What strikes me the most is the US Gov. asking this number from US companies.
There is no excuse for the US Gov not having an updated registry of all companies in the country. In fact, I'm pretty sure IRS should have that. So, why the hell is that number required anyways? Even if the number is somehow necessary, Why d&b? Was there an auction at least? I doubt it.
I'm surprised that sometimes americans accept that kind of crap from their Government (executive) and large corporations (apple) without using Judiciary services. You don't always need money and/or lawyers to protect yourself from your government.
The US Gov also asks for the number they do have, the EIN.
"Why d&b"
Because it's the biggest database, and is international in scope. A local company providing services to a US Embassy or military base overseas is probably in the DUNS database, but probably wouldn't be in a smaller or US-focused database.
DUNS numbers are a common requirement when doing business or dealing with government for loans or contracts. That's why D&B has 150 million companies in their database.
Established businesses aren't going to have any hardship with Apple's requirement or the government's requirement, because they already have a DUNS number.
The only people for whom this is a problem are people just starting up app store-based businesses. But those are relatively few in the grand scheme of things, compared to the overall number of businesses getting DUNS numbers all the time.
But at least it's free, and mostly a one-time process, unlike getting your app submissions approved, or dealing with signing issues, or app guideline changes, etc.
Truthfully, the US government does a pretty poor job at tracking corporations. The Economist wrote a bunch of articles about how easy it is to set up untraceable shell companies in the United States. http://www.economist.com/node/21563286
I created my own company a while ago to sell mobile apps. You just print out form LLC-1 and form LLC-12 and mail them in, and you're done. Then just remember to pay taxes every year (or quarter), and nobody asks questions. Seriously, I could have claimed to be Ronald McDonald living on 1 Cheeseburger Avenue on those forms and I don't think they would have noticed (except it might have been harder for them to mail me the one piece of mail they did send). (I later dissolved the company after I lost interest in mobile apps.)
I assume that D&B makes at least a token effort to verify that you are a real person and actually sell something. USGov... doesn't.
By the way, please don't take my comments about how to create an LLC as legal advice. If you're serious about forming a company, you probably should consult a professional.
There is no excuse for the US Gov not having an updated registry of all companies in the country. In fact, I'm pretty sure IRS should have that. So, why the hell is that number required anyways? Even if the number is somehow necessary, Why d&b? Was there an auction at least? I doubt it.
I'm surprised that sometimes americans accept that kind of crap from their Government (executive) and large corporations (apple) without using Judiciary services. You don't always need money and/or lawyers to protect yourself from your government.