VAT number
The country-specific identifier issued to a business that is registered for value-added tax and used as the key for cross-border B2B tax treatment.
What it is
A VAT number is the identifier a national tax authority issues to a business once it is registered for VAT. Inside the EU it is sometimes called a VAT identification number (VATIN). Its format is country-specific and is defined in each member state's VAT legislation; EU numbers follow the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country prefix (for example DE123456789, FR12345678901).
Where you meet it
You meet the VAT number anywhere a B2B transaction needs to be tax-classified: on invoices (it is a mandatory field under Article 226 of the VAT Directive), in Stripe Customer Tax IDs (type: "eu_vat", value: "DE123456789"), and as the vatNumber field in vatverify's /v1/validate request. A valid, registered buyer VAT number is the input a tax-rules engine needs before it can apply reverse charge.
Format varies dramatically by country
There is no unified VAT number format across the EU. Lengths range from 8 characters (Spain, Slovenia, Cyprus) to 12 characters (Lithuania for individuals, Netherlands). Some countries use only digits; others mix in letters at fixed positions. A few examples:
- France:
FR{2 alphanumeric}{9-digit SIREN}. The 2-character key can include letters. - Cyprus:
CY{8 digits}{1 letter}. The trailing letter is part of the canonical form. - Netherlands:
NL{9 digits}B{2 digits}. The literalBis fixed. - Czechia:
CZplus 8, 9, or 10 digits depending on registrant type.
A regex that hardcodes a single length will reject correctly-formed numbers from several member states. See the country pages for the specific format and structural rules per country.
ISO 3166 country code with two exceptions
EU VAT numbers use the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code as a prefix, with two intentional exceptions:
- EL (not GR) is the prefix for Greek VAT numbers, derived from "Hellas".
- XI is the prefix for Northern Ireland VAT numbers under the post-Brexit Windsor Framework, used for goods traded with the EU.
A validator that recognises only ISO 3166 codes will reject correctly-formatted Greek and Northern Irish numbers. See the Greece and Northern Ireland pages for the historical context.
VAT number is not the company registration number
Each country also has a corporate registration identifier maintained by a separate registry (Companies House in the UK, Handelsregister in Germany, Kamer van Koophandel in the Netherlands). The corporate registration number is for company law and public records; the VAT number is for tax purposes. The two are distinct identifiers, often issued by different authorities, even when their numeric content overlaps.
Common confusions
- A VAT number is not the same as a company registration number. Germany's Handelsregister number, for example, is a separate identifier from the VAT
USt-IdNr.issued by the Bundeszentralamt für Steuern. - The UK VRN now starts with
GBfor Great Britain registrations andXIfor Northern Ireland registrations that remain within the EU VAT area for goods. - A valid format does not guarantee a registered number. Format checks happen offline; registration status only comes from VIES (EU) or the relevant national registry.