Securities Identification (CUSIP)

One standardized method for uniquely identifying most securities, including stocks and registered bonds, is through Committee on Uniform Securities Identification Procedures (CUSIP) numbers.

A CUSIP number is a nine-character alphanumeric code that serves as a unique identifier for securities traded in the United States and Canada. Just like the stock symbols assigned to the shares of a publicly traded company, a CUSIP number is a unique identifier attached to the equity, debt, and other securities issued by a company.

It’s used to facilitate the clearance and settlement of trades. The first six characters identify the issuer. The next two — the issue number — identify the specific security that issuer put out, and encode its type: numeric values for equity issues, alphabetic for debt. The ninth character is a check digit computed from the first eight. That structure is why one company has many CUSIPs and only one ticker.

In practice you will use a CUSIP where a ticker is useless: in fixed income, where one issuer has dozens of bonds outstanding with different coupons and maturities, and in corporate actions, where the identifier changes and the ticker does not.

There are several ways to locate the CUSIP number for a particular security:

Brokerage Accounts

Most online brokerage platforms provide CUSIP numbers for the securities held in your account.

Financial Statements and Prospectuses

Companies typically include the CUSIP number for their securities in financial reports and prospectuses.

Financial Websites and Databases

Many financial websites and databases, such as FINRA, Yahoo Finance, Google Finance, and Bloomberg, brokerages e.g., Fidelity and many others offer CUSIP lookup tools.

Other countries may use different identification systems, such as the International Securities Identification Number (ISIN) or the SEDOL (Stock Exchange Daily Official List) code.