VAT number checks in the EU: why buyers look for it

Scroll to the bottom of most European webshops and you will find a VAT number next to the company name and address. Buyers who are unsure about a shop look for it, and you can check it yourself in a minute. Here is why it is there, how to check it and what the result tells you.

Why a shop shows its VAT number

EU rules for online services (the e-Commerce Directive 2000/31/EC, article 5) say a business must make its name, geographic address, e-mail address and trade register number easy to find, and its VAT identification number if it carries out activities subject to VAT. So almost every webshop that sells to EU buyers should show one, usually in the footer, the legal notice or the terms and conditions.

What it looks like

An EU VAT number starts with a country code, followed by digits and sometimes letters. A Dutch number looks like NL123456789B01, a German one like DE123456789, a Belgian one like BE0123456789. Since 2020 Dutch sole traders have a separate VAT identification number for their website and invoices, so it no longer contains their citizen service number.

How to check it in VIES

1. Go to the VIES page of the European Commission (search for "VIES VAT number validation").
2. Choose the country and type the number without the country code.
3. VIES answers whether the number is valid. Some countries also show the registered name and address; others, such as Germany, do not.

If VIES shows a name, compare it with the company on the site. If it does not, compare the number with the one on the invoice or the order confirmation.

What a valid number tells you, and what it does not

A valid number means a business with that number is registered for VAT in that country. It does not prove that the website belongs to that business: fake shops sometimes copy the number of a real company. So check that the name and address match, that the shop can be reached, and that the returns page is complete. Our guide to checking a webshop lists the other points.

Shops from outside the EU usually have no EU VAT number. That is not wrong in itself, but since 1 July 2021 VAT is due on every parcel imported into the EU, and sometimes customs charges too, so the final price can be higher than you expected.

For shop owners

Put your VAT number in the footer and the legal notice, exactly as it appears on your invoices, and check in VIES that it is valid. CheckShop reads the number from your site and looks it up in VIES as part of the "who is behind it" checks. You can see how your shop does on CheckShop.