Free VAT number checker
Check any VAT number against the official government registry: EU (VIES), UK (HMRC), Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Australia. No account needed.
Enter a VAT number to see the live API response
How it works
Every check is a live lookup against the registry that owns the number: VIES for the EU and Northern Ireland, HMRC for the United Kingdom, the BFS UID register for Switzerland and Liechtenstein, the Bronnoysund register for Norway, and the ABR for Australia. Where the registry discloses it, you also get the registered company name and address.
Formatting does not matter: spaces, dots, and dashes are stripped automatically, and obvious typos are caught before the lookup (including check-digit verification for Swiss, Norwegian, and Australian numbers).
Need format details for a specific country?
See the VAT number formats by country reference for each country's structure, check digits, and example numbers.
Frequently asked questions
Is this VAT checker really free?
Yes. The checker on this page is free and needs no account. It is limited to 10 checks per minute per visitor. If you need more, a free Avatcado API key includes 500 validations per month with no credit card required.
Which countries can I check?
All 27 EU member states and Northern Ireland (via VIES), the United Kingdom (via HMRC), Switzerland and Liechtenstein (via the BFS UID register), Norway (via the Bronnoysund register), and Australia (via the ABR). That is 32 countries through one checker.
Is the result an official confirmation?
The result reflects the official government registry at the time of the check. For EU audit purposes you may also want a VIES consultation number, which requires supplying your own VAT number as requester; the Avatcado API supports this via the requester_vat_number parameter.
Why does a valid VAT number sometimes come back invalid?
National registries occasionally return false negatives during outages or degraded service. If you suspect a false negative, wait a few minutes and try again. Avatcado's API additionally serves cached results with a stale indicator when a registry is down.
Can I automate VAT checks?
Yes. The same validation is available as a REST API with TypeScript and Python SDKs, batch validation, webhooks, and a test mode. The free tier includes 500 validations per month.
Sources
- VIES on the Web European Commission, accessed August 13, 2026
- Check a UK VAT number GOV.UK, accessed August 13, 2026
- UID register Swiss Federal Statistical Office, accessed August 13, 2026
- ABN Lookup Australian Business Register, accessed August 13, 2026