, and Timeline

To get a CUSIP number, submit an application through CUSIP Global Services’ online request form for your security type, upload your offering and issuer documents, and pay the $210 base fee. Standard processing takes one to two business days once CGS has a complete file. An express option returns the identifier within one hour for a 60% surcharge.¹

What to Gather Before You Apply

CGS analysts check every field you enter against the documents you upload, so assembling the file first is the difference between a two-day turnaround and a week of back-and-forth.

You will need the issuer’s exact legal name and state or country of incorporation, matching your formation documents. A W-9 (for U.S. entities) or W-8 (for non-U.S. entities) should be submitted if you have one; if not, incorporation documents such as a certificate of incorporation, articles of association, or trust agreement can substitute to validate the legal name and jurisdiction.²

On the security itself, the form asks for the instrument type (common equity, preferred, debt, fund, ADR, and so on) and the total offering amount. Debt issues require the interest rate, maturity date, and form of bond. Municipal bonds carry extra fields: rate type, interest payment frequency, whether the bond is callable, and whether it qualifies as a green bond.³

You will also upload offering documents: a prospectus, official statement, or private placement memorandum. The portal accepts up to five attachments, each up to 25 MB, in PDF, Word, or Excel format.³ Keep bylaws and debt agreements within reach in case an analyst asks follow-up questions.

Submitting the Request

CGS runs separate online request forms for corporate equity, corporate debt, and municipal debt. Pick the form that matches your security on the CGS site.⁴ You do not need a registered account for a standard CUSIP request; guests can complete a one-time onboarding form, and returning customers can sign in to move faster. Account registration is only required for CEI identifiers used in the syndicated loan market.³

The municipal debt form has six steps: issuer information, issue information, requestor contact details, billing, offering document uploads, and an authorization form. The corporate equity and debt forms follow the same shape. On submission, the system returns a request ID, which is your tracking reference. Analysts then compare your uploads against the entered fields and reach out through the portal if anything needs clarification. The whole workflow is paperless.⁴

What It Costs

A single CUSIP assignment is $210. When one offering carries multiple maturities or classes, the first identifier is $210 and each additional maturity or class in the same application is $34.¹ Municipal issuers feel this most, since every serial and term maturity needs its own CUSIP. A 20-maturity deal works out to $210 plus 19 × $34, or about $856.

Paying by credit card triggers a temporary $400 authorization hold; CGS releases the hold and charges the actual fee once the request is processed.² Larger corporate accounts can request an invoice instead.

Fees for syndicated loans, commercial paper, medium-term notes, and private placements for insurance companies are not on the standard schedule. For those, CGS asks applicants to contact its outreach team directly.¹

How Long It Takes

Standard turnaround is one to two business days, measured from when CGS has both the completed application and all supporting documents. If your file is incomplete, the clock effectively pauses until you respond. The express option delivers the identifier within one hour and adds a 60% surcharge over the regular fee, so a single-CUSIP express request totals $336.¹ Once assignment is complete, the nine-character identifier is delivered electronically.

After Assignment: What the CUSIP Does and Doesn’t Do

The CUSIP is a prerequisite for clearing through the Depository Trust Company, not a substitute for DTC eligibility. DTC’s operational rules require the issuer or its agent to obtain a CUSIP before a security can be deposited and settled through DTC, and the CUSIP must appear on every certificate and accompany all payment notices and redemption advices sent to DTC.⁵ Certain corporate actions, such as a reverse stock split, may require a new CUSIP.

Eligibility itself is a separate submission. A DTC participant (typically your underwriter) files an eligibility request through DTC’s UW SOURCE platform with the issuer data, securities information, and offering documents; the transfer agent confirms the new issue’s features; and on closing, DTC requires either physical inspection of a certificate or electronic confirmation of the FAST balance before crediting participant accounts.⁶⁷ Getting the CUSIP done first is necessary; it does not by itself make the security tradable through DTC.

Rule 144A: Two CUSIPs, Not One

Private placements sold under Rule 144A still need a CUSIP, and DTC requires that the identifier assigned to the restricted 144A version be different from the identifier assigned to the unrestricted registered version of the same class.⁵ When those securities later become eligible for unrestricted trading, the issuer must give DTC’s underwriting department the restricted CUSIP, the new unrestricted CUSIP, and a copy of the unrestricted security form without restrictive legends at least 15 days before the exchange date. Non-U.S. issuers must also deliver an original letter with an ink signature alongside the electronic submission.⁸ Plan for two applications from the start if a 144A tranche is in your structure.

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CUSIP.com. Fees for CUSIP Assignment Approximate Turnaround
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CUSIP Global Services. Corporate Debt CUSIP Request
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CUSIP Global Services. U.S. Municipal CUSIP Request
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CUSIP Global Services. Apply for a New Identifier
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DTCC. Operational Arrangements
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DTCC. New Issue Eligibility
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Securities and Exchange Commission. Underwriting
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DTCC. Procedures for the Mandatory Exchange of Rule 144A Securities for Unrestricted Securities