ABN Registration: How to Register an ABN Free, Step by Step

ABN registration is free on the Australian Business Register (abr.gov.au) or through the government's Business Registration Service. If the ABR can identify you, your 11-digit ABN is issued on screen as soon as you finish the online application. If it needs a closer look, you get a reference number and the ABR aims to decide within 20 business days.

How much does an ABN cost? Nothing: applying, updating and cancelling are free, and an ABN never needs renewing. Our guide to how much an ABN costs covers the websites that charge for it anyway.

What an ABN is and why you need one

An Australian Business Number (ABN) is a unique 11-digit number that identifies your business to the government, other businesses and the public. It's issued by the Australian Business Register (ABR), which the ATO runs. The ATO says you need an ABN to:

• Avoid tax being withheld from payments you receive. If you don't give a business your ABN and the payment is more than $75 (excluding GST), it generally has to withhold tax at the top rate, currently 47% including the Medicare levy, and send it to the ATO.
• Operate in the GST system, including registering for GST and claiming GST credits.
• Confirm your business identity when ordering and invoicing. Suppliers, wholesalers and government agencies usually ask for it before opening an account.
• Set up access to government online services for your business.

You also need an ABN (or an ABN application reference) to register a business name, and business.gov.au notes it lets you get an Australian (.au) domain name.

An ABN doesn't replace your tax file number, and it isn't proof that you're a legitimate business. It's an identifier. You still declare business income in your tax return either way.

Who can get an ABN (and who can't)

The ABR's entitlement rules say you're entitled to an ABN if you're:

• carrying on or starting an enterprise in Australia
• making supplies connected with Australia's indirect tax zone
• a Corporations Act company.

There's no single test for carrying on a business. The ABR looks for features such as significant commercial activity of reasonable size, an intention to make a profit (unlike a hobby), repeated and systematic activity carried on in a business-like way with records kept, and relevant knowledge or skill.

If the business hasn't started yet, the ABR expects you to have taken some commencement steps: advertising or setting up a website, buying business cards, getting licences or insurance, leasing premises or buying equipment or stock, quoting for work, talking to advisers, applying for finance or buying a business. You don't need all of them, but you should be able to show evidence if asked. The ABR can review your entitlement at any time.

You're not entitled to an ABN for work you do as an employee, including as an apprentice, trade assistant or labourer, even if you or your employer calls it contracting. The ABR says an employer shouldn't ask you to get an ABN as a condition of employment. If one insists, read our employee vs contractor guide before you apply. The ABR warns you may face prosecution if you apply for an ABN, register for GST and claim GST refunds when you're not entitled.

Sole traders, partnerships, companies and trusts can all hold an ABN: one per entity, covering all its business activities. Haven't settled on a structure? Do that first, because it changes how you apply. Our sole trader vs company guide and the broader business structure comparison walk through the decision.

What to have ready before you apply

The ABR lists what its application asks for. Depending on your structure, gather:

How to register for an ABN, step by step

These steps follow the ABR's published guidance for its online application (pages last updated June 2026). The application runs in your browser and the screen order can change, but the information it asks for is the list above. You can save and return to it.

1. Decide your business structure. The ABR asks you to do this before applying. If it's a company, register it with ASIC first; our company registration guide covers that.
2. Go to the official application. Type abr.gov.au into your browser, open "Applying for an ABN" and select "Apply or reapply for an ABN". To add a business name, GST or PAYG withholding in the same session, use the Business Registration Service at register.business.gov.au instead. Both addresses end in .gov.au; if you arrived through an ad and the address ends in .com.au, you're on a private site that will charge you.
3. Answer the entitlement questions. The application asks questions to work out whether you're carrying on an enterprise. Answer honestly: this is where the employee test applies.
4. Choose your entity type and enter identity details. Enter the legal name and TFN. For a partnership, company or trust, add each associate's details and TFN.
5. Enter the business details. Give the date you need the ABN from (no more than six months ahead), describe your main business activity and pick the matching category, and list the physical address of each business location plus a postal address.
6. Add contact details and authorised contacts. Use an email that meets the ABR's rules and that you'll keep. Add your tax agent's registered agent number if one is helping.
7. Review, declare and submit. Check that your name and date of birth match your ATO records exactly. Mismatched details are a common reason an application is sent for review.
8. Record the outcome. You'll see one of three results:
   • an ABN, issued straight away. Print or save the confirmation. Your details go on the public ABR, and you can apply for GST immediately.
   • a reference number, meaning the ABR needs to check details or wants more information. It aims to review within 20 business days.
   • a refusal number, followed by a letter within 14 days with the reasons and your review rights.

No fee, no certificate to buy, no renewal.

If you have privacy concerns, you can ask the ABR not to disclose certain details. Sole traders in exceptional circumstances can apply for the ABN and non-disclosure at the same time, so their details aren't public while the request is processed.

Instant issue vs manual review

The ABR processes an application faster when it can identify you from the information you give, especially your TFN. If you don't have everything, you can start and save the application, but the ABN is likely to be delayed.

If you receive a reference number, the ABR aims to review the application within 20 business days and will contact you if it needs more information. You can check ABN Lookup at any time to see whether the ABN has been issued. If it's approved after review, the ABR sends a letter within 14 days confirming it.

Common triggers for review include applying without a TFN, details that don't match ATO records, and answers that raise doubt about whether you're carrying on an enterprise. Don't lodge a second application while the first is under review, and hold off invoicing businesses until the number arrives, because they can withhold tax from payments until you quote an ABN.

Official ABR vs paid lookalike sites

Search "ABN registration" and some of the results are private websites with official-sounding names that charge to lodge the same free application. They're lawful businesses, but you pay for something the government gives away, and you hand your TFN and identity details to a company you found through an ad.

For named sites and their current prices, see how much does an ABN cost. Paying a registered tax agent or accountant to set up your business properly is different: you're paying for advice on structure and tax, and the ABR lets registered agents apply for clients through its tax professional services.

Register your ABN, business name and GST in one pass

The government's Business Registration Service (register.business.gov.au) handles several registrations in one session:

A sole trader called Jane Nguyen trading as "Jane Nguyen" needs no business name. Trading as "Coastal Bookkeeping"? That name must be registered with ASIC, which you can do in the same sitting at the government rate. Our business name registration guide covers the steps.

If you're starting out as a sole trader, our complete sole trader guide covers what happens after the ABN arrives: tax, deductions, super and record keeping.

Fake renewal letters and invoices

Once your details are public on ABN Lookup, expect mail. Letters styled as official invoices may ask for an "ABN renewal fee", an "ABN certificate", or a business name renewal at several times the ASIC price. Two facts protect you:

• Your ABN never expires and has no renewal fee. Any "ABN renewal" demand isn't from the government.
• Business name renewals cost $47 for one year or $108 for three (as at 18 October 2026), paid to ASIC. ASIC sends its renewal notice at least 30 days before the due date. Our business name renewal guide shows how to tell genuine notices from fakes.

Report anything suspicious to Scamwatch (scamwatch.gov.au) and warn your bookkeeper so nobody pays it by accident. Misleading conduct like this is what Australian Consumer Law is designed to punish, but prevention beats a refund chase.

After you register

When you must register for GST

The ATO says you must register for GST within 21 days of your GST turnover reaching $75,000, looking at either the current month plus the previous 11 months or your projection for the current month plus the next 11 ($150,000 for non-profits, as at 18 October 2026). If you provide taxi or limousine travel, including ride-sourcing, you must register regardless of turnover.

Below the threshold, registration is optional. If you choose to register, you generally have to stay registered for at least 12 months. Once you're in, you lodge business activity statements; our guides to registering for GST and BAS and GST explain the cycle.

ABN vs business name: know the difference

Your ABN identifies the entity; your business name is the trading name attached to it. Registering a business name gives you no ownership rights over the name (only a trade mark does that), and one ABN can carry several business names.

Keep your details current

You must update your ABN details within 28 days of becoming aware of a change, such as a new address, email, business activity or associate. It's free. The fastest way is ABR online services, which you log in to with myID and Relationship Authorisation Manager; changes made online take effect immediately. You can also add up to four business activities beyond your main one. The ABR says government agencies, including emergency services, use its details to contact businesses, so a stale address isn't just an admin issue.

You can't update some things online: your entity type, business names, and legal names for individuals or ASIC-registered companies. Name changes made through the ATO or ASIC flow through to the ABR automatically.

Cancelling your ABN

If you sell or close the business, cancel your ABN through ABR online services (free). Meet your final lodgment and payment obligations first, and cancel PAYG withholding before the ABN. Cancelling the ABN also cancels your GST registration and any authorisations linked to it. If you change structure, for example from sole trader to company, the new entity needs its own ABN. If you restart later, you can apply to have the ABN you previously held reissued. Our guide to closing a business properly puts the steps in order.

Once the ABN is sorted, connect it to accounting software so invoicing and GST tracking work from day one.

Key takeaways

• An ABN is free at abr.gov.au or register.business.gov.au; never pay a website to register one, and never pay an "ABN renewal" fee, because ABNs don't expire.
• You're only entitled to an ABN if you're genuinely carrying on an enterprise, not for work you do as an employee.
• Have your structure, TFNs, legal name, activity, physical locations and contacts ready; if the ABR can identify you, the ABN is issued on screen, otherwise it aims to review within 20 business days.
• The Business Registration Service bundles ABN, business name, GST and PAYG withholding; the only fees are ASIC's ($47 or $108 for a business name, $636 for a company).
• GST registration is compulsory within 21 days of GST turnover reaching $75,000 (any turnover for taxi and ride-sourcing).
• Update your ABN details within 28 days of a change, and cancel the ABN (free) if you stop trading.

Where to get help

• Australian Business Register: apply for, update or cancel an ABN.
• Business Registration Service: ABN, business name, GST and more in one application.
• business.gov.au: plain-English registration guidance.
• ATO: GST registration, PAYG withholding and employee-vs-contractor guidance.
• ASIC: business names and current fees.
• Scamwatch (ACCC): report fake renewal letters and lookalike sites.
• Tax Practitioners Board register: check a tax or BAS agent before you pay one.
• Your accountant: for structure advice before you register, especially if a company or trust is on the table.