Research reference / Data sources
Choose the source for the question.
A directory of 30 sources and source categories for acquisition-target research. Each entry separates the evidence a source can support from the conclusions it leaves open.
30 entries · Grouped by source category
Evidence has a hierarchy within each field. A business registry can anchor legal identity; a licensing board can report a particular permission; a company page can establish what the company says it offers. None answers every acquisition question. Population statistics belong in market context, while individual records need entity-level matching.
Start with the claim you need to test, then select a source with the right scope, authority and date. Keep the original statement and the uncertainty together. Read the deal-sourcing data guide for the wider method and evidence standards for how findings should be supported. This directory describes research resources, not a promise of access to every listed system.
Federal statistics
| Source | Category | Access | What it establishes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Census County Business Patterns | Federal statistics | Free | A published establishment, employment or payroll measure for a defined geography, industry classification and reference year. |
| Census Statistics of U.S. Businesses | Federal statistics | Free | The published distribution of covered business activity across enterprise-size categories for a specified reference period. |
| Census Annual Business Survey | Federal statistics | Free | The survey's published estimate for a defined business or owner characteristic, together with the relevant population and reference period. |
| BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages | Federal statistics | Free | Employment, wage and establishment measures for the specified covered population, industry, geography and period. |
Filings and registries
| Source | Category | Access | What it establishes |
|---|---|---|---|
| SEC EDGAR | Filings and registries | Free | The statements a registrant made in a particular filing, including disclosed acquisitions, subsidiary relationships and material agreements. |
| SEC Form D | Filings and registries | Free | The issuer identity, related persons and offering information reported in a specific notice or amendment. |
| SAM.gov | Filings and registries | Free, registration | Publicly available registration identity, identifiers and business information as reported in the relevant entity record. |
| USAspending.gov | Filings and registries | Free | Reported recipient, agency, award and transaction information for the selected record and reporting period. |
| OpenCorporates | Filings and registries | Mixed | An indexed company name, jurisdiction and identifier, with source provenance where provided in the record. |
| GLEIF Legal Entity Identifier records | Filings and registries | Free | A standardized legal-entity identifier and the corresponding reference data, including registration and validation context. |
| UK Companies House | Filings and registries | Free | The company number, registered particulars, filing history and disclosures visible in the official record. |
| State business registries | Filings and registries | Mixed | Legal existence, registered name, entity identifier and the particular status or filing information made public by that jurisdiction. |
| UCC filings | Filings and registries | Mixed | That a financing statement or related amendment identifies the named debtor, secured party and described collateral in that filing office. |
| DOL Form 5500 filings | Filings and registries | Free | The sponsor, plan identifiers, reporting period and participant or financial information disclosed in the relevant filing. |
Licensing and regulatory
| Source | Category | Access | What it establishes |
|---|---|---|---|
| FCC Universal Licensing System | Licensing and regulatory | Free | The licensee, call sign, license status and technical or geographic attributes published in a relevant record. |
| State contractor licensing boards | Licensing and regulatory | Mixed | The license holder, class, published status and associated dates shown by the responsible authority. |
| OSHA establishment search | Licensing and regulatory | Free | That a particular inspection and associated public citation information appear in the record for a matched establishment. |
| EPA ECHO | Licensing and regulatory | Free | Published facility, program, permit and compliance information within the scope of the selected record. |
| FMCSA Company Snapshot | Licensing and regulatory | Free | The carrier's published identification, reported fleet or driver information and available inspection, crash and safety-rating fields. |
| NPPES NPI Registry | Licensing and regulatory | Free | The NPI and publicly reported provider name, entity type, taxonomy and address information visible in the record. |
Intellectual property
| Source | Category | Access | What it establishes |
|---|---|---|---|
| USPTO trademark records | Intellectual property | Free | The owner, status, goods and services description, and documents recorded for a particular application or registration. |
| USPTO patent assignments | Intellectual property | Free | That a document identifying parties, affected patent assets and a stated conveyance was recorded with the office. |
Company-published
| Source | Category | Access | What it establishes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Company websites | Company-published | Free | What the identified company publicly says about its services, footprint, customers or ownership on a retained page. |
| Job postings | Company-published | Mixed | That a specific role, location, skill or responsibility was advertised in the retained posting at the observed time. |
| Professional profiles | Company-published | Mixed | That a publicly visible profile describes a role, employer relationship, career history or claimed expertise at the observed time. |
Commercial
| Source | Category | Access | What it establishes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trade association directories | Commercial | Mixed | That the directory lists a named organization in a particular category or location at the observed time. |
| Local press and news | Commercial | Mixed | That an identified publisher reported a particular event or attributed statement on a dated page. |
| Commercial company databases | Commercial | Mixed | That a provider publishes a particular company record or field, subject to its stated definitions, provenance and available observation dates. |
Archives and courts
| Source | Category | Access | What it establishes |
|---|---|---|---|
| PACER federal court records | Archives and courts | Paid | The existence of a matched federal case, its docket entries and the statements or orders contained in available documents. |
| Wayback Machine | Archives and courts | Free | The content visible in an accessible archived capture of a particular URL at the recorded capture time. |
Building a source plan around a mandate? Discuss your criteria, or inspect how evidence appears in the live demo. The market-mapping guide explains how population context and a researched list fit together.
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