Free tool
EU VAT number validator (VIES)
Pick a country, paste the VAT number and get an instant verdict from the official European Commission VIES system. When the number is valid, the trader name and address are returned where the member state allows it. Copy the validation receipt for your records or jump into the invoice generator with the verified data.
Enter a VAT identification number on the left and we will check it live against the EU VIES system.
Why every European business should validate VAT numbers before invoicing
Inside the European Union, the reverse-charge mechanism for B2B cross-border supplies is one of the most powerful simplifications in the VAT framework. It lets businesses sell to customers in other EU countries without charging VAT, leaving the customer to self-account in their home country. The simplicity comes with a strict condition: the customer's VAT identification number must be valid and currently active at the time of supply. If the seller fails to verify the number and the customer turns out not to be VAT-registered, the seller becomes liable for the VAT they did not charge — plus penalties.
VIES (VAT Information Exchange System) is the official European Commission service for verifying that a VAT number is currently registered in a member state's tax registry. It is free, requires no API key and is the only verification method that EU tax authorities accept as proof of due diligence. Many member states (including Germany, France and Italy) explicitly require sellers to keep VIES validation records on file for any reverse-charge invoice. A missing record is one of the most common findings during a VAT audit.
WorkDaten's VAT validator runs the live VIES check from your browser via our server, returning the trader name and address where the member state allows it. The validation is recorded with the request date so you can copy the receipt directly into your accounting notes. When you build an invoice afterwards, the verified data carries over to the invoice generator with one click, eliminating the typo risk that comes with re-typing a long alphanumeric VAT number on each new invoice.
Live VIES check in under one second
The query goes straight to the official European Commission VIES endpoint, with no third-party intermediary touching your data. Cached responses make repeat checks instant.
Company name and address when available
Most member states return the registered name and address alongside the validation. Germany and Spain by policy do not — both countries return only the valid/invalid flag. The result card flags this clearly so you know the verification is still authoritative.
Validation receipt for your records
Copy the result text with one click and paste it into your accounting notes, your CRM or the email confirming the order. The receipt includes the trader details and the timestamp — the exact evidence VAT auditors expect.
Bridges directly into the invoice generator
After a successful check, jump into the invoice generator with the verified VAT number, company name and address pre-filled. One less manual step, one less typo, one less rejected invoice from your customer's accounts payable team.
Frequently asked questions
Short answers to the questions people most often ask before relying on the page.
- Is the validation legally accepted as proof of due diligence?
- Yes. VIES is the official EU verification service and a successful validation is the standard proof EU tax authorities accept. Save the receipt (with the request date) alongside each invoice you issue under the reverse-charge mechanism. Members states such as Germany, France, Italy and the Netherlands explicitly cite the VIES check as the expected level of due diligence in their guidance.
- Why does the result for some German or Spanish numbers come back without a name?
- Both countries publish only the valid/invalid flag through VIES as a data-protection choice — the trader name and address are intentionally not exposed. The validation itself is still authoritative; you only get less context with the reply. To match a German VAT number to a company name, use the German Federal Central Tax Office portal directly.
- How often should I re-validate a customer's VAT number?
- Best practice is to validate at the moment of supply for each new invoice, especially for customers you bill irregularly. For monthly recurring invoices, a single validation per quarter is usually accepted as reasonable due diligence. For high-value supplies, validate before every single invoice and keep the receipt on file.
- Can I check non-EU VAT numbers (UK, Switzerland, Norway)?
- VIES only covers the 27 EU member states. UK numbers can be checked through the HMRC online service, Swiss UID numbers through the federal UID register, Norwegian numbers through the Brønnøysund Register Centre. Each is a separate national service with its own interface — VIES does not federate them.
- What does it mean when VIES returns SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE or MS_UNAVAILABLE?
- MS_UNAVAILABLE means the specific member state's tax registry is currently down — the rest of VIES still works for other countries. SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE means the central VIES service itself is having issues. Both are transient (usually less than five minutes). Wait briefly and retry; the call counts as a verification attempt for your records.
- Do you store the VAT numbers I check?
- No persistent storage. The query is forwarded to VIES from our server, the response is held in memory for up to 24 hours to speed up repeat checks of the same number, then discarded. We never log the requester's identity, the queried number is never written to disk, and no analytics tracker observes the form submission.