EU VAT Number Formats

EU VAT Number Formats

All EU member states have a fixed format for their VAT numbers, which includes a two-letter code of the country and a string of digits.

You can find a full list of the Member States and their formats of the VAT number in the table below:

EU Member StateISO CodeNumber FormatVAT Number ExampleVAT Local Name
AustriaAT8 digits and the prefix 'U'ATU12345678USt
BelgiumBE10 digits (if the customer provides a 9 digit VAT number, ‘0’ should be added as a first digit)BE1234567890Btw
BulgariaBG9 or 10 digitsBG1234567, 89, BG1234567890ДДС
CroatiaHR11 digitsHR12345678901PDV
CyprusCY8 digits and 1 letterCY12345678AΦΠΑ
Czech RepublicCZ8, 9 or 10 digitsCZ12345678, CZ123456789, CZ1234567890DPH
DenmarkDK8 digitsDK12345678Momsloven
EstoniaEE9 digitsEE123456789Käibemaks
FinlandFI8 digitsFI12345678Moms
FranceFR11 characters - letters can be included as first and/or second character (except letters O and I)FR12345678901, FRX1234567890, FR1X234567890, FRXX123456789TVA
GermanyDE9 digitsDE123456789MwSt
GreeceEL9 digitsEL123456789ΦΠΑ
HungaryHU8 digitsHU12345678ÁFA
IrelandVAT8 or 9 characters - letters can be included as last, or second and last, or last 2 charactersIE1234567X, IE1X23456X, IE1234567XXVAT
ItalyIT11 digitsIT12345678901IVA
LatviaLV11 digitsLV12345678901PVN
LithuaniaLT9 or 12 digitsLT123456789, LT123456789012PVM
LuxembourgLU8 digitsLU12345678TVA
MaltaMT8 digitsMT12345678VAT
NetherlandsNL12 characters - the 10th character is always BNL123456789B01BTW
PolandPL10 digitsPL1234567890PTU
PortugalPT9 digitsPT123456789IVA
RomaniaROFrom 2 to 10 digitsRO12, RO123, RO1234, RO12345, RO123456, RO123456, RO1234567, RO12345678, RO123456789, RO1234567890TVA
SlovakiaSK10 digitsSK1234567890DPH
SloveniaSI8 digitsSI12345678DDV
SpainES9 characters - first and/or last character can be a letterESX12345678,ES12345678X, ESX1234567XIVA
SwedenSE12 digitsSE123456789012Moms

How To Obtain The EU VAT Number?

When it comes to the EU VAT number registration procedure, one of the most important questions is whether your business is located in one of the EU Member States or outside the EU?

Your business is located in one of the EU Member States

If you didn't receive the EU VAT number when registering your business, you need to request the issuance of a VAT number directly from the tax authority in your country. In most instances, you can request the issuance online, so you don't have to physically visit the tax authority's office.

Your business is not located in one of the EU Member States, i.e., your business is established outside the EU

We already covered this topic in our article How to obtain the EU VAT number if your business is not located in the EU, and you can find more information there.

If your business is located outside the EU, you need to register for EU VAT MOSS. In other words, you need to select any EU country as your Member State of identification and start your registration procedure. The procedure depends on the Member State, but in most cases, you will need to leave some basic information about your business (name, address, IBAN, etc.) and services you will supply to customers in Member States. Once the registration has been approved, you will receive your EU VAT number.

How To Validate A VAT Number?

If you want to validate a VAT number of your business customer or any business entity within the EU Member States, you can use VIES (VAT Information Exchange System). However, we already wrote about the VIES' downsides, so if you want to make sure that a VAT number is valid, you can use Fonoa Lookup. Fonoa Lookup can validate tax identification numbers directly with the tax authorities in different world countries; for a complete overview and more accurate validation.

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