A value added tax identification number or VAT identification number (VATIN) is an identifier

Identifier

An identifier is a name that identifies either a unique object or a unique class of objects, where the "object" or class may be an idea, physical [countable] object , or physical [noncountable] substance...

 used in many countries, including the countries of the European Union

European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

, for value added tax

Value added tax

A value added tax or value-added tax is a form of consumption tax. From the perspective of the buyer, it is a tax on the purchase price. From that of the seller, it is a tax only on the "value added" to a product, material or service, from an accounting point of view, by this stage of its...

 purposes.

In the EU, a VAT identification number can be verified online at the EU's official VIES website, it confirms that the number is currently allocated and can provide the name or other identifying details of the entity to whom the identifier has been allocated.

The full identifier starts with an ISO 3166-1 alpha-2

ISO 3166-1 alpha-2

ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 codes are two-letter country codes defined in ISO 3166-1, part of the ISO 3166 standard published by the International Organization for Standardization , to represent countries, dependent territories, and special areas of geographical interest...

 country code (except for Greece which uses the non-standard country code EL) and then has between 5 and 12 characters. These 5 to 12 characters are numeric in most countries but in some countries they may contain letters.

Foreign companies that trade with non-enterprises in the EU may have a VATIN starting with "EU" instead of a country code.

European Union VAT identification numbers

Country	Local name	Abbreviation	Country code	Format
Austria	Umsatzsteuer-Identifikationsnummer	UID	AT	'AT'+9 characters, the first position following the prefix is always "U" – e.g. ATU99999999
Belgium	BTW identificatienummer / Numéro de TVA	n° TVA BTW-nr Mwst-nr	BE	'BE'+10 digits, the first digit following the prefix is always zero ("0") – e.g. BE0999999999
Bulgaria	Идентификационен номер по ДДС Identifikacionen nomer po DDS	ЕИК Булстат	BG	9–10 digits
Cyprus	Αριθμός Εγγραφής Φ.Π.Α. Arithmós Engraphḗs phi. pi. a.	ΦΠΑ	CY	9 characters – e.g. CY99999999L
Czech Republic	Daňové identifikační číslo	DIČ	CZ	8, 9 or 10 digits
Denmark	Momsregistreringsnummer	CVR	DK	8 digits, 4 blocks of 2 – e.g. DK99 99 99 99, last digit is check digit
Estonia	Käibemaksukohuslase number	KMKR	EE	9 digits
Finland	Arvonlisäveronumero	ALV nro	FI	8 digits
France and Monaco	Numéro d'identification à la taxe sur la valeur ajoutée / Numéro de TVA intracommunautaire	n° TVA	FR	'FR'+11 digits, the first and/or the second value can also be a character – e.g. FRXX999999999
Germany	Umsatzsteuer-Identifikationsnummer	USt-IdNr.	DE	9 digits
Greece	Αριθμός Φορολογικού Μητρώου Arithmós Phorologikoú Mētrṓou	ΑΦΜ	EL	9 digits, last one is a check digit
Hungary	Közösségi adószám	ANUM	HU	8 digits – e.g. HU12345678
Ireland	Value added tax identification no.	VAT no	IE	'IE'+8 digits, the second can be a character and the last one must be a character – e.g. IE9S99999L (S = letter/digit/"+"/"*", L = letter)
Italy	Partita IVA	P.IVA	IT	11 digits (the first 7 digits is a progressive number, the following 3 means the province of residence, the last digit is a check number)
Latvia	Pievienotās vērtības nodokļa (PVN) reģistrācijas numurs	PVN	LV	11 digits
Lithuania	PVM (abbrev. Pridėtinės vertės mokestis) mokėtojo kodas	PVM	LT	9 or 12 digits
Luxembourg	Numéro d'identification à la taxe sur la valeur ajoutée	No. TVA	LU	8 digits
Malta	Vat reg. no.	Vat No.	MT	8 digits
Netherlands	BTW nummer	BTW nr	NL	'NL'+12 characters – e.g. NL999999999B99
Poland	Numer Identyfikacji Podatkowej	NIP	PL	10 digits, the last one is a check digit; for convenience the digits are separated by hyphens (xxx-xxx-xx-xx), but formally the number consists only of digits
Portugal	Número de Identificação Fiscal (NIF) / Número de Identificação de Pessoa Colectiva (NIPC) –	NIF	PT	9 digits
Romania	Cod de înregistrare în scopuri de TVA	CF	RO	2–10 digits
Slovakia	Identifikačné číslo pre daň z pridanej hodnoty	IČ DPH	SK	10 digits
Slovenia	Davčna številka	ID za DDV	SI	8 digits
Spain	Número de Identificación Fiscal	NIF	ES	'ES'+9 digits, the first or the last value can also be a character – e.g. ESX9999999X
Sweden	VAT-nummer or momsnummer	Momsnr.	SE	12 digits, of which the last two are always 01.
United Kingdom and Isle of Man Isle of Man The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...	Value added tax registration number	VAT Reg No	GB	Country code GB followed by either: standard: 9 digits (block of 3, block of 4, block of 2 – e.g. GB999 9999 73) branch traders: 12 digits (as for 9 digits, followed by a block of 3 digits) government departments: the letters GD then 3 digits from 000 to 499 (e.g. GBGD001) health authorities: the letters HA then 3 digits from 500 to 999 (e.g. GBHA599) For the 9-digit scheme, the 2-digit block containing the 8th and 9th digits is always in the range 00 to 96 and is derived from a weighted modulus-97 check number (an identical algorithm is used for the 12-digit scheme, ignoring the extra 3-digit block). The current modulus-97 series is expected to run out during 2010, so a parallel series of numbers is being introduced from November 2009 for new registrations, restarting at 100 nnnn nn and following the same format but with the last two digits derived from an alternative algorithm known as "9755". The algorithm is identical to the one for the established series except that 55 is subtracted to give the check number (modulus 97), so the check number is either 55 less than or (if this would be negative) 42 greater than the check number that a VAT number in the established series would have if it were identical in the first seven digits. The details of the 97−55 check algorithm were to be secret but are now available from HMRC on request. The GD and HA formats may also be formatted as GB888 8xxx yy for EU compatibility, where xxx is the 3-digit number from the short format and yy is the 2-digit modulus-97 check number. Isle of Man registrations share the 9- and 12-digit formats with the UK, with GB as the country code prefix, but are distinguished by having 00 as the first two digits. Numbers with 01 to 09 in the first two digits are reserved by HM Revenue & Customs for UK non-VAT reference schemes.

VAT numbers of non-EU countries

Country	Local name	Abbreviation	Country code	Format
Albania	Numrin i Identifikimit për Personin e Tatueshëm	NIPT	AL	10 characters, the first position following the prefix is "J" or "K", and the last character is a letter – e.g. (AL)K99999999L or (AL)J99999999L (L = Letter)
Australia	Australian Tax Number	ATN	AU	11 digit number (where the first two are check digits)
Belarus	Учетный номер плательщика Uchetniy nomer platel'shika	УНП	BY	9 digit number (ex. УНП 190190190)
Croatia	Osobni identifikacijski broj Personal identification number	OIB	HR	11 digit number (ex. HR123 456 789 01) utilizing ISO 7064, MOD 11-10
Canada	Business Number numéro d'entreprise	BN / NE	CA	15 characters
Norway	Organisasjonsnummer Organization number	Orgnr	NO	9 digits
Philippines	Tax Identification Number	TIN	PH	12 digit number (ex. xxx xxx xxx xxx)
Russia	Идентификационный номер налогоплательщика Indentifikatzionny nomer nalogoplatel'shchika (Tax Identification Number)	ИНН	RU	10 digits (legal personality) or 12 digits (human persons), fist two digits are region of birth or company registration (for foreign companies, two digits after leading 99) MOD 11-10 second two- inspection (before the year 2004, it changed, now stays). for legal personality use the changeable second code (KPP), usually first 4 digits are the same (99-region rule does not apply), usually and default XXXX01001. KPP is also the counter (last 3 digts) The number of KPP's is limited to number of tax inspections in regions other than 77 and 50 (one and only for each) plus one code for the largest companies.
San Marino	Codice operatore economico	C.O.E.	SM	5 digits
Switzerland			CH	6 digits
Ukraine	Ідентифікаційний номер платника податків Identyfikacijnyj nomer platnyka podatkiv	ІНПП (ІНН)	UA	10 digits

VAT numbers of Latin American countries

Country	Local name	Abbreviation	Country code	Format
Argentina	Código Único de Identificación Tributaria	CUIT	AR	11 digits
Bolivia	Número de Identificación Tributaria	NIT	BO
Brasil	Cadastro Nacional de Pessoa Jurídica	CNPJ	BR	composed of a base of 8 digits, a 4-digit radical, and 2 check digits. It is usually written like '11.111.111/0001-55' so as to be more human-readable.
Chile	Rol Único Tributario	RUT	CL	8 digits, one dash, 1 digit
Colombia	Número De Identificación Tributaria	NIT	CO
Costa Rica	Cédula Jurídica		CR
Ecuador	Número de Registro Unico de Contribuyentes	RUC	EC	13 digits
El Salvador			SV
Guatemala	Número de Identificación de Contribuyentes		GT
Honduras	Registro Tributario Nacional	RTN	HN
Mexico	Registro Federal de Causantes	RFC	MX	4 digits, space, 6 digits, space, 3 digits
Nicaragua	Registro Unico de Contribuyentes	RUC	NI
Panama	Registro Unico de Contribuyentes	RUC	PA
Paraguay	Registro Unico de Contribuyentes	RUC	PY
Peru	Registro Unico de Contribuyentes	RUC	PE
Dominican Republic	Registro Nacional del Contribuyente	RNC	DO
Uruguay	Registro Unico de Contribuyentes	RUC	UY
Venezuela	Número de Identificación Tributaria	NIT	VE

External links

• VIES, European "VAT Information Exchange System".
• checkvat (open source)