what is a cusip number

A CUSIP number is a unique nine-digit identification number assigned to equity, debt, and other securities registered bonds in the United States and Canada. It is used to identify most financial instruments, including stocks of all registered U.S. and Canadian companies, commercial paper, and U.S. government and municipal bonds. The CUSIP system was developed in the 1960s as a way to uniquely identify securities and is overseen by the Committee on Uniform Security Identification Procedures (CUSIP) . The CUSIP number is similar to a serial number and is made up of nine digits. The first six alphanumeric characters are known as the base or CUSIP-6, which identifies the issuer, while the seventh and eighth characters identify the type of security, and the ninth character is a check digit. The CUSIP International Numbering System (CINS) is a 9-character alphanumeric identifier that employs the same 9 characters as CUSIP, but also contains a letter of the alphabet in the first position signifying the issuer’s country or geographic region.