Portugal VAT number: format and validation

By Remco from Avatcado

Format

PT followed by 9 digits. The local term is Numero de Identificacao Fiscal (companies: NIPC) (NIF, Portuguese).

Pattern: /^\d{9}$/

  • The first digit indicates the holder type: 1, 2, and 3 for natural persons, 5 for legal persons, 6 for public bodies, with other leading ranges for non-residents and funds
  • For companies the VAT number is the NIPC assigned at incorporation; the same 9 digits with the PT prefix serve as the intra-EU VAT number in VIES

Example of a registered number: PT 500 697 256

Check digit

Portugal VAT numbers carry a check digit (MOD 11): The first 8 digits are multiplied by descending weights 9 down to 2 and summed; if the sum mod 11 is 0 or 1 the check digit is 0, otherwise it is 11 minus the remainder.

Check a Portugal VAT number

Checks route through VIES. Caching is enabled by default. Read the source, original result time and freshness label alongside validity; a cached or stale result does not freshly confirm current registration.

Enter a VAT number to see its registration result, source and freshness

Validate via API

The same validation as an API call, with the example number above:

curl "https://api.avatcado.com/v1/validate?vat_number=PT500697256" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer avat_live_your_api_key"
import Avatcado from "@avatcado/node";

const avatcado = new Avatcado("avat_live_your_api_key");
const { data, error } = await avatcado.vat.validate({
  vatNumber: "PT500697256",
});

if (data?.data.valid) {
  console.log(`Registered: ${data.data.company?.name}`);
}

Free tier includes 500 validations per month. Get an API key or read the API documentation.

How Avatcado validates Portugal numbers

  • Primary source: VIES.
  • Company name and address: yes, observed 2026-09-04.
  • When VIES is down: the most recent cached result, then a refunded 503.

See the full coverage table.

Frequently asked questions

Do small businesses in Portugal charge VAT?

Not necessarily. Article 53 of the CIVA exempts taxpayers whose annual domestic turnover does not exceed EUR 15,000. Invoices under this regime carry the mention 'IVA - regime de isencao', and the exemption is lost during the year if turnover exceeds the threshold by more than 25 percent.

Why is the NIF requested everywhere in Portugal?

The NIF, popularly the numero de contribuinte, is the single identifier for essentially all official and financial life in Portugal: tax filings, employment, banking, property, and the e-Fatura system. For businesses the same nine digits (the NIPC) prefixed with PT are also the VAT number checked in VIES.

How does Avatcado validate Portugal VAT numbers when VIES is down?

For Portugal VAT numbers, uncached checks use VIES, the EU's VAT Information Exchange System, which routes the query to Portugal's own national database. Caching is enabled by default without a requester VAT number. Read the freshness label and original result time to distinguish a new lookup from a previous result. A valid answer includes the registered company name and address that Portugal's tax administration publishes through VIES, which we last confirmed against a real registered number on 2026-09-04. No national register is published for Portugal that Avatcado can consult as a substitute, unlike the ten EU countries with a national fallback on Pro and Business, so an availability fault such as MS_UNAVAILABLE or a timeout can be answered only by eligible cache. A stored result has meta.cached: true and meta.source_status: "unavailable", plus meta.stale: true when it is past the cache window. Requester checks disable stored responses by default; cache=true opts back in. If no eligible stored result can answer, the request returns a refunded 503 (upstream_member_state_unavailable). A cached or stale result is earlier registration evidence, not a fresh check.

Related guides

VAT rate in Portugal

The standard VAT rate in Portugal is 23%. Reduced rates: 13%, 6%. See all Portugal VAT rates.

Sources