European Union — VIES VAT Validation

The European Union VIES VAT Validation API provides real-time verification of value-added tax (VAT) identification numbers for businesses registered across all 27 European Union member states and Northern Ireland (XI).

By querying the official European VAT Information Exchange System, this endpoint confirms whether a VAT number is legally active, verifies registered trade names, and retrieves standardized corporate addresses to support intra-Community B2B invoicing, Know Your Business (KYB) compliance, and tax fraud prevention.

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API Reference

Endpoint

GET https://api.verifik.co/v2/eu/vat

Query the official European tax authority registry to confirm the validity and active registration status of an EU VAT identification number.

Headers

Name	Value	Description
Content-Type	application/json	Request payload format
Accept	application/json	Response format
Authorization	Bearer <token>	Client JWT authentication token

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
countryCode	string	Yes	Two-letter ISO member state country code (e.g., IE, FR, ES, DE, IT, NL, XI).
vatNumber	string	Yes	VAT identification number excluding the country code prefix (e.g., 6388047V).

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Request

Node.js / JavaScript

import axios from "axios";

const options = {
  method: "GET",
  url: "https://api.verifik.co/v2/eu/vat",
  params: {
    countryCode: "IE",
    vatNumber: "6388047V",
  },
  headers: {
    Accept: "application/json",
    Authorization: "Bearer <your_token>",
  },
};

try {
  const { data } = await axios.request(options);
  console.log(data);
} catch (error) {
  console.error(error.response ? error.response.data : error.message);
}

Python

import requests

url = "https://api.verifik.co/v2/eu/vat"
headers = {
    "Accept": "application/json",
    "Authorization": "Bearer <your_token>"
}
params = {
    "countryCode": "IE",
    "vatNumber": "6388047V"
}

response = requests.get(url, headers=headers, params=params)
print(response.json())

cURL

curl -X GET "https://api.verifik.co/v2/eu/vat?countryCode=IE&vatNumber=6388047V" \
  -H "Accept: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <your_token>"

---

Response

200 (Active VAT Number)

{
  "data": {
    "valid": true,
    "countryCode": "IE",
    "vatNumber": "6388047V",
    "fullVatNumber": "IE6388047V",
    "businessName": "GOOGLE IRELAND LIMITED",
    "address": "3RD FLOOR, GORDON HOUSE, BARROW STREET, DUBLIN 4",
    "status": "ACTIVE"
  },
  "signature": {
    "dateTime": "October 31, 2026 12:00 AM",
    "message": "Certified by Verifik.co"
  }
}

200 (Invalid / Inactive VAT Number)

{
  "data": {
    "valid": false,
    "countryCode": "IE",
    "vatNumber": "0000000X",
    "fullVatNumber": "IE0000000X",
    "businessName": null,
    "address": null,
    "status": "INACTIVE"
  },
  "signature": {
    "dateTime": "October 31, 2026 12:00 AM",
    "message": "Certified by Verifik.co"
  }
}

400 (Bad Request)

{
  "code": "InvalidParameter",
  "message": "countryCode must be a valid 2-letter ISO EU country code (e.g., IE, FR, ES, DE, IT)."
}

500 (Internal Server Error)

{
  "code": "InternalServerError",
  "message": "The official European authority service is temporarily unavailable. Please retry shortly."
}

---

Notes

• Intra-Community Tax Exemption: Validating VAT registration through the official European authority is mandatory to apply 0% VAT reverse charges on cross-border transactions between EU member states.
• Country Prefix Handling: Provide countryCode as the ISO code (e.g., IE) and vatNumber without the country prefix (e.g., 6388047V). The API automatically constructs fullVatNumber.
• Northern Ireland Protocol: Businesses in Northern Ireland trading goods under the EU Single Market framework use the special territory code XI.
• National Data Protections: In certain member states (such as Germany or Spain), business names and addresses may not be publicly disclosed by the authority unless specific bilateral consent is registered.