# EU VAT Number Validator (VIES) (`namusoft/eu-vat-validator`) Actor

Bulk-check EU VAT numbers against the official VIES service. Get validity, company name and address. Pay only for numbers VIES actually answers.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/namusoft/eu-vat-validator.md
- **Developed by:** [NamuSoft](https://apify.com/namusoft) (community)
- **Categories:** Automation, Developer tools
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

$2.00 / 1,000 vat number checkeds

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## EU VAT Number Validator (VIES)

**Check hundreds of EU VAT numbers in one run against the official VIES service and get validity, company name and address for each.**

### What can you do with it?

- **Finance and accounting teams:** verify supplier and customer VAT numbers before issuing reverse-charge invoices.
- **E-commerce and marketplaces:** validate B2B buyers' VAT IDs at onboarding or before applying 0% VAT.
- **CRM and data teams:** clean company databases and enrich records with the registered name and address.
- **AI agents:** call it as a tool through Apify MCP to validate a VAT ID inside an automated workflow.

### Example output

```json
{
  "input": "PL5261040828",
  "countryCode": "PL",
  "vatNumber": "5261040828",
  "status": "valid",
  "valid": true,
  "name": "GŁÓWNY URZĄD STATYSTYCZNY",
  "address": "ALEJA NIEPODLAGŁOŚCI 208, 00-925 WARSZAWA",
  "viesRequestDate": "2026-10-18T03:33:49.904Z",
  "error": null,
  "checkedAt": "2026-10-18T03:33:50.120Z"
}
```

`status` is one of:

| Status | Meaning | Charged? |
|---|---|---|
| `valid` | VIES confirms the number is active | Yes |
| `invalid` | VIES says the number is not valid | Yes |
| `invalid-format` | Not a VAT number format VIES accepts (fix the input) | No |
| `unavailable` | The member-state registry did not answer after retries | No |

Export to JSON, CSV or Excel, or connect via API, webhooks, Make, Zapier or MCP.

### Pricing

**$2.00 per 1,000 checked numbers** ($0.002 per number). You pay only for numbers VIES actually answers. Format errors and registry outages are free.

### How to use

1. Paste your VAT numbers, one per line, with the country prefix (e.g. `DE123456789`).
2. Optional: set a default country for numbers without a prefix.
3. Click **Start**. Results appear in the dataset as each number is checked.

Greek numbers can use `GR` or `EL`. Northern Ireland uses `XI`.

### FAQ

**Where does the data come from?** From the European Commission's official VIES service. The actor adds input cleanup, retries for temporarily unavailable registries and a clean output format.

**Why is a name or address empty?** Some member states (for example Germany and Spain) do not share these fields through VIES.

**Is the result legal proof?** VIES returns a request date you can keep as evidence of the check. For a consultation number, use the VIES website directly.

**Something broke or a field is missing?** Open an issue in the **Issues** tab. We usually respond within 12 hours.

# Actor input Schema

## `vatNumbers` (type: `array`):

VAT numbers to check, with country prefix (e.g. DE123456789, PL5261040828). Spaces, dots and dashes are ignored. The same number written differently is checked (and charged) once.

## `defaultCountry` (type: `string`):

Two-letter country code used for numbers without a prefix (e.g. PL). Leave empty to require prefixes.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "vatNumbers": [
    "PL5261040828",
    "EL094014201"
  ]
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

One record per VAT number: status (valid, invalid, invalid-format, unavailable), company name and address from VIES, and the VIES request date.

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "vatNumbers": [
        "PL5261040828",
        "EL094014201"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("namusoft/eu-vat-validator").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = { "vatNumbers": [
        "PL5261040828",
        "EL094014201",
    ] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("namusoft/eu-vat-validator").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "vatNumbers": [
    "PL5261040828",
    "EL094014201"
  ]
}' |
apify call namusoft/eu-vat-validator --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,namusoft/eu-vat-validator"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/s3nst5ZVXAqSodN9q/builds/73VFbBIr3qESbbusr/openapi.json