In the E.U. it is important to specify on the invoices your VAT number and the buyer's VAT number in case of a B2B sale or your supplier's VAT number in case of a purchase. Please always check the the VAT numbers in the VIES search engine.
If the VIES does not return a valid response it might be because of the following reasons:
- the VAT number does not exist
- the VAT number has not been activated for intra-EU transactions
- the registration is not yet finalized (some EU countries require a separate registration for intra-EU transactions).
NOTE: Changes in the VIES system are not reflected and propagated immediately. In urgent cases, contact the local tax authorities.
Below you can find the VAT number format across E.U.:
Country | VAT number format; 2 letter ISO Country Code + a number and characters sequence, e.g. AT12345678 |
| Austria | AT (+) U12345678 9 characters. The first character is always ‘U’. |
| Belgium | BE (+) 1234567890 10 characters. Prefix with zero ‘0’ if the customer provides a 9 digit VAT number. |
| Bulgaria | BG (+) 123456789, 1234567890 9 or 10 characters. |
| Croatia | HR (+) 12345678901 11 characters. |
| Cyprus | CY (+) 12345678X 9 characters. The last character must always be a letter. |
| Czech Republic | CZ (+) 12345678, 123456789, 1234567890 8, 9 or 10 characters. If more than 10 characters are provided delete the first 3 as these are a tax code. |
| Denmark | DK (+) 12345678 8 characters. |
| Estonia | EE (+) 123456789 9 characters. |
| Finland | FI (+) 12345678 8 characters. |
| France | FR (+) 12345678901, X1234567890, 1X123456789, XX123456789 11 characters. May include alphabetical characters (any except O or I) as first or second or first and second characters. |
| Germany | DE (+) 123456789 9 characters. |
| Greece | EL (+) 123456789 9 characters. |
| Hungary | HU (+) 12345678 8 characters. |
| Ireland | IE (+) 1234567X, 1X23456X, 1234567XX 8 or 9 characters. Includes one or two alphabetical characters (last, or second and last, or last 2). |
| Italy | IT (+) 12345678901 11 characters. |
| Latvia | LV (+) 12345678901 11 characters. |
| Lithuania | LT (+) 123456789, 123456789012 9 or 12 characters. |
| Luxembourg | LU (+) 12345678 8 characters. |
| Malta | MT (+) 12345678 8 characters. |
| Netherlands | NL (+) 123456789B01 12 characters. The tenth character is always B. |
| Poland | PL (+) 1234567890 10 characters. |
| Portugal | PT (+) 123456789 9 characters. |
| Romania | RO (+) 12, 123, 1234, 12345, 123456, 1234567, 12345678, 123456789, 1234567890 From 2 to 10 characters. |
| Slovak Republic | SK (+) 1234567890 10 characters. |
| Slovenia | SI (+) 12345678 8 characters. |
| Spain | ES (+) X12345678, 12345678X, X1234567X 9 characters. Includes one or two alphabetical characters (first or last or first and last). |
| Sweden | SE (+) 123456789012 12 characters. |