EU & Global VAT Number Checker
Verify any VAT identification number in real time and see the registered company name and address. Covers all 27 EU member states through VIES, plus the UK, Switzerland, Norway and Australia. Free, instant, and no account required.
Checks query official sources — VIES, HMRC, the Swiss BFS UID register, Brønnøysundregistrene and the ABR. Not affiliated with the European Commission.
How to check a VAT number
Choose the country
Select the issuing country. Each one uses a distinct VAT format, so the tool knows which official registry to query and how the number should look.
Enter the VAT number
Type the number with or without its country prefix. Spaces, dots and hyphens are ignored, and the format is checked locally before any request is sent.
Read the result
You get a clear valid-or-invalid verdict plus the registered company name and address when the authority publishes them — usually in well under a second.
Why validate a VAT number?
A VAT number that looks right can still be inactive, mistyped or belong to a different company. Confirming it against the official register protects your tax position and your customers.
Reverse-charge & zero-rated B2B
Intra-EU B2B supplies can be zero-rated only when your customer holds a valid VAT ID. Checking it protects you if the tax authority later questions the invoice.
Clean invoicing & compliance
A valid, registered VAT number on every invoice keeps your bookkeeping audit-ready and helps avoid rejected filings and penalties.
Fraud & onboarding checks
Confirming the company name behind a VAT ID is a fast first signal when onboarding new B2B customers or suppliers.
Correct tax treatment
Whether a counterparty is VAT-registered decides if you charge tax, apply the reverse charge, or zero-rate the sale.
Supported countries & formats
All 27 EU member states are validated live via VIES. The UK (HMRC), Switzerland (BFS UID register), Norway (Brønnøysundregistrene) and Australia (ABR) are validated against their national registries, and a further set of countries is checked for correct format. Each country has its own structure — see the country-by-country guide for formats and examples, or the VAT rates by country.
Frequently asked questions
How do I check if a VAT number is valid?⌄
Pick the country, type the VAT number (with or without the country prefix) and select Check VAT number. The tool queries the official registry in real time — VIES for the EU, HMRC for the UK, the BFS UID register for Switzerland, Brønnøysundregistrene for Norway and the ABR for Australia — and returns whether the number is active, along with the registered company name and address when the authority publishes them.
Is the VAT checker free to use?⌄
Yes. Single checks are completely free and require no account. If you need to validate VAT numbers automatically inside your billing or checkout flow, or check many at once, create a free API key that includes 100 validations per month.
Which countries are supported?⌄
All 27 EU member states are validated live through VIES. Outside the EU, the United Kingdom (HMRC), Switzerland (BFS UID register), Norway (Brønnøysundregistrene) and Australia (ABR) are validated against their official registries, and a further set of countries is checked for correct format. See the country-by-country guide for exact formats.
Why does a valid VAT number show no company name?⌄
Some tax authorities — Germany and Spain in particular — let businesses opt out of publishing their name and address through VIES. The number can still be confirmed as valid, but the company name and address fields come back empty. This is expected behaviour, not an error.
What does "service unavailable" mean?⌄
VIES and other national registries have scheduled and unscheduled maintenance windows. When the upstream authority is temporarily unreachable, the tool reports a service-unavailable status instead of wrongly marking the number invalid. Wait a moment and try again. In production you should handle this status separately and never reject a customer just because VIES is down.
Does a valid result prove a transaction is compliant?⌄
Validating the number confirms the business is registered for VAT today. For zero-rated intra-EU B2B sales you should also keep the consultation record. The TaxID API returns a request date and source you can store as evidence of each check.
Can I validate VAT numbers in bulk?⌄
Yes — with a free API key you can validate up to 25 numbers per request through the batch endpoint, or handle higher volumes on a paid plan. The web tool here is designed for one-off, manual checks.
Do you store the VAT numbers I check?⌄
Results are cached briefly to keep the tool fast, but the web checker does not tie a lookup to your identity. For audit trails on your own validations, use the API, where every response carries a request date and source.
Validate VAT numbers in your own app
Automate checks at checkout, in billing or across your CRM. Free API key with 100 validations/month, batch up to 25 numbers per call, real VIES responses in milliseconds. No credit card.