Start from a company number you already have.
Derive candidate VAT identifiers from a registry or tax identifier only where an authority documents the transformation, then confirm a candidate with a live check.
What can be derived, by jurisdiction
| Jurisdiction | Rule | Input identifier |
|---|---|---|
| Austria (AT) | Lookup only | Firmenbuchnummer or Steuernummer |
| Belgium (BE) | Candidate | Enterprise number (BCE/KBO/CBE) |
| Bulgaria (BG) | Conditional | EIK/UIC or BULSTAT identifier |
| Croatia (HR) | Candidate | Eleven-digit OIB |
| Cyprus (CY) | Lookup only | Registrar company number |
| Czechia (CZ) | Conditional | Eight-digit IČO |
| Denmark (DK) | Conditional | Eight-digit CVR number |
| Estonia (EE) | Lookup only | Eight-digit registry code |
| Finland (FI) | Candidate | Business ID |
| France (FR) | Lookup only | Nine-digit SIREN |
| Germany (DE) | Lookup only | Handelsregister number or Steuernummer |
| Greece (EL) | Candidate | Nine-digit AFM |
| Hungary (HU) | Candidate | Domestic tax number |
| Ireland (IE) | Lookup only | CRO company number or Revenue TRN |
| Italy (IT) | Lookup only | REA or codice fiscale |
| Latvia (LV) | Unresolved | Eleven-digit registration code |
| Lithuania (LT) | Unresolved | Legal-entity code |
| Luxembourg (LU) | Lookup only | RCSL number or national matricule |
| Malta (MT) | Lookup only | MBR company number or income-tax number |
| Netherlands (NL) | Lookup only | KVK number or RSIN |
| Poland (PL) | Candidate | Ten-digit NIP |
| Portugal (PT) | Candidate | Nine-digit NIF |
| Romania (RO) | Candidate | Fiscal identification code (CUI) |
| Slovakia (SK) | Conditional | Tax number or IČO |
| Slovenia (SI) | Candidate | Eight-digit tax number |
| Spain (ES) | Candidate | NIF |
| Sweden (SE) | Candidate | Ten-digit organisation number |
| United Kingdom (GB) | Lookup only | Companies House company number |
| Northern Ireland (XI) | Lookup only | Companies House company number |
| Norway (NO) | Lookup only | Organisation number |
| Switzerland (CH) | Lookup only | UID |
Questions
Why is no candidate produced for some jurisdictions?
A candidate is only produced where a reviewed authority source documents how the registry or tax identifier maps to a VAT identifier. Where the rule is lookup-only, conditional or unresolved, the tool reports that instead of guessing.
What does confirming a candidate do?
It sends the derived candidate to the same live authority check used by the VAT number lookup and shows the authority's observation beside the candidate. The candidate and the observation stay separate claims.
Does a derived candidate mean the number is registered?
No. A derived candidate is a possible VAT identifier, not a discovered association. Only the authority can report whether that identifier corresponds to a registration.
Orientation only. A derived candidate is not a discovered VAT identifier and does not establish that a registration exists. Only an authority observation can report that, and each jurisdiction's rule is limited to what its reviewed source documents.
VAT.tools saves source-linked evidence for each check, with an API, MCP server and bulk workflows for repeat work.