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Portuguese VAT Number Checker
A Portuguese VAT number is PT followed by nine digits: the NIPC for companies or the NIF for individuals. The first digit tells you which — companies usually start with 5, individuals with 1, 2 or 3.
Every resident in Portugal has a NIF, so a Portuguese number in the right shape is common. Only businesses registered for intra-EU trade are active in VIES.
Checked live against VIES, the European Commission’s VAT Information Exchange System. Not affiliated with the European Commission or the Portugal tax authority.
Portugal VAT number format
- Local name
- NIF / NIPC (Número de Identificação Fiscal / Número de Identificação de Pessoa Coletiva)
- Structure
- PT + 9 digits
- Format example
- PT123456789Illustrative: right shape, not a registered business.
- Standard rate
- 23% · reduced 13%, 6%
PT plus nine digits. The last digit is a check digit.
How this Portugal check works
- Format, in your browser. As you type, the number is compared with the Portugal pattern (prefix, length and characters). This costs nothing and sends nothing: a number in the wrong shape is rejected on the spot and never reaches the registry.
- Registration, live. A well-formed number is then looked up in VIES, the European Commission’s VAT Information Exchange System, which says whether it is registered today and, where the register publishes them, the business name and address. Free checks are limited per visitor per hour so the registry is not scraped through this page.
- More checks, or from your code. A free account gives you an API key with 100 validations a month, the same answer as this page as JSON.
What usually goes wrong
Assuming every NIF is a VAT number
A consumer's NIF is printed on Portuguese receipts all the time. It is a tax number, not a VAT registration, and VIES will report it as invalid.
Leaving out the prefix in your own code
Portuguese invoices usually print the nine digits alone. The checker adds PT for you; an API call should send the country code separately.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a NIF and a NIPC?
The NIF identifies an individual for tax and the NIPC identifies a company. Both are nine digits and both are used as the Portuguese VAT number.
Why does a valid NIF come back invalid?
VIES only lists businesses registered for intra-EU transactions. A NIF that is not registered for that is invalid in VIES, even though it is a real tax number.
Is checking the format enough?
No. The format check catches typos; the VIES lookup tells you whether the number is registered today.
Validating Portugal numbers from your own code instead of by hand? The Portugal VAT validation API guide has the endpoint, the response shape and examples in four languages. To check a number from another country, go back to the VAT number checker.