Reference
EU VAT number formats
Every EU VAT number starts with a two-letter country prefix, followed by a national number whose shape differs by member state. This is the shape VIES expects for each of them. The examples are made up: use them to check a format, not a company.
Greece is EL, not GR.
Northern Ireland is XI. GB numbers left VIES with Brexit.
Spaces, dots and dashes are not part of the number. The check here strips them for you.
| Member state | Format after the prefix | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ATAustria | U followed by 8 digitsThe U is part of the number. | ATU12345678 |
| BEBelgium | 10 digits, starting with 0 or 1Older 9-digit numbers take a leading 0. | BE0123456789 |
| BGBulgaria | 9 or 10 digits | BG123456789 |
| CYCyprus | 8 digits and a letter | CY12345678L |
| CZCzechia | 8, 9 or 10 digits | CZ12345678 |
| DEGermany | 9 digitsVIES confirms validity only: no name or address is ever returned. | DE123456789 |
| DKDenmark | 8 digits | DK12345678 |
| EEEstonia | 9 digits | EE123456789 |
| ELGreece | 9 digitsVIES uses EL, not GR. GR is converted automatically. | EL123456789 |
| ESSpain | 9 characters: a letter or digit, 7 digits, a letter or digit | ESX1234567X |
| FIFinland | 8 digits | FI12345678 |
| FRFrance | 2 characters (the key) and the 9-digit SIREN | FR12345678901 |
| HRCroatia | 11 digits | HR12345678901 |
| HUHungary | 8 digits | HU12345678 |
| IEIreland | 7 digits and 1 or 2 lettersOlder numbers put a letter second, e.g. IE1A23456B. | IE1234567T |
| ITItaly | 11 digits | IT12345678901 |
| LTLithuania | 9 or 12 digits | LT123456789 |
| LULuxembourg | 8 digits | LU12345678 |
| LVLatvia | 11 digits | LV12345678901 |
| MTMalta | 8 digits | MT12345678 |
| NLNetherlands | 9 characters, B, 2 digitsThe B and the two digits are part of the number. | NL123456789B01 |
| PLPoland | 10 digits | PL1234567890 |
| PTPortugal | 9 digits | PT123456789 |
| RORomania | 2 to 10 digits | RO1234567890 |
| SESweden | 12 digits: the 10-digit organisation number and 01 | SE123456789001 |
| SISlovenia | 8 digits | SI12345678 |
| SKSlovakia | 10 digits | SK1234567890 |
| XINorthern Ireland | 9 or 12 digitsOnly Northern Ireland is in VIES since Brexit. GB numbers are not. | XI123456789 |
A number with the right format can still be invalid
The format only says a number could exist. Whether it is registered, and still registered today, is something only the member state knows, and VIES is how you ask it. Registrations are withdrawn all the time, so a number that was valid last quarter is worth checking again.
Checking a whole list
Paste a customer list on the homepage and every line is checked against these formats before you pay: lines that cannot be VAT numbers are skipped and never charged. The rest go to VIES with your own VAT number attached, which is what makes VIES issue a consultation number for each one.