EU VAT number check (VIES)

Enter a VAT number, starting with its country code, to check it against VIES — the European Commission's search across the EU countries' VAT registers. You'll see whether it is valid for trade between EU countries and, where the country shares it, the registered company name and address.

On a Shopify store, when a signed-in business buyer enters a valid VAT number from another EU country in the cart, Fedev — EU VAT & VIES removes the VAT at checkout and keeps the VIES check in your VAT records.

What a valid number means

A valid result means the number is registered for trade between EU countries today. When you sell goods to a business in another EU country and its number is valid, the sale usually falls under the reverse charge: you charge no VAT, and the buyer accounts for it in their own country. Keep a record of the check with the order.

An invalid result doesn't always mean a fake number. Many businesses have a domestic VAT number but are not registered for intra-EU trade, so VIES doesn't list them. Ask the buyer to check their registration before you take the VAT off. If VIES answers with a code instead, see what each VIES error means.

EU VAT number formats

Every EU country writes its VAT numbers its own way. The check above rejects a number that can't fit its country's format before asking VIES.

Checking VAT numbers on your Shopify store

Checking one number by hand is fine. For a store with business buyers, EU VAT & VIES adds a VAT number field to the Shopify cart, checks it against VIES while the buyer shops, and removes the VAT for valid cross-border business orders — on every Shopify plan, no Plus required. See how the live VIES check works, and how it compares with Shopify's own VAT number field.