Free EU VAT Number Checker — Verify EU VAT Numbers via VIES

Check an EU VAT Number

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VAT Number

Check VAT

• EU VAT numbers — fully supported via EU VIES
• UK VAT numbers (HMRC) — coming soon

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Related guides

Selling to EU customers from the UK →B2B reverse charge — selling to EU businesses →UK VAT overview →

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What is EU VIES?

VIES (VAT Information Exchange System) is the European Commission’s official service for verifying VAT numbers across all EU member states. When you submit a check, VIES queries the national VAT database of the selected country in real time and returns the registration status — and in most cases the registered business name and address.

VIES is the only authoritative source for EU VAT verification. Third-party databases may cache stale data; always use VIES for due-diligence purposes.

Valid, Invalid, and Service Unavailable — what each result means

Result	Meaning
Valid	The number is registered and active in that country’s VAT system at the time of the check.
Invalid	The number was not found. It may have never existed, may have been deregistered, or could be a typo.
Service Unavailable	The national VAT database could not be reached. This does not mean the number is invalid — try again in a few minutes.

How to enter a VAT number

Enter either the number on its own (e.g. 123456789) or with the two-letter country prefix (e.g. DE123456789). Spaces, hyphens, and special characters are not accepted — enter only letters and digits.

EU VAT Number Formats

Country	Code	Example
Austria	AT	ATU12345678
Belgium	BE	BE0123456789
Bulgaria	BG	BG123456789
Croatia	HR	HR12345678901
Cyprus	CY	CY12345678X
Czech Republic	CZ	CZ12345678
Denmark	DK	DK12345678
Estonia	EE	EE123456789
Finland	FI	FI12345678
France	FR	FRXX123456789
Germany	DE	DE123456789
Greece	EL	EL123456789
Hungary	HU	HU12345678
Ireland	IE	IE1234567X
Italy	IT	IT12345678901
Latvia	LV	LV12345678901
Lithuania	LT	LT123456789
Luxembourg	LU	LU12345678
Malta	MT	MT12345678
Netherlands	NL	NL123456789B01
Northern Ireland	XI	XI123456789
Poland	PL	PL1234567890
Portugal	PT	PT123456789
Romania	RO	RO12345678
Slovakia	SK	SK1234567890
Slovenia	SI	SI12345678
Spain	ES	ESX1234567X
Sweden	SE	SE123456789012

Greece and Northern Ireland

Greece uses the code EL in VIES, not the ISO country code GR. Northern Ireland uses XI — allowing businesses there to continue using EU VAT rules for goods following Brexit.

Why verify an EU VAT number?

Zero-rating cross-border sales. To apply the zero rate (or exemption) on B2B sales to EU customers, you need a valid VAT number from your buyer. VIES confirms it before you invoice.

Reverse charge compliance. When purchasing services from EU suppliers, the reverse charge mechanism applies only when the supplier is genuinely VAT-registered. A VIES check confirms this.

Due diligence. Keeping a record of VIES checks at transaction time is the simplest way to demonstrate you acted in good faith if a number later turns out to be fraudulent.

For more detail on how EU VAT rules apply to UK sellers, see the UK VAT guide for selling to EU customers and the B2B reverse charge guide.