How to find and verify a VAT number with HMRC or VIES

A VAT number is a unique alphanumeric code that identifies a business registered for Value Added Tax in a specific country. You might need to check a supplier's registration before paying an invoice, or confirm your own number for a customer. Either way, knowing how to find and verify a VAT number quickly keeps your financial records accurate.

HMRC handles UK verification, and VIES covers EU member states. The steps depend on whether you already have the number or need to find it first.

What is a VAT number?

A VAT number is a registration code issued by a country's tax authority to businesses that collect and remit Value Added Tax. The format varies by country.

UK VAT numbers have 9 digits and typically don't carry a country prefix in domestic contexts. EU member states use a two-letter country code followed by a string of digits or characters. Germany uses "DE" plus 9 digits, France uses "FR" plus 11 characters, and Northern Ireland uses the "XI" prefix for post-Brexit EU trade.

You'll see the number on invoices, tax returns, and official correspondence. If you're working with a supplier or customer across borders, their VAT number confirms they're properly registered and authorized to charge VAT on their prices.

When to find or verify a VAT number

Issuing or receiving VAT invoices

A VAT invoice must include the supplier's VAT registration number. For cross-border EU transactions, you also need the customer's VAT number. Without a valid supplier number, the invoice doesn't meet HMRC or EU compliance requirements. Your customer also can't reclaim the VAT they've been charged if the supplier's number is missing or incorrect.

If you're receiving a supplier invoice and the VAT number looks unfamiliar, verifying it before you process the payment confirms you're paying a registered seller.

Reclaiming input VAT

You can only reclaim VAT on purchases from suppliers who are genuinely VAT-registered. If you submit a return claiming input tax against an invalid or deregistered number, HMRC can reject the claim and may apply penalties. Verifying before you file avoids rejected claims.

Onboarding a new supplier

Verifying a supplier's VAT number is part of basic vendor management due diligence. It confirms the business is real and registered with the relevant tax authority under the name and address they've given you. You can build this check into your UK accounts payable software or policy as a standard onboarding step so every new vendor is verified before processing payments.

Auditing existing vendor records

VAT registrations can lapse. A supplier who was registered when you first onboarded them may have deregistered since. Checking periodically keeps your vendor records current and prevents you from claiming input VAT against numbers that are no longer valid. Building a regular audit cadence into your accounts payable workflow identifies outdated registrations between filings.

How to verify a VAT number

VAT number formats and country prefixes

Before you run a check, make sure you have the full number in the right format. Every EU VAT number starts with a two-letter country code. These are some of the most common formats:

If a supplier gives you a number without the country code, add the correct prefix before checking.

Some UK registrations don't follow the standard nine-digit pattern. Branch traders use twelve digits, and government departments and health authorities use a short form beginning GD or HA.

Check a UK VAT number through HMRC

HMRC's online VAT checker lets you verify any UK VAT registration in seconds. Go to the "Check a UK VAT number" service on GOV.UK and enter the 9-digit number. The system returns a registration confirmation along with the registered business name and address.

You can't search by company name, so you need the actual 9-digit number to run a check.

If you're UK VAT-registered yourself, you can also get proof that you ran the check. Tick the option for proof and enter your own VAT number alongside the one you're checking, and HMRC returns a dated reference number.

Keep it with the supplier record. It's evidence you took reasonable care if HMRC later questions an input VAT claim on that supplier. Without your own number entered, the service confirms validity but gives you no reference.

Validate an EU VAT number through VIES

For businesses registered in any EU member state, use the VIES (VAT Information Exchange System) tool provided by the European Commission. Enter the country code and the number, and VIES confirms whether the registration is active.

Name and address come back only when the member state chooses to share them, so some countries return validity alone. As with HMRC, entering your own VAT number produces a consultation number that serves as timestamped proof of the check.

VIES also works for Northern Ireland VAT numbers, which use the "XI" prefix. If you're a business in Northern Ireland moving goods to the EU, verifying your customer's number is part of supporting zero-rating on intra-community supplies. For businesses in Great Britain, goods sold to the EU are exports, and zero-rating depends on evidence the goods left the UK rather than on the customer's VAT number. Their number still matters for services, where it determines whether the reverse charge applies.

VIES queries each country's national database in real time. If a member state's system is temporarily offline, VIES returns an error rather than a false "invalid" result. Try again later rather than assuming the number is bad.

Reading your verification results

Both HMRC and VIES return straightforward results. A "valid" response means the number is currently registered and active. An "invalid" response means the number doesn't exist, has been deregistered, was entered incorrectly, or is a domestic-only registration that was never activated for intra-EU trade. That last case is the one that surprises people. A supplier can be legitimately VAT-registered in their own country and still fail a VIES check.

When the result comes back valid, compare the registered business name and address against what your supplier provided. A mismatch doesn't always mean fraud as businesses change names, relocate, or register under a parent company. But a significant discrepancy warrants a conversation with the supplier before you process any payments.

If you get an invalid result, double-check that you entered the number correctly, including the right country prefix. If the number still fails after correcting the format, ask the supplier to confirm their current VAT registration directly with their tax authority.

How to find a company's VAT number

Sometimes you need a VAT number but don't have one to verify. Neither HMRC nor VIES lets you search by company name, so you'll need to find it another way.

Check invoices and business documents

VAT-registered businesses are legally required to include their VAT number on all invoices. Check any past invoices, purchase orders, or contracts from the supplier. The number typically appears in the header or footer alongside their company registration number and payment details.

Look on the company's website

Many businesses display their VAT number in the footer of their website or on their "about" or "contact" page. It's often listed alongside other legal details like the registered office address and Companies House number. A quick look at their homepage footer is worth trying first.

Contact the business directly

If you can't find the number in your existing documents or on their website, ask the supplier directly. Requesting a VAT registration number is standard practice in B2B relationships, and most finance teams respond to these requests routinely.

For UK businesses, you can also call the HMRC VAT helpline to ask whether a specific named business is registered, though HMRC may not always disclose the number over the phone. If the supplier can't or won't provide a number, they may not be VAT-registered.

Common mistakes when looking up VAT numbers

EU VAT numbers won't validate through VIES unless the two-letter country code is included. Leaving it off or using the wrong code returns an invalid result even when the number is legitimate.

Another common issue is confusing a company registration number with a VAT number. In the UK, the Companies House registration number and the HMRC VAT number are different identifiers. Using one in place of the other won't return any result.

New VAT registrations don't always appear in HMRC's or VIES's databases immediately. If a supplier says they've just registered, give it a few working days before you try to verify.

Not every business has a VAT number. In the UK, only businesses with taxable turnover above the £90,000 threshold are required to register. Smaller suppliers may be legitimate but not VAT-registered, which means there's no number to find.

Keep supplier records clean with Ramp, now in the UK

Verifying a VAT number is a one-time check. Keeping supplier records accurate as invoices arrive is the ongoing part, and it means capturing each invoice, matching it to the right vendor, and coding it before it reaches your accounting system.

Ramp now provides UK teams with AP software that captures invoices and receipts at the point of spend, suggests coding for review, and syncs the results to Xero or QuickBooks Online. Your vendor records stay current between filings rather than getting reconstructed at quarter-end.

Ramp is currently in beta for UK-headquartered businesses.

Sign up for early access for Ramp in the United Kingdom and learn more about our accounting automation software for UK businesses.