> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.baselayer.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Directory Listings

> Confirm that independent directories and associations list a business, and cross-check its contact details.

Directory Listings discovers entries for a business on online directories, industry associations, chamber of commerce sites, and government registries. Each listing provides independently sourced contact details, a business category, and in many cases officer names - making it a strong corroboration signal for both identity verification and industry classification.

***

### When to use it

* You want to confirm that a business has a real-world presence independently recognized by third-party sources
* You are verifying a local service business, contractor, or professional services firm where directory presence is expected
* You need to cross-reference contact details (address, phone, website) against the submitted application to detect impersonation
* You are verifying a sole proprietor who may have no website but appears in industry-specific registries

> Directory presence is sector-dependent. Local services, contractors, healthcare, legal, and professional services firms are frequently listed in directories. Digital-native and B2B businesses may have fewer listings, absence is not a risk signal for these sectors. See [Sector-specific guidance](https://docs.baselayer.com/docs/web-presence-orderables.md#sector-specific-guidance) in the Online Presence: Best Practices guide.

***

### How to request it

Directory Listings is only available via `POST /web_presence_requests`. It is not available on `POST /searches`, including via `Order.Enhanced`. Include `Order.DirectoryListing` in the `options` array. Results are returned **inline** at `found_directory_listings[]`.

```json theme={null}
{
  "name": "Hartwell Legal Group",
  "address": "73 Church St, Winder, GA 30680",
  "options": ["Order.DirectoryListing"]
}
```

***

### Response fields

#### `found_directory_listings[]` fields

Each entry represents one business listing discovered on a directory or aggregator site.

| Field | Type | Description |
| :- | :- | :- |
| `source` | string | Directory domain where the listing was found (e.g., `bbb.org`, `reviews.birdeye.com`). |
| `url` | string | URL of the directory page that was scraped. |
| `category` | string \| null | Business category assigned by the directory site. Highly useful for NAICS alignment when present. `null` on sources that don't assign categories (e.g., government registries). |
| `business_name` | string | Business name as listed on the directory. May be a DBA rather than the registered legal name. |
| `phone_number` | string \| null | Phone number from the directory listing. |
| `email` | string \| null | Email address from the directory listing. |
| `business_website` | string \| null | Website URL listed on the directory page. |
| `address` | string \| null | Physical address from the directory listing. |
| `people[]` | array | Officers, principals, or key people listed on the directory page. Each entry includes `name` (required) and `title`. |

***

### Interpreting results

Directory Listings produce two types of value: **presence corroboration** (is this business recognized by independent third-party sources?) and **identity cross-referencing** (do the contact details in listings match the application?).

**Cross-reference contact fields against the application.** The `address`, `phone_number`, and `business_website` fields are independently sourced from each directory. In impersonation cases, these fields will consistently point to the real business — not the submitted application data. This is the same pattern documented for Reviews; directory data provides an additional independent source of ground truth.

**Use `people[]` for officer cross-referencing.** Officers and principals listed in directories can be cross-referenced against submitted `officer_names` and `business.business_officers[]` from the Business Search response. An officer appearing consistently across directories, the website, and Secretary of State records is a strong identity signal.

**Use listing count directionally, not as a hard threshold.** There is no minimum number of listings that constitutes a pass or fail. A business appearing across multiple independent directories signals an established real-world presence. Zero listings for a claimed multi-year local service business is worth noting, but not determinative.

***

### Related guides

* [Online Presence: Basics](https://docs.baselayer.com/docs/online-presence-basics.md) — integration path decision guide and data model
* [Online Presence: Best Practices](https://docs.baselayer.com/docs/web-presence-orderables.md) — full decisioning framework including directory listing signals
* [Online Presence: Response Reference](https://docs.baselayer.com/docs/online-presence-response-reference.md) — match values, match sources, and response shape by integration path
* [Industry Prediction](https://docs.baselayer.com/docs/industry-prediction-user-guide.md) — `category` in directory listings corroborates the predicted NAICS code
* [Web Presence API Reference](https://docs.baselayer.com/api-reference/web-presence/post-web-presence-request.md) — full endpoint documentation


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