Free tool

Free EU VAT Number Checker

An EU VAT number checker tells you whether a VAT number is a valid registration. This free tool asks VIES, the European Commission's VAT registry, which passes each check to the tax office of the country that issued the number. You see whether it is valid, the country and, where that country shares it, the registered name.

No signup needed
All 27 EU countries and Northern Ireland
Answered by the country's tax office

Example resultSample result for IE1234567T. Run any lookup above and it is replaced with yours.

IE1234567T is a valid VAT registration in Ireland, registered to EXAMPLE TRADING LIMITED.

Compare the registered name with the name on your invoice or contract.

VAT numberIE1234567T

RegistrationValid

CountryIreland

Registered nameEXAMPLE TRADING LIMITED

CheckedOct 23, 2026

A free trial shows the registered address and checks whole lists.

This page shows whether a number is valid, the country and the registered name, and allows a few checks per visitor per day. Start a free 1Lookup trial to see the registered address, to check a whole list of VAT numbers from a CSV file, and to run the same check from your own code through the API.

Need this at scale? EU VAT Check API

Check a whole list of VAT numbers from a CSV file or your own code: validity, country, registered name and address, charged only for valid numbers.

A VAT number check tells you whether a customer or a supplier is a registered business.

Enter a VAT number with its two-letter country prefix, such as IE6388047V or DE123456789, and the tool asks the EU's VAT registry whether it is a valid registration. You see the answer, the country that issued the number and, where that country shares it, the name the number is registered to. Spaces, dots and dashes are ignored, so you can paste a number the way it is printed on an invoice.

The registry does not hold the data itself. Each check is passed on to the tax office of the country that issued the number, so the answer is that office's own, given when you ask. Some countries share the registered name and address and some share only a yes or no, and the tool says which. A country whose service is down is never reported as not valid. To keep the tool free for everyone, a number that someone checked within an hour is shown again.

A valid result means the number is a current VAT registration. Compare the registered name with the name on the invoice or the contract, and note the date you checked, before you zero-rate a sale. A free trial adds the registered address, checks whole lists from a CSV file and returns the answer as JSON.

A VAT number is one fact about a business, and these tools check the others.

To find a company's legal entity identifier and its parent companies, use the free LEI lookup. To see how old a company's website is, use the free domain age checker. To check whether a business's website is legitimate before you trade with it, try the free website legitimacy checker.

A VAT check returns these fields, and each one answers a different question.

This is an invented result for a made-up business, laid out the way a real one comes back. The validity, the country and the registered name are free on this page, and a free trial opens the rest.

Invented exampleIE1234567T

VAT numberIE1234567T
RegistrationValid
CountryIreland
Registered nameEXAMPLE TRADING LIMITED
CheckedOct 23, 2026

Opens with a free trial

Registered address1 Sample Street, Dublin 2
A list of numbersCSV upload or the API

VAT number
The number as the registry reads it, with its country prefix and no spaces.
Registration
Whether the number is a valid VAT registration. Not valid means the registry does not list it.
Country
The member state that issued the number, which is the tax office that answered.
Registered name
The name the number is registered to, where the country shares it. Compare it with the name on your invoice.
Checked
The day the registry gave this answer.
Registered address
The address the tax office holds for the registration, where the country shares it.
A list of numbers
Check hundreds of VAT numbers in one file, or from your own code.

Checking a VAT number takes three steps and no signup.

Enter a VAT number

Type it with its country prefix, like IE6388047V. Spaces, dots and dashes are ignored, and GR is read as Greece's EL.

The country's tax office is asked

The registry passes the check to the tax office that issued the number, and its answer comes straight back.

Read the answer

You see valid or not valid, the country and the registered name where it is shared. The registered address, lists and the API are in the free trial.

One check travels from your box to a tax office and back in four steps.

This is the path a single check takes. Your number is tested for its country and its shape first, so a typo costs you nothing.

What one VAT check does

You enter a VAT numberWith its two-letter country prefix.
The prefix and the shape are testedA typo or a wrong length is refused here, before any registry is asked.A number of the wrong shape never reaches the registry.
The country's tax office is askedThe registry passes the check on and the office answers.
You see valid or not validWith the country and, where it is shared, the registered name.

This is the shape of a VAT number in each EU country.

The tool tests a number against the shape for its country before it asks the registry, so a typo is caught at once. The prefix is the two letters that come first.

Prefix	Country	Shape after the prefix
AT	Austria	The letter U and 8 digits
BE	Belgium	10 digits, the first one 0 or 1
BG	Bulgaria	9 or 10 digits
CY	Cyprus	8 digits and a letter
CZ	Czechia	8 to 10 digits
DE	Germany	9 digits
DK	Denmark	8 digits
EE	Estonia	9 digits
EL	Greece	9 digits (GR is accepted and sent as EL)
ES	Spain	9 characters: a letter or digit, 7 digits, a letter or digit
FI	Finland	8 digits
FR	France	2 letters or digits, then 9 digits
HR	Croatia	11 digits
HU	Hungary	8 digits
IE	Ireland	7 digits and 1 or 2 letters, or the older form of a digit, a letter, 5 digits and a letter
IT	Italy	11 digits
LT	Lithuania	9 or 12 digits
LU	Luxembourg	8 digits
LV	Latvia	11 digits
MT	Malta	8 digits
NL	The Netherlands	9 digits, the letter B and 2 digits
PL	Poland	10 digits
PT	Portugal	9 digits
RO	Romania	2 to 10 digits
SE	Sweden	12 digits
SI	Slovenia	8 digits
SK	Slovakia	10 digits
XI	Northern Ireland	9 or 12 digits, or GD or HA and 3 digits

The EU VAT Check API returns the same answer as JSON from one request.

Send a VAT number to the endpoint with your API key. A number that is a valid registration costs 2 credits and a number that is not valid costs 0. The verdict is in classification, and the registered name and address are in insights.eu_vat_check_result.

POST /api/v1/eu-vat-check

curl -X POST https://app.1lookup.io/api/v1/eu-vat-check \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"vat_number": "IE1234567T"}'

import requests

response = requests.post(
    "https://app.1lookup.io/api/v1/eu-vat-check",
    headers={"Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"},
    json={"vat_number": "IE1234567T"},
)
data = response.json()["data"]
print(data["classification"]["valid"])

const response = await fetch('https://app.1lookup.io/api/v1/eu-vat-check', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {
    'Authorization': 'Bearer YOUR_API_KEY',
    'Content-Type': 'application/json'
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({ vat_number: 'IE1234567T' })
})
const { data } = await response.json()
console.log(data.classification.valid)

Response

{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "classification": {
      "found": true,
      "valid": true,
      "vat_number": "IE1234567T",
      "country_code": "IE",
      "country": "Ireland",
      "name": "EXAMPLE TRADING LIMITED",
      "address": "1 SAMPLE STREET, DUBLIN 2, CO. DUBLIN",
      "details_shared": true,
      "checked_at": "2026-10-23T09:30:00.000Z"
    },
    "insights": {
      "eu_vat_check_result": {
        "name_shared": true,
        "address_shared": true,
        "data_source": "eu_vies"
      }
    },
    "metadata": { "credits_used": 2, "cache_hit": false }
  }
}

For whole lists of VAT numbers from a CSV file, and the registered address for each, see our EU VAT Check API.

The answer comes from the country that issued the number.

Every check is passed to the tax office behind the number, so the result is the official one and not a copy that has aged in a database.

A country that is down is never reported as not valid.

If a tax office does not answer, the tool says so and asks you to try again. It never tells you that a real supplier is not registered.

Greece, Northern Ireland and Great Britain are handled for you.

GR is read as Greece's EL, Northern Ireland uses XI, and a GB number is refused with the reason, because Great Britain left the EU VAT system in 2021.

A mistyped number is caught before the registry is asked.

The country prefix and the shape of the number for that country are tested first, and the message shows an example of the right shape.

Who uses this tool

Finance teams zero-rating a cross-border sale

Check the customer's VAT number before you issue an invoice without VAT, and note the date you checked.

Online stores selling to businesses in the EU

Confirm that a buyer's number is a current registration before you take VAT off an order.

Procurement teams onboarding a supplier

Check a new supplier's number and compare the registered name with the name on the contract.

Accountants and bookkeepers cleaning a customer list

Spot numbers that are no longer valid before a sale is filed as exempt.

Frequently asked questions

Is this EU VAT number checker free?

Yes, with no signup. Each visitor gets a few checks a day. A free trial adds the registered address, checks whole lists from a CSV file and returns the answer as JSON through the API.

Where does the answer come from?

From VIES, the VAT Information Exchange System run by the European Commission. VIES passes each check to the tax office of the member state that issued the number, so the answer is that country's own.

What does a valid result mean?

It means the number is a current VAT registration. Compare the registered name with the name on your invoice or contract, and note the date you checked, before you zero-rate a sale.

Why is there no company name for some numbers?

Some countries share the registered name and address and some share only a yes or no. When a country shares nothing beyond validity, the tool says the name is not shared instead of leaving a blank.

What happens when a country's tax service is down?

The tool asks you to try again in a moment. A tax office that does not answer says nothing about the number, so it is never shown as not valid.

Can I check a Great Britain VAT number?

No. Great Britain left the EU VAT system in 2021, so a GB number cannot be checked here. Northern Ireland businesses use the prefix XI and can be checked, and Greece's EL prefix is accepted as GR.

How fresh is the answer?

A check asks the registry when you send it. To keep the tool free for everyone, a number that someone checked within an hour is shown again.

Can I check a list of VAT numbers at once?

Yes, in a free trial. Upload a CSV with a vat_number column or call the EU VAT Check API. Each valid number costs 2 credits, and a number that is not valid costs nothing.

People who check VAT numbers also look for these.

eu vat number checkervies vat number checkcheck vat number freevalidate eu vat numbervat number format by countryvat id check for invoiceshow to check a vat numbervies apibulk vat number checkeris my customer's vat number valid

Need full results or bulk lookups?

This free tool is a rate-limited preview of the 1Lookup API. Create a free account to unlock complete reports, batch processing, and start a 7-day free trial.

Free EU VAT Number Checker

IE1234567T is a valid VAT registration in Ireland, registered to EXAMPLE TRADING LIMITED.

A free trial shows the registered address and checks whole lists.

A VAT number check tells you whether a customer or a supplier is a registered business.

A VAT number is one fact about a business, and these tools check the others.

A VAT check returns these fields, and each one answers a different question.

VAT number

Registration

Country

Registered name

Checked

Registered address

A list of numbers