EU VAT Number Validator (VIES): Valid or Invalid
Page updated
Price: $0.40 per 1,000 VAT checks, flat on every Apify plan, no start fee. Free-plan cap: up to 100 VAT checks per run on the Apify Free plan. Prices checked on 2026-10-17.
The EU VAT Number Validator checks each number against the European Commission’s VIES service and returns valid or invalid, the country and the check time.
It returns validity only. A registered, active number comes back VALID without naming anyone.
Who it is for
Finance, invoicing and e-commerce teams and developers who need to check customer or supplier VAT numbers in bulk.
- Check B2B customers' VAT numbers before invoicing without VAT.
- Clean a supplier list before an audit.
- Add a VAT check step to onboarding.
- Re-check stored VAT numbers on a schedule.
Inputs
| Field | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| vatNumbers | array of strings | Yes | EU VAT numbers with country prefix, e.g. DE123456789. Up to 200 per run. Spaces, dots and dashes are ignored. |
| defaultCountry | string | No | 2-letter VIES country code used for numbers without a prefix. |
Example input
{
"vatNumbers": [
"DE123456789",
"FR00000000000"
]
}Example output
[
{
"type": "vat-check",
"vatNumber": "DE123456789",
"countryCode": "DE",
"valid": false,
"status": "INVALID",
"checkedAt": "2026-10-17T21:05:00.645Z",
"source": "VIES, European Commission"
}
]Price
$0.40 per 1,000 VAT checks
Free-plan cap: Up to 100 VAT checks per run on the Apify Free plan
Billing happens on Apify, not on this website.
Limits
- Up to 100 checks per run on the Apify Free plan.
- At most 200 numbers per run, checked one at a time about 2 seconds apart.
- Member-state services go offline at times. Those numbers get a free error row; try again later.
What it does not do
- It does not return trader names or addresses, even when VIES has them.
- It is not legal or tax advice. Keep VIES's own confirmation where your rules require it.
- It does not check non-EU tax numbers.
FAQ
What counts as a result?
One VAT number checked against VIES, valid or invalid.
Do I pay for badly formatted numbers or errors?
No. Invalid-input, error and limit rows are free.
Where does the data come from?
From VIES, the European Commission's VAT Information Exchange System. Lepidata is not affiliated with the European Commission.
Is there a start fee?
No. You pay only the flat price per check.