Check an EU VAT Number

EU VAT number checks: common questions

• What is VIES?

  VIES (VAT Information Exchange System) is the European Commission's search engine for VAT numbers. It doesn't hold the data itself: each check is passed to the tax authority of the country that issued the number, which says whether the number is valid for cross-border trade within the EU.

• Why check a customer's EU VAT number?

  When you sell to a VAT-registered business in another EU country, you usually don't charge VAT; the customer accounts for it under the reverse charge. A valid VAT number is part of the evidence that the customer is a business. Checking it, and keeping a record of the result, supports charging no VAT on the invoice.

• Can I check UK VAT numbers here?

  Not Great Britain numbers (GB). The UK left VIES when the Brexit transition ended on January 1, 2021, so GB numbers are checked with HMRC's own UK VAT number checker. Northern Ireland numbers (XI) are still in VIES and can be checked here.

• Why does a valid number show no name or address?

  Some member states, such as Germany and Spain, don't share the registered name and address through VIES. The number is still confirmed as valid.

• What does it mean if VIES is unavailable?

  Each country's database goes offline for maintenance from time to time, and VIES can't answer for that country until it's back. It's not a sign that the number is invalid. Try again in a few minutes.

• Do you store the VAT numbers I check?

  No. The number is sent to VIES to run the check and is not saved or logged by Kintsugi.