Home / VAT API by Country
VAT Lookup API by Country
One page per country: the number format, a worked request, the full response, and what that country's registry does and does not return. All 27 EU member states are validated in real time via VIES. Outside the EU, the United Kingdom (HMRC) and Norway (Brønnøysundregistrene) are validated against their official registries.
Each page below documents the endpoint, code examples, full response format, and country-specific format reference for that country. Free plan includes 100 validations/month — no credit card required.
QUICK START — replace DE with any supported country code
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \ https://www.taxid.dev/api/v1/validate/DE/DE123456789
EU countries (27)
All EU member states are validated via VIES (VAT Information Exchange System). Returns registration status, company name, and address.
Non-EU countries (4)
Validated via each country's national tax authority API.
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What every country endpoint returns
- valid — boolean: true if registered and active
- status — "active", "inactive", "not_found", or "invalid_format"
- company_name — registered company name (where available from authority)
- address — registered address (where available from authority)
- cached — true if served from cache (valid: 24h TTL, invalid: 1h TTL)
- request_id — unique ID for support and audit
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between VAT lookup and VAT validation?
They are two sides of the same request. Validation answers whether a VAT number is genuinely registered and active with the tax authority. Lookup returns the details behind it — the registered company name and address where the authority publishes them. The TaxID API does both in a single call: one request returns the validity status and, when available, the company data.
Is the API backed by VIES for EU countries?
Yes. For all 27 EU member states the API queries VIES, the European Commission's VAT Information Exchange System, which checks each number in real time against the relevant national tax authority's database. This is the same source the EU expects businesses to use as due diligence before zero-rating a cross-border B2B supply.
How does non-EU validation work?
The United Kingdom is validated through HMRC and Norway through the Brønnøysund business register. Your request looks identical to an EU request — you pass the country code and number — and the API routes it to the correct authority behind the scenes. Australia and Switzerland, along with a further set of countries, are checked for correct format and checksum — the ABR and the BFS UID register are not currently reachable for live lookup.
What happens when a validation source is temporarily unavailable?
VIES and national registries occasionally go offline for maintenance. The API returns a distinct service-unavailable state rather than reporting the number as invalid, so you never reject a legitimate customer because a government system was briefly down. The recommended pattern is to retry the check shortly afterwards.
Is there a free tier?
Yes. Every account includes 100 validations per month at no cost and with no credit card, across all supported countries. Paid plans raise the monthly limit and add higher rate limits for high-volume checkout and batch use.
Start validating VAT numbers
The free VAT API covers 100 validations/month across every country we check. No credit card required.