EU VAT number check
Format and check digit are validated as you type. Spacing does not matter: dots, hyphens and blanks are ignored. Without a country code we assume Austria.
Die Live-Abfrage fragt beim EU-System VIES nach, ob die Nummer im jeweiligen member state. Free, no sign-up. We do not store the abgefragten Nummern nicht.
Format checked before the query
Structure and check digit are validated in your browser. A transposed digit is caught before anything leaves your device.
All 27 member states
Queried live against VIES, the VAT Information Exchange System of the European Commission, including Northern Ireland.
Nothing stored, no sign-up
The number is passed through and the answer shown. We do not keep a record of what you check.
VIES is a lookup, not the official proof
This distinction decides who pays the tax if something goes wrong. VIES is the electronic self-service query, level 1 of what the EU calls the confirmation procedure. It tells you that a number is valid. It does not certify who holds it.
Level 2, the qualified confirmation, additionally confirms the name and address of the holder. That is the one that protects you, and businesses obtain it through their national tax portal, not here.
Two practical consequences. The moment matters: a number can be withdrawn, so a result from last year proves nothing about today. And keep the evidence: if a check later turns out to have been wrong through no fault of yours, having documented the query at the time of invoicing is what makes the difference.
Frequently asked questions
No. This tool queries the official VIES service of the European Commission and shows you the answer. VIES itself remains the source. The advantage here is that the format and check digit are validated before the query goes out, so a typo does not come back as an invalid number.
Not on its own. VIES is the electronic self-service lookup, level 1 in the terminology of the confirmation procedure. What protects you legally is the qualified confirmation, level 2, which confirms validity together with the name and address of the holder. Businesses run that through their national tax portal.
How to get and verify an EU VAT numberNot every member state releases company data through VIES. Germany, for instance, returns only valid or invalid. An empty name field is therefore not an error and says nothing about the number.
All 27 EU member states plus Northern Ireland, whose numbers begin with XI. VAT numbers from outside the EU, including Great Britain since Brexit, are not part of VIES and cannot be checked here.
No. The number is passed to VIES and the answer is shown to you. Nothing is written to a database, and there is no sign-up.
A VAT number can be withdrawn when a business closes or is struck off. The result is a snapshot of the moment you query it. For recurring customers, check again periodically and keep a record of when you did.
Most member states calculate the last characters of a VAT number from the preceding ones. That makes it possible to detect a transposed digit locally, in your browser, before any query leaves your device. It says nothing about whether the number was ever issued.
Setting up in Austria? How the Austrian VAT number works and what forming a GmbH involves.