What is a DUNS Number?

  It is not always necessary to quote your organisation's D-U-N-S Number to get a Digital Certificate but it may help fast-track your application.

  D-U-N-S Numbers are only provided by Dun & Bradstreet the leading global business and credit information provider with one of the largest commercial directories of businesses in Australia and the world. Every business or organization in their directory has their own unique D-U-N-S Number and it can make it easier for your customers and suppliers to do business with you.

  According to D&B's website D-U-N-S Numbers are:
"...now the standard for all Australian Federal Government electronic commerce transactions to help streamline and reduce federal procurement costs.

  The D&B D-U-N-S Number is easy to obtain, simple to use and accepted worldwide. The unique nine-digit code can be assigned to each of your business locations to:

• Act as a common classifier or identifier for invoices, requisitions, payments, shipping, customs clearance and other business documentation
• Ease communications with your customers
• Link your operation to parent companies, headquarters locations, branches or subsidiaries"

  To look up D&B's directory of D-U-N-S Numbers go to:
»  Australia
»  Other Countries

  What is a CSR?

  In order to obtain a Digital Certificate, your hosting company must generate a Certificate Signing Request (CSR) from their web server. If you host your own web site then you will have to get your Web Master or IT Manager to arrange this for you.

  A Certificate Signing Request (CSR) is an encrypted file that contains information about the organisation which hosts your website. Typically, it contains the organisation's public key, name, locality, country, state, and URL or Common Name. The web server software is used to generate a CSR, and in the process creates two files: a private key, and a CSR.

  It is important that you are very precise about The Common Name. According to VeriSign's website "it is typically composed of Host + Domain Name and will look like "www.company.com" or "company.com"... The Common Name must be the same as the Web address you will be accessing when connecting to a secure site. For example, a Digital Certificate for a site named "www.domain.com" or "secure.domain.com", as "www.domain.com" and "secure.domain.com" are different from "domain.com". You would need to create a CSR for the correct Common Name. When the Digital Certificate will be used on an Intranet (or internal network), the Common Name may be one word, and it can also be the name of the server.

  To find out how to generate a CSR use the following link:
»  VeriSign products

  What is a Certificate of Registration?

  In most countries, territories or states official government bodies exist whose responsibility it is to licence businesses (firms) or companies (corporations) to conduct commercial trading. In Australia, for example the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) licences companies and state-based government agencies licence businesses eg. sole traders or partnerships.

  Any of these agencies should be able to provide you (if they have not already done so) with an official registration certificate typically showing the date, your orgsanisation's name and a registration number.

  You will always be required to such a document to Melbourne IT along with your application for a Digital Certificate.