How to check if a company is real before you apply or join

No single check proves a company is genuine, but together they give a clear picture. Spend ten minutes on these steps before you share documents or accept an offer. Each step below says what to look for and what it does and does not prove.

1. Find the official website yourself

Search for the company name and open the site from the results, not from a link in a message. Check for a real address, a phone number, leadership or team information, and a careers page that lists the job you were offered. Be careful with sites that have only a contact form and a stock-photo home page.

What it proves: that there is a public presence. What it does not prove: that the company is trustworthy, because anyone can build a website.

2. Check how old the domain is

A company that says it has operated for ten years but whose website was registered last month deserves questions. Domain age is shown in public registration data. It is a clue, not proof, because new companies are real too, and older domains can be bought and reused by scammers.

3. Look at the email address

Recruiters at established companies usually write from the company's own domain (name@company.com). A free address like Gmail is a warning when the company claims to be large. A domain that is almost, but not exactly, the company's real one (an extra letter or a different ending, such as company-careers.com) is a bigger warning. Compare the recruiter's email domain with the domain on the official website.

4. Check official records

In India, registered companies and LLPs appear in Ministry of Corporate Affairs records, and you can look for the company's CIN (corporate identification number). Listed companies also appear on the stock exchanges. Many genuine small businesses are sole proprietorships or partnerships and will not appear there, so use this check together with the others. For overseas offers, check the country's company register.

5. Look for a real online footprint

Look at LinkedIn for the company page, employees who list the company, and past job posts. Read reviews on more than one site, and be careful with reviews that look written in bulk, or that all use the same wording. A real company usually has a mix of people with different experiences.

6. Look at how they hire

Real employers run a proper process: an application, an interview with named people, and a written offer. They do not take money. Big red flags are payments, chat-only interviews and pressure to decide quickly. Ask for the interviewer's full name and role, and look them up.

7. Read the offer letter carefully

A genuine offer letter names the company, its registered address, your role, pay, start date and a signatory. Check that the details match the company's website. Be careful with letters that ask you to pay before joining, or that have a different company name from the one that interviewed you.

Let the tool do the first pass

Our company check collects public information in one place: the company profile if one exists, the website's age and security certificate, signs of real job pages, and whether the recruiter's email matches the company. It is a screen, not a guarantee, and it links to official sources so you can confirm for yourself.

What "not found" means

Small and new companies are often missing from public data. A missing profile is a reason to look closer, not proof of fraud. A request for money is a much stronger warning than a missing profile. Likewise, a polished website does not make a company real.

Quick checklist

1. Did you find the official site yourself?
2. Does the recruiter's email match the company's domain?
3. Is the company in official records, or can you explain why not (for example, a small partnership)?
4. Are real people from the company visible online?
5. Has anyone asked you for money or an OTP? If yes, stop.

If something feels wrong, read our guide on the warning signs of a fake job offer.