How to Check If an ABN Is Active

Three fields on each ABN record help you assess whether the registration is active. Here is what to look for and how to read each one.

Which fields to check

ABN Status

ABN Status is the primary field to check. An Active status means the registration is in effect. A Cancelled status means it is not.

For example, if a record shows "Active" with no cancellation date, the ABN is registered and has not been withdrawn.

Check the ABN Status guide for a detailed explanation of what each value means.

Status effective date

The effective date tells you when the current status took effect. An Active status with an effective date of 15 March 2020 means the ABN has been registered since that date. A more recent effective date — say, January 2026 — may indicate a recent registration or reinstatement.

The date alone does not tell you whether the business is currently trading. It marks when the status was recorded.

Record last updated

The record-last-updated field shows when the source record was last refreshed. A record-last-updated date within the past few weeks suggests the data reflects a recent snapshot. An older date does not necessarily mean the information is wrong, but it may be worth verifying.

For example, a record-last-updated date of 22 March 2026 means the source data was refreshed on or around that week.

See the Record Last Updated glossary page for more on how to read this field.

How to interpret the result

If all three fields line up — Active status, a reasonable effective date, and a recent record-last-updated date — the ABN looks active based on the data available to this site.