EU VAT numbers explained by country

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An EU VAT number is a VAT identification number issued by an EU country’s tax administration to identify a VAT-registered business or other legal entity. It starts with a two-letter country code, followed by that country’s own set of digits or characters.

There is no single number for the whole EU. A business trading in more than one EU country may need a VAT registration number from each relevant country.

Country	Prefix	Characters after prefix	Format detail
Austria	AT	9	First character is U
Belgium	BE	10	Numbers that were nine digits before 1 April 2005 have 0 added at the front
Bulgaria	BG	9 or 10
Croatia	HR	11
Cyprus	CY	9	Last character is a letter
Czech Republic	CZ	8, 9 or 10
Denmark	DK	8
Estonia	EE	9
Finland	FI	8
France	FR	11	Letters may appear first, second, or in both positions
Germany	DE	9	Use the USt-IdNr., rather than the 10-character Umsatzsteuer nummer
Greece	EL	9	Greece uses EL
Hungary	HU	8
Ireland	IE	8 or 9	Letters appear at the end, or second and last
Italy	IT	11
Latvia	LV	11
Lithuania	LT	9 or 12
Luxembourg	LU	8
Malta	MT	8
Netherlands	NL	12	The 10th character is B
Poland	PL	10
Portugal	PT	9
Romania	RO	2 to 10	Digits only
Slovakia	SK	10
Slovenia	SI	8
Spain	ES	9	One or two letters may be first, last, or both
Sweden	SE	12

What the number does

The European Commission uses both VAT identification number and VAT registration number for this identifier. It shows a customer’s VAT status, helps establish where VAT is due, and normally appears on invoices.

When an invoice is mandatory, it should display the supplier’s VAT number. Some EU countries make an exception for simplified invoices.

Most businesses and other people carrying out an economic activity need a number under Article 214 of the VAT Directive. A business must register when it supplies goods or services on which VAT is charged, or acquires goods from another EU country.

Article 196 also requires registration when a business buys a service and must account for its VAT. The same requirement applies under Article 196 when it supplies services and its customer is liable for the VAT.

How to read the formats

The prefix identifies the issuing country, while the following characters identify the registered entity. The 27 EU member states in the VAT territory each use their own pattern.

HMRC’s format table counts characters after the two-letter prefix. A complete Austrian number, for example, contains AT plus nine further characters, with U first after the prefix.

A Dutch number has NL followed by 12 characters. Its 10th character after NL is B, so the pattern is 123456789B01.

Format checks are useful, but they do not prove that a number is active. Before relying on a customer’s number, check an EU VAT number through the official validation service.

How to get or find a number

Only a tax administration can issue a VAT registration number. The European Commission warns businesses to be wary of offers that look official and request an advance payment.

If an offer appears suspicious, ask the tax administration for the country concerned.

In Germany, the Bundeszentralamt für Steuern, or BZSt, issues an Umsatzsteuer-Identifikationsnummer, known as a USt-IdNr. It is separate from the business’s Steuernummer.

A German business can receive its USt-IdNr. only after VAT registration with its local Finanzamt has been completed and passed to the BZSt. The BZSt sends the number by post, and a new company’s request may take a few weeks to reach it.

For sellers in Northern Ireland, HMRC says to obtain the EU customer’s number in writing and retain the letter. HMRC also says a Northern Ireland seller should first compare the number with the published format for that customer’s country.

Then use the VAT Information Exchange System, known as VIES. The European Commission owns this search service, and it returns either valid or invalid.

HMRC identifies Spain and Italy as countries where VIES can show invalid unless the VAT number has EU registration. An invalid response does not always mean the number is wrong.

Using a number in EU trade

A seller does not charge VAT where goods are sent to another EU country for a business customer with a valid EU VAT number. Where the customer does not hold a valid number, the seller should usually apply VAT at the rate of the seller’s own country.

Several important exceptions apply to those rules. Read how VAT works across the EU for businesses before treating a VAT number as the only condition for a transaction.

A business buying goods from another EU country for business use declares and pays VAT as though it made the sale, using its own country’s rate. For services supplied to a business in another EU country, the usual position is that the supplier does not charge VAT and the customer pays it under the reverse charge procedure.

Online sellers may register for the One Stop Shop, or OSS, in one EU member state to declare and pay VAT on distance sales of goods. The Import One Stop Shop, or IOSS, covers VAT simplification for imported distance-sale goods with a value of up to €150.

Does a UK VAT number count?

The European Commission’s November 2020 guidance envisaged GB ceasing to be an EU VAT prefix if agreement was reached. From 1 January 2021, goods sent from Great Britain to an EU destination follow UK export rules.

Northern Ireland has a different arrangement for goods. The Windsor Framework applies EU VAT rules to goods moving in Northern Ireland, but it does not cover services.

A business operating under the Windsor Framework needs an XI-prefixed VAT number in qualifying situations. One qualifying situation is where goods are sold or moved from Northern Ireland into an EU country.

When the business tells HMRC about that trade, HMRC confirms its Windsor Framework trading status by email. After that email, the business puts XI before its usual VAT digits instead of GB.

For an invoice issued by a Northern Ireland seller, HMRC requires the EU customer’s VAT number with its country prefix where the customer has one. It must use that XI number on documents involving EU customers or suppliers, including invoices.

Failing to tell HMRC, or failing to use XI where required, can lead to the wrong VAT being charged or paid.

What to do next

For Northern Ireland sellers supplying EU customers, HMRC says to request the customer’s VAT number in writing and retain the letter. It then says to check that the number matches the published format for the customer’s country.

HMRC gives two routes for confirmation: the Europa website VIES VAT number validation service or the VAT helpline. If VIES says invalid, ask the customer whether intra-EU registration is complete.

A valid EU VAT number can affect whether VAT is charged on goods sent between EU countries.

Common questions

Is a VAT number the same as a company tax number?

It can be separate. In Germany, for example, the USt-IdNr. is separate from the Steuernummer.

Can I rely on a number because it matches the country format?

No. A format check only shows that the characters look plausible. VIES provides a valid or invalid result.

Why does VIES say a customer number is invalid?

The number may not yet be activated for intra-EU transactions. HMRC names Spain and Italy as countries whose numbers need EU registration before VIES confirms them.

Can I use a GB number for EU goods trade?

The Commission’s November 2020 guidance treated GB losing EU VAT-prefix status as conditional on agreement. In qualifying Windsor Framework goods cases, a Northern Ireland business places XI before its usual VAT digits.

Sources

• European Commission: VAT identification numbers
• GOV.UK: VAT on movements of goods between Northern Ireland and the EU
• Your Europe: Cross-border VAT rates in Europe
• Your Europe: Check a VAT number (VIES)
• web.archive.org: BZSt - Vergabe und Erteilung der USt_IdNr.
• European Commission: VAT One Stop Shop - VAT e-Commerce - One Stop Shop
• GOV.UK: VAT on goods exported from the UK (VAT Notice 703)
• European Commission: EUROPEAN COMMISSION
• GOV.UK: Place of supply of services (VAT Notice 741A)
• GOV.UK: Register for VAT: Selling or moving goods between Northern Ireland and the EU