European Union VAT identification number
European Union · Companies
Paste or type the number — punctuation is optional.
Other identifiers
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What this check does — and what it cannot do
This tool checks the number's structure and its check digit, using the published algorithm for that document. A number that passes is well formed: it is arithmetically consistent and could have been issued.
It cannot tell you whether the number was actually issued, whether it is active, or who it belongs to. Only the issuing tax authority can confirm that, through its own lookup service. Treat a passing result as "worth submitting", never as proof of identity.
The generator produces numbers that satisfy the same checksum, for filling forms while developing and testing software. They are arithmetic, not records: they are not drawn from any register and do not correspond to a real holder. No generator is offered for the US Social Security Number.
How the EU VAT check works, and what the number tells you
A EU VAT is a business identifier issued in European Union. This page checks one against the published rule, shows which specific test it fails when it fails, and decodes the facts the digits carry. Everything runs in your browser — the number you type is never sent anywhere.
How it works
- Applies the published checksum rather than only checking the length and shape.
- Names the exact rule that failed, so a typo is distinguishable from a number that was never valid.
- Decodes what the number encodes: member state, registration status.
- Generates valid test numbers, for fixtures and for exercising your own validation code.
A two-letter member state prefix, then a national number. There is no single EU algorithm — twenty-seven rules share one prefix. verified checksums here BE DE DK FI FR GR HR HU IT LU MT PL PT SE SI SK format checked only AT BG CY CZ EE ES IE LT LV NL RO Germany, for instance, uses ISO 7064 MOD 11,10 — the same construction as Croatia's OIB — while Italy uses a Luhn variant and Luxembourg simply takes the first six digits mod 89.
Worked example
Checking DE136695976, a valid EU VAT, digit by digit.
- input DE136695976
- normalised DE 136695976
- Member state Germany
- Checksum Verified against the national rule
- Registration status Not checked — only VIES can confirm a number is active
- result passes every published check
The checksum passes, so the number is internally consistent, and the tool reads off member state, registration status. Internal consistency is not the same as the number being issued to somebody — see the note below.
Reading the result
- A correct checksum does not mean a VAT number is registered. Only VIES, the European Commission's own lookup, can confirm that a number is active and belongs to the trader quoting it — and for cross-border zero-rating, a VIES check is the part that actually protects you.
- A passing checksum means the digits are consistent with each other, not that the number exists. Only European Union's own registry can tell you whether a number was actually issued and is still valid, and no offline tool can substitute for that.
- The check happens entirely in your browser. Nothing is uploaded, logged, or stored, which matters more here than on most tools because these numbers are personal data in every jurisdiction that issues them.
- Punctuation is ignored. Spaces, dots, dashes and slashes are stripped before the check, so a number pasted in any common local format is read the same way.
Common questions
- My number is real but this says it is not valid. Why?
- Check for a transposed pair of digits first — that is the single most common cause, and every checksum here is designed to catch it. Failing that, the number may predate the current rule: several countries changed or introduced their checksum at a known date, and older numbers were not reissued. If the tool names a specific rule that failed, that is the one to look at.
- Does a valid result mean the number is registered?
- No, and this is the limit worth understanding. A checksum proves the digits are mutually consistent, which catches typos and made-up numbers. It cannot prove the number was issued, is still active, or belongs to the person quoting it. Only the issuing authority's own lookup can do that.