NL186091390B01
Registered and active. You can rely on it for the reverse charge on this invoice. Keep the date of the VAT check with your records.
VAT Number Checker
Check one VAT number or paste up to 20. This EU VAT checker validates each one through VIES and returns the registered name and address wherever the country publishes them.
VAT number verification via VIES
Bulk check up to 20 VAT numbers
Structured results per line
Use formats like DE123456789 or FR12345678901.
0/20
Results
Add VAT numbers above to start checking.
| Input | Status | Company | Address |
|---|---|---|---|
| No VAT results yet. | |||
What happens when you check a VAT number
A VIES VAT number check runs in four steps, from a format check in your browser to the answer of the national tax register.
- Format checkThe number is matched against its country's pattern first, so a missing prefix or an extra digit is caught before anything is sent.
- VIES requestNumbers that look right go from BlueInvoice's server to VIES, the European Commission's VAT Information Exchange System.
- National registerVIES holds no data of its own. It asks the tax authority of the country in the prefix.
- ResultValid or invalid, plus the registered name and address wherever that country publishes them.
Because the answer comes from the issuing country's own register, this VIES validator returns the same result as the European Commission's portal. It adds batch lookups and keeps each result on its own row.
Valid, invalid, or valid without a name
A VIES VAT validation comes back valid or invalid, and some countries confirm a valid number without the company's name and address. The numbers in these examples are made up.
DE996030824
Some countries, Germany and Spain among them, confirm the number but keep the name and address private. The number is still valid; use the details your client gave you.
FR12345678901
Not registered, cancelled, or not enabled for cross-border trade. Do not apply the reverse charge until your client sends a number that checks out. When a country's register does not answer, its numbers can show as invalid too, so check again before you tell your client.
When to verify a VAT number
Verify a VAT number before the first invoice to a new EU business client, whenever an invoice relies on the reverse charge, and again every few months.
A VAT number that was valid last year can be cancelled today. If you apply the reverse charge to a number that was no longer registered, the tax office can ask you for the VAT you did not charge, plus interest. A VAT number check takes seconds; that conversation takes weeks.
- New clientRun a European VAT number check before the first invoice to a business in another EU country.
- Reverse chargeEvery time an invoice relies on it.
- ChangesWhen a client changes its name, address or legal form.
- Regular clientsA VAT registration check every few months, since registrations get suspended and cancelled.
EU VAT number formats
Every EU VAT number starts with a two-letter country code, and many go by a local name, such as the BTW number in the Netherlands and Belgium or the USt-IdNr. in Germany. Type a code or a country to narrow the list.
| Country | Prefix | After the prefix | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Austria | AT | U + 8 digits | ATU12345678 |
| Belgium | BE | 0 or 1 + 9 digits | BE0123456789 |
| Bulgaria | BG | 9 or 10 digits | BG123456789 |
| Croatia | HR | 11 digits | HR12345678901 |
| Cyprus | CY | 8 digits + 1 letter | CY12345678L |
| Czech Republic | CZ | 8 to 10 digits | CZ12345678 |
| Denmark | DK | 8 digits | DK12345678 |
| Estonia | EE | 9 digits | EE123456789 |
| Finland | FI | 8 digits | FI12345678 |
| France | FR | 2 characters + 9 digits | FR12345678901 |
| Germany | DE | 9 digits | DE123456789 |
| Greece | EL | 9 digits | EL123456789 |
| Hungary | HU | 8 digits | HU12345678 |
| Ireland | IE | 7 digits + 2 letters | IE1234567WA |
| Italy | IT | 11 digits | IT12345678901 |
| Latvia | LV | 11 digits | LV12345678901 |
| Lithuania | LT | 9 or 12 digits | LT123456789 |
| Luxembourg | LU | 8 digits | LU12345678 |
| Malta | MT | 8 digits | MT12345678 |
| Netherlands | NL | 9 digits + B + 2 digits | NL123456789B01 |
| Poland | PL | 10 digits | PL1234567890 |
| Portugal | PT | 9 digits | PT123456789 |
| Romania | RO | 2 to 10 digits | RO1234567890 |
| Slovakia | SK | 10 digits | SK1234567890 |
| Slovenia | SI | 8 digits | SI12345678 |
| Spain | ES | 9 characters | ESB12345678 |
| Sweden | SE | 12 digits | SE123456789001 |
No EU country matches that. UK numbers (GB) are not in VIES.
Greece uses EL, not GR. Spaces, dots and dashes are removed before the check, so you can paste numbers as your client wrote them.
Checking several numbers at once
You can check up to 20 VAT numbers at once by pasting them one per line. Each line gets its own VAT ID check and lands in its own row, so a typo in one does not hold up the rest. It is a quick VAT lookup for cleaning a client list at the start of the year or vetting a batch of new accounts.
UK numbers: Since 1 January 2021, GB numbers are not in VIES and cannot be checked here. Use HMRC's own VAT number service for clients in Great Britain.
VAT number check questions
VIES is the European Commission's gateway for checking VAT numbers. It does not keep a database of its own: each query goes to the tax authority of the country that issued the number, and VIES passes the answer back. The national register is the source; VIES is one door into all 27 of them.
Yes. VAT ID is short for VAT identification number, and many countries print it under a local name. To check a VAT ID, paste it with its two-letter country prefix: a VAT ID lookup and a VAT number check are the same VIES query.
A VAT ID validation usually fails for one of three reasons. The number was typed with a missing prefix or a swapped digit; the business is registered at home but not enabled for cross-border trade, which in some countries needs a separate request; or the registration was suspended or cancelled. In each case, do not apply the reverse charge until your client confirms a number that checks out.
No. Since 1 January 2021 VIES holds no GB numbers, so a UK VAT number check goes through HMRC's Check a UK VAT number service on GOV.UK. Northern Ireland businesses that trade goods with the EU have numbers starting with XI, which are in VIES; this checker takes EU country prefixes only, so check XI numbers on the European Commission's VIES page.
No. VIES checks a number you already have and cannot search by name. Ask your client for the number, or look on an invoice they sent you, where EU businesses print it.
In most EU countries the date and result of a VIES VAT number validation are accepted as evidence that you verified your client's registration when you invoiced them. Keep them with the invoice. For high-value or disputed sales, ask your accountant what your tax office expects.
Outages usually mean one country's register is unreachable for a while, and the VIES lookup for that country fails until it is back. Try again later, or use the European Commission's own VIES page. For a new client, wait for a successful check before applying the reverse charge. Until that register answers, a number from that country can show as invalid here, so check it again before you rely on the result.
No. The numbers and the answers go from your browser through BlueInvoice's server to VIES and back, and are not saved. No account is needed to run a check.
Yes. You can check an EU VAT number, or 20 at once, with no sign-up and no limit beyond the throttling VIES applies itself. When the number checks out, carry it straight into the invoice generator.
Put the verified number on your next invoice
Check your client's VAT number here, then make the invoice in the invoice generator, which works out the VAT and the totals for you.