This seems sensible.

Nick

Marco Schmidt wrote on 17/11/2025 11:01:

Dear colleagues,

Following my presentation at the RIPE 91 Address Policy Working Group session, I’d like to propose adding a company registration number to the organisation object type.

Problem Statement:
The RIPE Database should allow users to uniquely identify Internet Number Resource holders. Today, organisation objects linked to RIPE NCC co-maintained inetnum, inet6num, and aut-num objects include the validated legal organisation name and country code where the resource holder is legally registered. However, these attributes alone are not always sufficient to uniquely identify a legal entity, for three main reasons:

1. Identical names: In some jurisdictions, different companies can legally register with the same or very similar names.
2. Transliteration issues: In countries using non-Latin scripts, converting names from and into Latin characters can produce inconsistent or inaccurate results.
3. Data discrepancies: Differences between the validated legal information (org-name and country) and the contact details maintained by the resource holder (for example, a postal address in another country) can create confusion and make identification more difficult.


Solution Definition:
Introduce a new reg-nr: attribute for RIPE NCC co-maintained organisation objects, containing verified company registration numbers issued by national authorities. The RIPE NCC already holds this information for ~99% of resource holders that are legal entities.

Publishing a unique and verifiable registration number will significantly improve the ability of RIPE Database users to accurately identify resource holders and cross-check them in national company registries.

Only publicly available registration numbers of legal entities will be published. Natural persons remain explicitly out of scope.


Please let me know your feedback. Questions and comments are welcome.

Regards
Marco Schmidt
Manager Registration Services
RIPE NCC

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