What is VIES?
VIES is the European Commission's system for checking whether a VAT number from an EU country is valid for trade within the EU. VIES asks the tax authority of that country and passes on the answer.
Check a VAT number
Check whether the VAT number of a supplier or customer in the EU is valid. The check goes straight to VIES, the European Commission's system, and shows name and address if the country shares them.
- Free
- Official source: VIES
- All EU countries
- No input stored
Which VAT number do you want to check?
Valid, not valid, or cannot be checked right now
VIES checks the number with the tax authority of the country itself. Valid means the number is currently registered for trade within the EU. Not valid means it does not exist or is not (or no longer) active.
Sometimes a country's system is briefly unreachable. This tool then reports that the number cannot be checked right now, not that it is invalid. Wrongly rejecting a valid number is the most expensive mistake in a VAT check.
Check a VAT number when
- you reverse-charge VAT to a buyer in another EU country
- you charge 0% VAT on a supply within the EU
- a new supplier reverse-charges VAT on its invoice
- you create a new contact in your books
- a number on an invoice looks different from usual
What does a VAT number look like?
Every VAT number starts with the country code. After that the structure differs per country. Greece uses the code EL in VIES; if you enter GR, it is corrected automatically.
| Country | Example | Structure |
|---|---|---|
| Netherlands | NL123456789B01 | NL, 9 digits, B and 2 digits |
| Belgium | BE0123456789 | BE and 10 digits, starting with 0 or 1 |
| Germany | DE123456789 | DE and 9 digits |
| France | FR12345678901 | FR, 2 characters and 9 digits |
| Austria | ATU12345678 | ATU and 8 digits |
| Italy | IT12345678901 | IT and 11 digits |
Only the number goes to VIES
To check with VIES, the VAT number goes through our server to the European Commission. Nothing more: no account, no storage, and the number does not appear in the address bar or in our log files.
Independent tool, not affiliated with the European Commission or the Dutch Tax Administration. The result is that of VIES at the moment of checking.
Questions about checking VAT numbers
What does 'not valid' mean in VIES?
The number does not exist, or it is not (or no longer) registered for trade within the EU. Often it was simply copied wrongly. In that case, ask the supplier or buyer for the correct number.
Why don't I see a name and address?
Not every country shares name and address through VIES. The Netherlands does; Germany and Spain, for example, do not. The number can still be valid.
When should I check a VAT number?
Especially when you reverse-charge VAT or charge 0% on a supply to a business in another EU country. You must then be able to show that the buyer had a valid VAT number. Check the number at the time of the supply and keep the result with your records.
What is the difference between a VAT ID and a turnover tax number?
Since 2020 Dutch sole traders have two numbers. The VAT identification number goes on invoices and is what you check with VIES. The turnover tax number is only used in contact with the Dutch Tax Administration.
Is the number I enter stored?
No. The number only goes to VIES to be checked. Agentancy does not store it and does not write it to log files.
Source: VIES of the European Commission. How this page works was checked on 31 October 2026.
More checks without an account
- Check an IBANTest the check digits and length of an IBAN, in your browser.
- Convert a payment referenceFrom payment reference to assessment number, and back.
- UBL viewerOpen a UBL e-invoice as a readable invoice.
- Bank statement viewerOpen an MT940 or CAMT.053 file as a readable list.
- RGS code lookupFind a GL account in the Dutch Reference Chart of Accounts.
Stop checking VAT numbers on invoices by hand?
Agentancy reads the VAT numbers on every invoice and checks Dutch VAT numbers with VIES automatically. A reverse-charged invoice without VAT numbers does not slip through unnoticed. Try it free for 30 days.
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