EU VAT Number Validation (VIES Checker)
Check in real time whether an intra-EU VAT number is valid. The tool queries VIES directly, the European Commission service that puts the question to the national tax administration that issued the number.
Enter the number without the country prefix, and without spaces or dots. Greece is EL in VIES, not GR. Northern Ireland is XI.
27
Member States covered, plus Northern Ireland
VIES
The European Commission’s own service
€0
Free, no account and no subscription
< 2 s
Answered by the national administration itself
How to check a VAT number
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Pick the country
The one that issued the number, not the one where the transaction takes place.
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Enter the number
No country prefix, no spaces, no dots or dashes. VIES rejects them.
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Read the answer
Validity, and depending on the Member State, the name and address of the taxable person.
What a VIES answer proves, and what it does not
This is the part most free checkers leave out, and the part that matters when you are audited.
It proves validity at this moment
A number valid today may have been deregistered yesterday. To justify the exemption on an intra-Community supply, what is examined is validity at the invoice date.
It is not evidence on its own
The evidence you can rely on is the consultation number VIES issues when you query the service quoting your own VAT number. Keep it with the invoice.
It does not always return an identity
Several Member States, Germany and Spain among them, do not disclose the name or address through VIES. A valid answer with no identity is not a fault.
It says nothing about the VAT treatment
A valid number establishes neither the place of supply nor the right to reverse charge. The conditions of the supply decide that.
Why VIES says invalid when the number looks right
In most cases we see, the number itself is not the problem.
| Cause | What happens |
|---|---|
| Greek country code | VIES expects EL. The ISO code GR, used everywhere else, returns an error. |
| Prefix entered twice | Selecting LU and then typing LU12345678 sends LULU12345678. |
| Spaces, dots and dashes | French and Belgian numbers are usually quoted formatted. VIES accepts alphanumeric characters only. |
| Domestic number not activated | A valid national VAT number is not automatically listed for intra-Community trade. The taxable person has to apply for it. |
| National service down | VIES is only a gateway. If the Member State’s administration does not answer, the result is not “invalid” but “unavailable”. Try again later. |
| Northern Ireland | Since Brexit, supplies of goods to Northern Ireland use the XI prefix. GB numbers are no longer in VIES. |
VAT rates in the European Union
Standard and reduced rates by Member State.
| Country | Code | Standard rate | Reduced rates |
|---|---|---|---|
| ๐ฆ๐น Austria | AT | 20 % | 13 %, 10 % |
| ๐ง๐ช Belgium | BE | 21 % | 12 %, 6 % |
| ๐ง๐ฌ Bulgaria | BG | 20 % | 9 % |
| ๐ญ๐ท Croatia | HR | 25 % | 13 %, 5 % |
| ๐จ๐พ Cyprus | CY | 19 % | 9 %, 5 % |
| ๐จ๐ฟ Czechia | CZ | 21 % | 12 % |
| ๐ฉ๐ฐ Denmark | DK | 25 % | — |
| ๐ช๐ช Estonia | EE | 20 % | 9 % |
| ๐ซ๐ฎ Finland | FI | 24 % | 14 %, 10 % |
| ๐ซ๐ท France | FR | 20 % | 10 %, 5.5 %, 2.1 % |
| ๐ฉ๐ช Germany | DE | 19 % | 7 % |
| ๐ฌ๐ท Greece | EL | 24 % | 13 %, 6 % |
| ๐ญ๐บ Hungary | HU | 27 % | 18 %, 5 % |
| ๐ฎ๐ช Ireland | IE | 23 % | 13.5 %, 9 %, 4.8 % |
| ๐ฎ๐น Italy | IT | 22 % | 10 %, 5 %, 4 % |
| ๐ฑ๐ป Latvia | LV | 21 % | 12 %, 5 % |
| ๐ฑ๐น Lithuania | LT | 21 % | 9 %, 5 % |
| ๐ฑ๐บ Luxembourg | LU | 17 % | 14 %, 8 %, 3 % |
| ๐ฒ๐น Malta | MT | 18 % | 7 %, 5 % |
| ๐ณ๐ฑ Netherlands | NL | 21 % | 9 % |
| ๐ต๐ฑ Poland | PL | 23 % | 8 %, 5 % |
| ๐ต๐น Portugal | PT | 23 % | 13 %, 6 % |
| ๐ท๐ด Romania | RO | 19 % | 9 %, 5 % |
| ๐ธ๐ฐ Slovakia | SK | 20 % | 10 % |
| ๐ธ๐ฎ Slovenia | SI | 22 % | 9.5 %, 5 % |
| ๐ช๐ธ Spain | ES | 21 % | 10 %, 4 % |
| ๐ธ๐ช Sweden | SE | 25 % | 12 %, 6 % |
Reference source: the European Commission’s Taxes in Europe database.
Frequently asked questions
What is an intra-EU VAT number?
It is the identifier given to a taxable person for supplies of goods and services to other Member States. It is made of the Member State code and a country-specific sequence. It is distinct from the domestic tax identification number, and it has to be activated for intra-Community operations.
What is VIES?
The VAT Information Exchange System is the European Commission service for checking whether a VAT number is valid. The Commission holds no central database: VIES passes the question to the tax administration of the Member State concerned and returns its answer.
Is the answer reliable?
It comes straight from the administration that issued the number, so yes. But it holds for the moment of the query. If you need to justify an exemption, keep the consultation number VIES issues when you query the service quoting your own VAT number.
Why is there no name and address?
Each Member State decides whether to disclose the identity of the taxable person. Several, Germany among them, do not. A valid answer with no name or address is still a valid answer.
Can I check a UK VAT number?
Not for Great Britain: since Brexit, GB numbers are no longer in VIES. Northern Ireland remains covered for supplies of goods, under the XI prefix.
Do you store the numbers I check?
No. The query is passed to VIES and the answer is shown to you. Nothing is recorded.
Official sources
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